Society

The Islamic State and Salafi ideology in Afghanistan
The Islamic State and Salafi ideology in Afghanistan

The Islamic State is hunting down Afghanistan's Shia - and the looming peace settlement between the government and the Taliban could worsen the situation. Is the country about to be split along religious fault lines?

Shady Habash
Death of Shady Habash

The death of filmmaker Shady Habash makes author Wael Eskandar think of a friend who goes by the same first name - and of how the Egyptians deal with injustice and loss.

Christoph Sydow
Obituary: Christoph Sydow

A keen-eyed observer of the Middle East who asked the right questions and found answers to many of them. A sportsman you could rely on. But above all, our dear friend and colleague. We mourn Christoph Sydow. 

Gherbal Initiative in Lebanon
Gherbal Initiative in Lebanon

Amid months of nationwide protests, one Lebanese’s mission to weed out endemic corruption tells the story of a country at economic breaking point.

Back to the roots in Southern Lebanon
Back to the roots in Southern Lebanon

Ghadir Hamadi always felt that her roots were firmly in the southern Lebanese town of her ancestors. Then Covid-19 hit – and only then did she discover what life is really like there.

Tatars in the Wehrmacht
Tatars in the Wehrmacht

Thousands of Muslim Tatars fought for the Wehrmacht against the Soviet Union. The historian Iskander Gilyazov speaks to zenith about the Muslim Idel-Ural Legion, taboos and how history views national heroes and collaborators.

Die Hizbullah in der Corona-Krise
Hezbollah and the Corona Virus

As the coronavirus lockdown continues, charity may not be enough to save Hezbollah’s tarnished reputation among Lebanese Shia or to stem the increasing numbers of those infected with the virus. But the Lebanese are no strangers to staying at home.

The Rise of Digital Feudalism
Democracy, Technology and the Future of Society

How states respond to the ongoing pandemic risks rendering their citizens serfs in a new digital Middle Ages. Ramon Blecua calls on political leaders not to close the door on the coronavirus by opening the door to Big Tech.