Germany
All countries-
Najat Abed Alsamad's "Kein Wasser stillt ihren Durst"
Searching for life
Najat Abed Alsamad's award-winning novel, "La Ma'a Yarwiha", has been published in German translation as "Kein Wasser stillt ihren Durst" (No water quenches her thirst). In it, she tells the story of a young Druze woman who roundly rejects the traditional rules imposed on her by her parents and relatives and begins a long fight for her freedom
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Sherko Fatah's Great Wish
A daughter estranged
In his new novel "Der große Wunsch", award-winning author Sherko Fatah tells the story of a father whose daughter meets a supporter of IS and follows him to the Syrian war zone
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Get out of Gaza
Exploiting the Palestinians
In view of the catastrophic situation in Gaza, Palestinians all over the world are trying to get relatives out of the sealed-off enclave. Unscrupulous Egyptian businessmen are cashing in on people's desperation. Qantara.de reports from Cairo
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"Hediye" by Özgür Akgul (Schnieke)
A masterclass in how to bridge two worlds
Özgür Akgul usually composes film and television scores, but performing under the name Schnieke, he recently released his first album – a case study in how the modern and the traditional can co-exist in perfect harmony
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Death sentence for Rapper Toomaj
Tehran's legitimacy crisis
The rapper Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced to death in Iran. His case shows how the regime is fighting to maintain its power, and against whom
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Germany and the Gaza war
Jewish and Muslim communities search for solidarity
Six months of Israeli retaliation in Gaza for the October 7 Hamas terror attacks have put Jewish-Muslim relations in particular peril. Germany's hypersensitivity to anti-Semitism adds an extra layer of difficulty
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German culture scene unites against far-right
"The Many" against the AfD
Germany's right-wing AfD continues to gain ground in the polls. Many involved in the country's cultural scene fear the party will restrict artistic freedoms following the next election and have therefore launched their own campaign
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“From the river to the sea”
How to interpret a slogan
The notion that the slogan is sweepingly anti-Semitic falls short of the mark. But extremist interpretations need to be condemned – on both the Israeli and the Palestinian side
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Middle East conflict
Life in Palestine before the Nakba
"Against Erasure" documents the diversity of life in Palestine before the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948, building a solid foundation for sorely needed, well-grounded discourse on the Middle East
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German-Turkish relations
Towards a modern policy on Turkey
Political and diplomatic relations between Germany and Turkey are marked by dissent, but the numerous flashpoints in the Middle East are now bringing the two countries closer together. The German President's deft balancing act on his trip to Turkey points the way toward a pragmatic policy on Turkey
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Arab Film Festival in Berlin
Spotlighting Palestinian voices
As the Israel-Hamas war impacts Germany's cultural sector, the organisers of the ALFILM festival fear for the future of their event
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Middle East debate in Germany
The bell of Gaza
With its fossilised premise of "raison d'etat" Germany is damaging itself. It is time for change – for constructive partnership in a concerted effort to overcome the Israeli-Palestinian catastrophe