Most recent articles by Lewis Gropp
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Jordi Savall and Montserrat FiguerasJerusalem, City of Two Peaces
Jordi Savall and Montserrat Figueras, both world renowned specialists in early music, have produced an album that explores musical traditions from Jerusalem's various epochs: the Jewish, the Christian, the Arab and the Ottoman eras. Lewis Gropp introduces the intercultural musical project
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Catholic-Islamic Dialogue: Interview with Christian Troll
For Freedom of Faith
The beginning of November saw the first Catholic-Muslim Forum held in the Vatican – which came about on a Muslim initiative. One of the participants was the Jesuit and professor of Islam Studies, Christian Troll. In an interview with Lewis Gropp, he talks about freedom of religion in Europe and Islamic countries, and the challenges of the Enlightenment for belief
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Reem Kelani – "Sprinting Gazelle""I Defend My Right to Defend My Right"
Following her widely acclaimed featured performance on Gilad Atzmon's "Exile", the British-Palestinian singer Reem Kelani has released her own debut album, establishing herself as important artist in the Palestinian musical tradition. By Lewis Gropp
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Salman Rushdie and "The Enchantress of Florence"
A Master without a Masterpiece?
The critics have reacted positively but not enthusiastically to his most recent novel. Nevertheless, with or without "The Enchantress of Florence", Bombay-born writer Salman Rushdie is the perfect embodiment of the erudite, witty intellectual, writes Lewis Gropp
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Robert Misik: Criticism in the Spirit of Enlightenment
Deliver Us from the Return of Religion!
Robert Misik may be a textbook critic of religion, but he is also one of the most vocal opponents of Islamophobic disparagement. Lewis Gropp met the Viennese journalist and author
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Rabih Abou-Khalil
"Today's Tradition is Yesterday's Revolution"
In 1978, the oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil fled the Civil War in Lebanon. He went to Bavaria, where he studied music. Today, he is one of the most renowned and successful exponents of World Music in Europe. By Lewis Gropp
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Interview with Elif Shafak
"In Turkey, a Novel Is a Public Statement"
Elif Shafak's latest novel, "The Bastard of Istanbul", has been tremendously well received in Turkey. However, Shafak is now facing a trial for "denigrating Turkishness" – because of comments made by one of her characters in the novel. Interview by Lewis Gropp
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Interview with Rose Issa"Culture Should Not Be Restricted to the West"
The Louvre has just signed a lucrative million-euro deal with Abu Dhabi. Critics in France fear a "sell-out" of French culture. In this interview with Lewis Gropp, Rose Issa, independent curator and art critic specialised on Middle East and North Africa, disagrees
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Cyminology
A Finely Woven Fabric of Mysticism and Music
The German-Persian singer Cymin Samawatie is the leader of the band Cyminology. With the quartet she has set texts of the Persian mystic Hāfiz and the scholar and poet Omar Khayyám, among others, to music. A portrait by Lewis Gropp
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Stefan Weidner's "Fez"
Meandering Reflections
Following the success of his "Mohammedan Temptations," prominent translator and publisher of Arab literature Stefan Weidner has now brought out a second prose volume with a literary account of a trip to Morocco. A review by Lewis Gropp
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Orhan Pamuk
Bestselling Author and Avantgarde Writer
Orhan Pamuk is one of Turkey's most significant authors. While Turkey developed a kind of love-hate relationship to the author, Pamuk enjoys tremendous popularity in EU-Europe.
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Navid Kermani's "Metaphysical Revolts"
Is the Creator a Sadist?
In his new book Navid Kermani explores the question of divine justice and the meaning of suffering. His starting point is the Job motif and "The Book of Suffering" by the Persian mystic Fariduddin Attar. By Lewis Gropp