Dear Readers,
Please find below a selection of Qantara.de's most recent articles.
Best wishes,
Lewis Gropp
Qantara.de
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POLITICS
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***The Hearing Regarding a Ban on the AKP: Using Secularism as an
Excuse***
Turkey's secularist elite would like to prohibit the AKP and would
have the world believe that the Turkish people are incapable of doing
anything without the guidance of the state, ergo if the people of
Turkey do anything, it can only be at the instigation of foreign
enemies. A commentary by Günther Seufert
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-961/i.html
***China's Muslim Minority: China's Battle Against the Uighurs***
The way China is treating the Tibetan uprising has outraged the West.
The suffering of the Uighurs, on the other hand, receives little
attention. Beijing defends the suppression of the Muslim minority as
fighting terrorism. Andreas Leixnering reports
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-960/i.html
***Tibetan Conflict: Third Party: Muslims***
One foreign freelance journalist has managed to enter the Tibetan
crisis zone as a tourist. According to her observations, the protests
are not just the result of major aggressions against Han Chinese on
the part of Tibetans, but also of antipathy towards Muslims. By Nina
Ritter
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-956/i.html
***Fifth Anniversary of Saddam Hussein's Downfall: Still Need for
Active Democratisation in Iraq***
Five years after the removal of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, there
are few signs of the hoped-for "democratisation". Nevertheless, there
is still need for a Western policy of promoting democracy, says Loay
Mudhoon
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-959/i.html
***Journalists in Iraq: Flight into Exile***
After five years of war in Iraq, the situation looks grim for Iraqi
journalists. Many have fled from the daily violence in their country
to Syria or Jordan – usually without a visa or work permit. Those
who remain behind continue to report on events only at great danger
to their lives. By Petra Tabeling
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-958/i.html
***Geert Wilders's Film "Fitna": Learning from the Enemy***
For months, the information had been circulating that the Dutch
right-wing populist politician, Geert Wilders, had made a film
denouncing the Koran for its allegedly fascist character. Now the
film has been made available on the internet – and, says Angela
Schader, it largely tells us things we've read before
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-955/i.html
***Mediterranean Union: First Partner, Then Neighbour, Then Member
State?***
Now that Germany and France have settled their differences about the
"Union for the Mediterranean", the conference marking the
establishment of the union will show whether the project is a
coherent concept for the future of Euro-Mediterranean co-operation.
By Isabel Schäfer
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-953/i.html
***Arab League Summit in Damascus: Hopelessly Mired in Discord***
Shared political visions were once again conspicuous by their absence
at this year's summit of the Arab League. The heads of state from the
key nations didn't even bother to come. Peter Philipp comments
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-954/i.html
***Interview with Georges Corm: Double Standards***
Georges Corm is convinced that as long as the West pursues double
moral standards and applies international law unequally, its attempts
to establish dialogue with the Islamic world cannot be taken
seriously. Mona Sarkis spoke to the social scientist and former
Lebanese Finance Minister
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-476/_nr-952/i.html
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SOCIETY
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***Conflict Prevention: Missed Angles of Conflict Prevention***
The media tends to report bad news, and that rewards the perpetrators
of violence. Peace initiatives seldom make the headlines. The
superficiality of Western reporting means the public does not
understand the context of many conflicts. Those are the views of the
peace researcher Johan Galtung. He spoke to Claudia Isabel Rittel
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-752/i.html
***Drug Dealing in Lebanon: At Home with a Drug Baron***
For years, Hizbollah has been trading Lebanese-produced heroin and
cocaine for Israeli military secrets. Alfred Hackensberger reports
from Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, a hub of the drugs trade
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-751/i.html
***Water Policy in Israel and Palestine: There's Enough Water for
Both***
Water plays a key role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Joseph
Croitoru reports that a German hydro-geologist now questions the
firmly entrenched views of Israelis and Palestinians on water policy
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-750/i.html
***The Assassins of Persia and Syria: From the 11th Century to
September 11th?***
Do the activities of the medieval Assassins sect and their martyrdom
cult really tell us anything about the suicide attacks of current
radical Islamist movements? Arian Fariborz on the practice of
religious killings by the Assassins and its significance for modern
radical Islamist movements
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-749/i.html
***Portrait: Stef Wertheimer: The Pragmatist***
Stef Wertheimer is not a Utopian, but a pragmatic man of action who
believes in the positive force of working together as the basis for
fostering understanding among people. He was presented with the
Buber-Rosenzweig Medal for his services to peacemaking. By Igal
Avidan
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-748/i.html
***First Catholic Church in Qatar: Signal for New Religious
Tolerance***
The first catholic church was recently dedicated in the Muslim Gulf
State of Qatar. Among those taking part in the dedication was Bishop
Paul Hinder, apostolic vicar for Arabia. He told Ina Rottscheid about
the new reality of religious freedom in the Gulf States
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-747/i.html
***Sari Nusseibeh: A Palestinian Looks Back: The Life of "Others"***
Sari Nusseibeh's account of his life in Palestine is a story which
goes well beyond the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Andreas Pflitsch says the book is a multi-faceted portrait of its
times
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-746/i.html
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CULTURE
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***Nadine Labaki's Film "Caramel": Rules of the Game beyond the Civil
War***
The Lebanese director Nadine Labaki's tragicomedy "Caramel" deals
with the everyday lives and desires of five women. In the process,
she exposes a society in which beauty and virility are the main
currency. Fritz Göttler has seen the film
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-310/_nr-520/i.html
***"Philosophers' Beds" – an exhibition by Gloria Zein: Taking the
Bed to Tehran***
Over the past two years, the Berlin artist Gloria Zein has been
meeting with ten philosophers to discuss the topic of "the bed" –
and the issues of waking and sleeping, seduction and love. What
emerged was quite enough material for an exhibition, and it is now
showing in Tehran. Cordula Echterhoff reports
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-310/_nr-519/i.html
***Interview with Assaf Gavron: "You Have to be Interested in the
Other Side"***
In his novel, CrocAttack, Israeli writer Assaf Gavron provokes his
readers with unusual perspectives: With both sensitivity and a large
dose of black humour, the writer explores the inner world of an
Israeli victim of terrorism and a Palestinian suicide bomber. Ariana
Mirza spoke to Assaf Gavron
http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-310/_nr-518/i.html
***
This is the newsletter of the online magazine "Qantara.de –
Dialogue with the Islamic World"; Qantara.de is sponsored by Deutsche
Welle, the Goethe Institute, the Federal Center for Political
Education and the Institute for Foreign Relations; the portal is
funded by the German Foreign Office.
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Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm
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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf
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MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm
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Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm
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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/
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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm
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German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm
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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:
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