Al-Qaida
All topics-
Between religion, oil dependence and reforms
Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin Salman
An expert on Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, Guido Steinberg explains that the drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities last week were partly a manifestation of complex religious and historical forces. By Sabine Peschel
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Afghanistanʹs political future
Is peace with the Taliban possible?
Despite ongoing peace negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, the bloody conflict in Afghanistan continues to take a heavy toll on the country’s people. Can talks with the Taliban really bring about peace? By Amin Saikal
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Identity politics in the West
Islam – no longer the bogeyman
The champions of white identity are re-grouping. In the West hostility towards Islam has had its day. It is now being absorbed into common or garden racism, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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Female jihadists
Why women go to Holy War
Worldwide, the number of women joining the “holy war”, or jihad, is increasing. What causes them do so? And what role do they play within jihadist organisations? Two Jordanian Islamism experts have devoted their most recent study to exploring just these questions
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Post-Christchurch debate on religion and terrorism
Who is responsible for the violence?
The question of whether religious texts are interpreted in a tolerant or a hostile way is closely tied to the historical context in which the interpretation takes place. The responsibility for terrorism lies first and foremost with people and not with the religious texts themselves, says Assem Hefny, a lecturer at Al-Azhar University
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Negotiating peace with the Taliban
Any deal will do
The tension among Kabul's political elite is palpable. Washington has been conducting negotiations for a peace deal with the insurgent Taliban in the Gulf emirate of Qatar for quite some time now, and the government in Kabul feels side-lined. Yet regardless of who is sitting around the negotiating table, almost all players in Afghanistan agree: the need for peace is urgent. By Emran Feroz
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Salafism in Germany
Left-wing terrorist turned Islamist
Bernhard Falk is no stranger to prisons. A convicted left-wing terrorist, he spent 12 years behind bars. Now he looks out for imprisoned Islamists. Germany's domestic intelligence agency considers him a danger to society. By Matthias von Hein and Esther Felden
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Interview with the Islam expert Behnam T. Said
Why al-Qaida is stronger than ever
When we think about terrorism in the Arab world today, the first name that springs to mind is IS, not al-Qaida. But, as Behnam T. Said reveals in interview with Jens-Christian Rabe, the organisation has merely changed its objectives
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Interview with extremism researcher Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck
"Being part of a ʹcommunityʹ transcends everything"
Attending this yearʹs Vienna International Christian University, Algerian extremism researcher Dr. Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck, resident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, talked to Zahra Nedjabat about the role of women in jihadism, the roots of violent radicalisation and possible antidotes
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Radical Islamism
Negotiating with jihadists?
In Asia and Africa, Muslim terrorists are regarded as combatants with concerns that should be taken seriously. Experts advise dialogue in lieu of extermination. By Charlotte Wiedemann
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Interview with Washington Post correspondent Souad Mekhennet
Speaks with jihadists
German-born Mekhennet has focused her investigative career on diving into militant Islamist networks. She spoke to Sabine Kieselbach about her job's dangers and why it is important to speak to jihadists
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The Iraq War fifteen years on
"America destroyed my country"
Fifteen years ago, on 20 March 2003, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq. Iraqi novelist and poet Sinan Antoon describes the pain of watching his country disintegrate in the aftermath, made all the more acute since the perpetrators of this "colossal mistake" are still at large