Culture

Comic book author Joe Sacco

"Gaza was where the West went to die"

Trailblazing cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco reflects on Western coverage of the war on Gaza, oral histories, and comics as a medium for critical journalism.
By Elias Feroz
Tunisia's Carthage Film Festival

Decolonial cinema

The Carthage Film Festival in Tunis aims to counter the Global North's dominance in the world of film. Until Sunday, a diverse range of films from Africa and West Asia will be screened. But can the festival truly fulfil its own ambitions?
By Vanessa Barisch
Palestinian director Dima Hamdan

"There is no pride when gay men are blackmailed"

Winner of the prestigious Iris Film Prize, Dima Hamdan's short film "Blood like Water" addresses how Israel uses the social stigma of homosexuality in Palestinian society to blackmail gay men.
By Nazeeha Saeed
Mahmoud Muna, editor of "Daybreak in Gaza"

"A book about hope, anger and anguish"

Mahmoud Muna is the owner of the Educational Bookshop in East Jerusalem and one of the editors of “Daybreak in Gaza: Stories of Palestinian Lives and Cultures”. The book collects testimonies and stories from over a hundred Gazans, documenting their lives before and during Israel’s ongoing war on the enclave.
By Anna-Theresa Bachmann
Bilingual children's books

Kurdish as a living language

"When I was a child, I felt ashamed of my identity," says linguist and translator Marwan Sheikho. Determined to create a different reality for his own children, he's made his publishing debut with three bilingual Kurdish children's books.
By Marcia Lynx Qualey
Science fiction from Turkey

A spark of reality in literary dystopia

Above the clouds lies not just boundless freedom, but also dystopian visions of the future. With his collection "Über den Wolken und andere Geschichten" (Above the Clouds and Other Stories), editor Ünver Alibey shows that science fiction is no longer a solely Western genre.
By Gerrit Wustmann
Çiğdem Akyols's novel on Germany’s guest workers

Clear-eyed and unsentimental

In her debut novel, Çiğdem Akyol tells the story of a family caught between Germany and Turkey. The journalist offers an unvarnished portrait of the guest-worker generation and their children and sheds light on their ruthless exploitation in Germany.
By Gerrit Wustmann
Jewish composer Brigitte Schiffer

Fleeing the Nazis and thriving in Cairo

Many Jewish musicians fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Composer Brigitte Schiffer was one of the few who put down roots in Egypt. In this interview, the German music professor Matthias Pasdzierny charts her unusual story.
By Mohammed Magdy
Book “111 Places in Berlin That Teach Us About Islam”

Searching for traces of Muslim life in Berlin

The historic Şehitlik cemetery in Kreuzberg, the queer-friendly Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque in Moabit, the Muslim community's poetry slam i-Slam: Islam is part of Berlin's history, politics and everyday life.
By Ceyda Nurtsch
Album "Mute" by El Khat

On the edge of anarchy

The Berlin-based Yemenite-Israeli band El Khat use handmade instruments to create a chaotic blend of styles and traditions. Behind the raucous noise, they explore themes of silencing, conflict and displacement.
By Richard Marcus
Taqi Akhlaqi’s book "Versteh einer die Deutschen"

German quirks from an Afghan perspective

Taqi Akhlaqi came to Germany for four months on a scholarship to work on a new novel, where he experienced a range of cultural shocks. He recounts this experience in his highly readable new book “Versteh einer die Deutschen” (Surely someone must understand the Germans).
By Gerrit Wustmann
In memory of Elias Khoury

"Forgetting is a blessing"

A look back at the life, work and enduring political relevance of Lebanese writer, intellectual, and giant of modern Arabic literature Elias Khoury, who passed away on 15 September.
By Nahrain al-Mousawi