Ramadan in times of Covid-19 in Germany: new social initiatives, old political fault-lines

Like Christian Easter and Jewish Passover celebrations a few weeks ago, in Germany the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is taking place this year in the shadow of Covid-19. This means that much of the regular festive programme is falling flat: mosques have been closed since mid-March, meaning that believers cannot pray or socialise at…

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Germany grapples with return of pro-Kurdish fighters from Syria

Much public concern and political squabbling in Europe has focused on returnees from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq. Above all, anxieties have been centred on the potential security risks posed by former fighters and supporters of the so-called Islamic State. Over 1,000 German citizens and residents had joined the self-declared caliphate in the Levant;…

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Upcoming Turkish elections reverberate in Germany

Turkey will hold parliamentary and presidential elections on June 24 – roughly one and a half years ahead of schedule. Turkish citizens living abroad can already vote at Turkish consulates prior to that date. In Germany, home of the world’s largest diaspora of Turkish origin, roughly 1.4 million Turkish citizens are eligible to cast their…

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Trying to become German: A new book chronicles a man’s lost battle to belong

Germany is, as is well known, home to a large community with Turkish roots, numbering roughly 3 million. Many of them have lived in the country for generations, and roughly half now hold German citizenship – even if the widespread parlance of ‘second-, third-, and fourth-generation immigrants’ stubbornly continues to emphasise their quintessential Otherness. In…

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Top functionary of Germany’s DİTİB attempts (and fails) to run for the AKP in Turkey’s elections

Former DİTİB secretary general, Bekir Alboğa, has announced his intention to run for a seat in Turkey’s parliament in the upcoming June 2018 elections. Alboğa, who had led DİTİB as Secretary General from 2012 to 2017, is seeking a place on the AKP ballot, the party of Turkish President Erdoğan. The case is particularly salient,…

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