After ISIS, former Yazidi sex slaves are caught between trauma and taboo
Safia, a Yazidi teenager from Iraq, was captured by the Islamic State, sold into sexual slavery, raped, tortured and made pregnant, leaving deep psychological scars. Her ability to come to terms with the trauma are thwarted by taboo, shame and her forced separation from her daughter.
Read MoreTunisia: Freedom and the pursuit of unhappiness
With greater freedom has come greater unhappiness in Tunisia. Behind this apparent paradox is economic hardship and nostalgia for a past that never was.
Read MoreAngela Merkel: A chancellor for the Arab world
If Arabs could have voted, Angela Merkel would have won by a landslide, rather than the embattled situation she currently finds herself in following the shock gains scored by the far-right.
Read MorePodcast: The Israeli passion for Arabic music
Mizrahi Jews are reviving the Arabic music of their heritage and fusing it with new influences, which is proving popular with young Palestinians.
Read MoreWar and peace in the Middle East and Europe
Europe’s history of total war and mass displacement can help create more sympathy for today’s refugees and keep hope alive in the Middle East.
Read MoreSpain, return and the other 1492
Spain’s recognition of the Jews it expelled ignores another historical crime: the Muslims forced out of Andalusia.
Read MoreThe Arabs, apartheid South Africa and Israel
Reactions to apartheid South Africa differed across the Arab world and were coloured both by anti-colonial solidarity and the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Read MoreBuying camel’s milk in Arabic
Conversing about camel’s milk may not be the most useful Arabic to learn, but learning the language can open up the Arab world to Europeans.
Read MoreReading between the lines of the Middle Eastern media
Despite its bottom ranking in the Press Freedom Index, the Middle Eastern media is freer than it appears at first sight.
Read MoreAre we now ‘friends’ of al-Qaeda in Libya?
Belgium was one of the ‘Friends of Libya’ in Paris. But does the prime minister realise that these Libyan ‘friends’ include a former al-Qaeda fighter?
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