From "Educated Kanakster" to Literary Star
For Feridun Zaimoglu, it's been a long hard fight to be taken seriously as a German author. But the linguistic juggler with Turkish parents and a German passport has now received the Corine...
View ArticleA Photographic Journey into the Past
In the Emirate of Sharjah, the exhibition "Focus Orient" debuts over 200 historic photographs from the entire Islamic world. All shot by Europeans between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they...
View ArticleBreaking with the Language of Taboo
Writer and film director Atiq Rahimi is the surprise winner of this year's French Prix Goncourt, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards. His dark stories reflect the drama of his own life....
View Article"Culture Can Heal Political Wounds"
According to Yasser Hareb, vice president of the Al Maktoum Foundation, cultural exchange plays a key role in the fostering of international understanding and the institutionalisation of a fruitful...
View ArticleJourney into Nowhere
Murathan Mungan is almost as well-known and popular in Turkey as Orhan Pamuk. This is all the more noteworthy because Mungan is open about his homosexuality. His latest novel, Chador, is a bleak...
View ArticleThe "Odyssey" of Mughal India
The "Hamzana" is considered the most significant epic of the Indo-Islamic world. The story narrates the fantastic exploits of Amir Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad. Now a remarkable English...
View ArticleArchaeology as a Political Issue
Few countries have such a comprehensive knowledge of archaeological treasures from the Islamic world as Germany. Ariana Mirza asked Claus-Peter Haase, director of the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin,...
View ArticleA Portrait of the Jihadist as a Young Man
Over the course of two years, Mahmoud al-Massad, a Jordanian director of Palestinian origin, filmed the life of an Islamic fundamentalist in his home town of Zarqa, Jordan. The result shows the...
View Article"We Are One People"
Relations between Muslims and Christians in Egypt are strained these days. Violent disputes are frequent. Now a film has come out that puts a satirical spin on the religious fanaticism and provides a...
View Article"Islam Forbids Violence"
Honour killings, terrorist acts, the war in Iraq … in his song texts, the successful Muslim rapper Ammar114 criticises the injustice done both by and to Muslims. Nimet Seker spoke to him about his lyrics
View Article"Europe Has No Copyright on the Enlightenment"
At the invitation of Sheikh Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, a number of eminent German and Arab intellectuals recently met for a "cultural dialogue". Hans Magnus Enzensberger was among their number,...
View ArticleHuman Encounters on Mined Territory
At this year's "Jerusalem Moments" film festival, Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers report from a very personal perspective on the "Holy City" divided by social and religious conflicts. Aya Bach...
View ArticleMorock'n'Roll for Peace
In their "Tanger Sessions," Dissidenten's first studio album in 12 years, the group cultivates the European-Moroccan friendship with a hard rock sound. Stefan Franzen had a listen to the new disk by...
View ArticleThe Beautiful Circe with a Kalashnikov
Izzet Celasin was imprisoned for many years as a left-wing activist after the 1980 Turkish military putsch. He has now written a novel about the leftist revolt in his country. At the centre of the...
View ArticleA Literary Bridge-Builder Par Excellence
The Israeli writer Amos Oz was recently awarded the German Heinrich Heine Prize. The jury praised Oz's work for combining "literary creativity, political sensitivity and humanist engagement." Loay...
View ArticleAgainst Self-censorship in Arts and Music
Ruba Saqr sings her self-composed folk songs as authentically as her vocal improvisations inspired by Islamic mysticism. She is one of Jordan's most promising musical talents. Martina Sabra met her in...
View Article"Enlightenment Has Destroyed the Magic"
Ever since his breakthrough novel Leyla at the latest, the Turkish-born writer Feridun Zaimoglu has been a shining star in Germany's literary firmament. Eren Güvercin spoke to the award-winning author...
View ArticleA Subway across the Kurdish Steppes
Fleeing eastern Turkey, living as a foreigner and asylum seeker in a strange land … for award-winning author Ismet Elci, this is more than just the stuff of which novels are made; it is also his own...
View ArticleSongs of Love and Tolerance from Israel's Melting Pot
The Idan Raichel Project is a musical collective that incorporates the sounds and influences of the many cultures and traditions that make up the fabric of Israeli society – Ethiopian, Yemenite, Arab,...
View ArticleAn Ancient Heritage of Diversity
A current exhibition in Amsterdam is showing visitors a very different, unfamiliar image of Afghanistan. The 250 archaeological objects on display shine a light on the former glory of Afghanistan's...
View ArticleThe Lost World of Arab Erotica
No Arab book has ever been sold for so much money to foreign publishing houses. Though it is part of the current trend that is witnessing both real and fictional erotic confessions by women writers...
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