Photo Essays

These days, mosques in Germany are as diverse as the Muslim communities they represent. There are those that reflect the architectural tradition of classical Ottoman mosque design, but Germany has in the meantime also become home to several modern and innovative mosques such as those in Penzberg or the Cologne district of Ehrenfeld. Every year on October 3, the mosques operate an open-door policy for interested visitors. But in actual fact, it's possible to visit a mosque at any time.

Journalist Martin Gerner has made several trips to Afghanistan since 2004, reporting for various German radio stations and print publications. The photographs he has taken in the country represent an attempt to capture the everyday life of children in Afghanistan.

He seized power with force and wanted to lead Libya into a golden age of popular government. But his megalomania became his doom. On October 20, 2011, Moammar Gadhafi, for decades one of the most piercing figures in the league of Arab despots, was killed following fighting in Sirte.

Photojournalist Sean Gallagher traveled through the Islamic region of China in autumn of 2005. His photos show a vibrant Islamic society which nevertheless always feels threatened by China's centralized power structure.

The Arab Spring raised hopes that women in the region would get more rights. They're now standing up for themselves. With Islamist parties winning elections, some fear that women's rights will be reduced again. By Andreas Gorzewski

For almost 50 years, the Sahrawi people have been waiting for a referendum that would give them the opportunity to decide for themselves over their future and their homeland, the former Spanish colony of Western Sahara. When Spain pulled out of the territory in 1976, the odds for Western Saharan independence looked good, until Morocco laid claim to the land and occupied two thirds of the territory, which it still holds today.

In an attempt to escape the Moroccan army, many Sahrawi fled over the border to Algeria, where they established refugee camps outside the city of Tindouf. They have since been waiting nearly forty years to return home. Laura Overmeyer visited the camps.

There are more than three million Muslims in Germany, and they now find "places of prostration" – the original meaning of the Arabic word for mosque, 'masjid' – in around 200 regular mosques, but also in countless other locations for prayers and gatherings. Many mosques in Germany are not used solely for religious purposes, but also as an arena for intercultural and interfaith encounters, aimed at contributing to the acceptance and integration of religion in Germany.

For one month a year, the daily routines of Muslims are determined not only by prayer rituals, but also by sunrise and sunset. During the hours of daylight, the faithful are required to desist from eating and drinking and instead exercise self-discipline and abstinence. But for many Muslims, Ramadan brings with it a whole host of other challenges.

Ramadan is a holy month for the world's Muslims. It is a month of peace and the time in which the Koran was first sent down from heaven to the Prophet Mohammed. The fasting takes place from sunrise to sunset and means abstinence from eating, drinking and sex. It is a form of worship. Those who fast should gain a better appreciation of the predicament of the poor and the destitute. Ramadan is also a month devoted to intensive prayer and social welfare. Our slide show presents impressions of Ramadan from the varied Islamic cultures all across Asia.

The Arab Spring has many faces: Anger, hope, exhaustion and outright fear have marked the lives of thousands of people between Libya and Syria in recent months. While there is already widespread concern at the prospect of counter-revolutions and frustration at the political stagnation following the ousting of the old guard in some nations, in others people still fear for their survival