Sunni Muslims | Sunni Islam
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Young people in Iraqi Kurdistan
Turning towards religion or away from it?
Young people in northern Iraq are so disillusioned that many are trying to leave the country any way they can. Some fear widespread discontent could push people toward potentially dangerous religious fundamentalism. By Cathrin Schaer
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Yemen conflict
Marib: from refuge to battlefield
The city of Marib is the most important place of refuge in Yemen for those displaced in the country. But fighting between Houthi rebels and government troops is currently escalating there, further exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe. Karim El-Gawhary reports
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Lebanon
Santa closed: in Beirut, crisis snuffs out Christmas spirit
Beirut in December was once a shopping extravaganza, where day-long traffic jams clogged streets decked out with flashing Christmas lights and building-sized billboards advertising champagne and jewellery
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Climate heroes in Iraq
A life for the trees
It is getting hotter and hotter in Iraq. Fifty degrees or more is no longer a rarity. The state between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers is now one of the hottest countries on earth. Muwafaq Mubareka from Baghdad is determined to fight global warming. Birgit Svensson paid the climate hero a visit
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Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis
Can the Taliban avert a food crisis without foreign aid?
In view of the catastrophic supply situation in Afghanistan, UN authorities are sounding the alarm. Inflation and growing poverty are exacerbating the situation. The Taliban reportedly have an emergency programme to combat the crisis. By Shabnam von Hein
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Prostitution in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Open-minded, loving... and desperate
How did the Islamic revolutionaries deal with prostitution and sex workers in Iran, and how does the business of sex work in Iran today? Have supply and demand changed four decades after the ayatollahs came to power? By Nasrin Bassiri
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Afghanistan
Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan
One prominent narrative relating to the defeat of the western-led military intervention in Afghanistan is that it was a mistake to try to build a modern democracy in a society steeped in "mediaeval traditions" and "tribal attitudes". Hans Dembowski condemns this self-serving and condescending standpoint, which persists in ignoring the serious flaws in the West's engagement, while blaming the victims for its failure
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Future-proofing Islam
Focus on the soul of Islam
Indonesian religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas set the bar high for both President Joko Widodo and Nahdlatul Ulama – the religious backbone of Widodo's government – when he laid out the agenda for his country's presidency of the G20 last week. James M. Dorsey has the details
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Shia minority in a Sunni state
Afghanistan's repressed Hazaras face a hostile Taliban
Following the Taliban's power grab, members of the Hazara minority fear they will be targeted. Those who can, escape. Others have joined the armed opposition. But for many, there is no way out. Report by Naomi Conrad, Birgitta Schuelke-Gill and Samad Sharif
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The West's neo-colonialism
Why nation-building failed in Afghanistan
Although the United States clearly could have done a better job of managing its departure from Afghanistan, the tragedy playing out this month has been 20 years in the making. From the outset, America and its allies embraced – and never reconsidered – a top-down state-building strategy that was always destined to fail. Commentary by Daron Acemoglu
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Islamic law in Afghanistan
Sharia – nightmare or ticket to salvation?
The Taliban, Islamic State, al-Qaida – for most Muslims their understanding of sharia is a nightmare. But what is sharia law really? Answers by Mathias Rohe
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Execution for a Facebook post?
Why blasphemy is a capital offence in some Muslim countries
The Prophet Muhammad never executed anyone for apostasy, nor encouraged his followers to do so. Nor is criminalising sacrilege based on Islam’s main sacred text, the Koran. In this essay, Ahmet Kuru exposes the political motivations for criminalising blasphemy and apostasy