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Bibliographie: Menon, Nivedita: Corona-Kapitalismus und das Hindu-Reich in Indien (Zur Diskussion), PERIPHERIE – Politik • Okonomie • Kultur, 3+4-2020, S. 473-491. https://doi.org/10.3224/peripherie.v40i3-4.15

Religion has become increasingly contentious in recent years. Faith-based discrimination, hostility and violence seem to have increased worldwide. But how can faith lead to conflict? In this article, we test the impact of two important dimensions of religion that have been neglected in previous research: the belief in ‘one true religion’ and perceptions of threats by other religious groups. Putting these two potential drivers to the test, we conducted a representative survey experiment with 972 respondents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Results show that one of the tested dimensions, perceptions of threats by others, increases the support to use violence to defend one’s own group. This is particularly the case for religiously intolerant respondents with characteristics such as pre-existing threat perceptions, unfavorable views on intermarriage, or belief in the superiority of their own faith. In contrast, we find relatively weak evidence that the prime of ‘one true religion’ increases the readiness to use violence. Our findings have important implications for policy: We conclude that appeals by leaders to threats by others and intolerance toward other faiths can contribute to more conflict. Political and religious leaders should refrain from capitalizing on such notions and should promote tolerance towards other faiths instead.

Nachdem Frankreich und Verbündete das Ende des Antiterroreinsatzes Opération Barkhane in Mali verkündet haben, mehren sich in Deutschland Stimmen, die ebenfalls einen Rückzug befürworten. Die Diskussion ist dabei oft auf Mali bzw. den Sahel verengt. Nach dem russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine sollte das sicherheitspolitische Engagement jedoch im Kontext zweier afrikanischer bzw. globaler Trends betrachtet werden: Erstens: Seit einigen Jahren hat eine dschihadistische Welle das subsaharische Afrika erfasst. Diese hat sich auf inzwischen fast ein Drittel aller Länder der Region ausgeweitet und droht auf weitere Staaten überzugreifen. Der Dschihadismus kann an strukturelle Schwächen und langfristige Trends andocken und hat weitreichende Folgen für Stabilität, Demokratie und Entwicklung in der Region. Zweitens: Die dschihadistische Welle ist auch Folge des Einflusses aus der MENA-Region (Middle East and North Africa). Generell gewinnen immer mehr nicht-westliche Akteure in Afrika an Einfluss. Dies sind vor allem autoritäre Staaten wie China, Russland, die Golfstaaten und die Türkei. Der Einfluss des Westens schwindet, wie sich zuletzt am Abstimmungsverhalten in der UN-Generalversammlung zum russischen Angriff auf die Ukraine zeigte. Die geostrategischen Rivalitäten können besonderen Schaden für Stabilität, Demokratie und Entwicklung in der Region entfalten. Auch wenn es für einen Abzug des ausländischen Militärs aus Mali gute Gründe gibt, wäre ein sicherheitspolitischer Rückzug aus der Region angesichts beider Trends kontraproduktiv. Für Mali und seine Nachbarstaaten bedeutete ein Rückzug wahrscheinlich eine Ausbreitung des Dschihadismus. Dazu käme ein weiterer Bedeutungszuwachs aggressiver und autoritärer Staaten wie China und Russland. Die Entscheidung über eine weitere militärische Präsenz in Mali betrifft das afrikapolitische Engagement des Westens insgesamt. Eine Neujustierung sollte Zielkonflikte zwischen Werten und harten Interessen berücksichtigen und Mittel überprüfen. Erstrebenswert ist ein verstärkter transatlantischer Schulterschluss, der auch einer sicherheitspolitischen Komponente bedarf. Die Herausforderung besteht darin, eine wertegeleitete Afrikapolitik zu betreiben, die eigene Interessen wahrnimmt und afrikanische Interessen berücksichtigt.

This article describes the complexity of applying human security through the notion of gender equality in southern Thailand where violent conflict has been prevalent for nearly half a century in a Malay-Muslim-dominated society. It explores how the concepts of gender and security have been interpreted in Malay-Muslim leaders’ outlooks. To define security more broadly, the article surveys the various notions of peacebuilding dealing with comprehensive human security and any security threat, thus not limited to state of war or physical violence only. In the prolonged armed violence and conflict, like that faced in Thailand’s Deep South, women’s security and their role in peacebuilding emerge as pertinent concerns. The discontinuities within the narratives of women and security highlight a divergence connected to personal-political imaginations of conflict whereby subtle variations in violent conflict can be seen as the products of different policy prescriptions, local cultural norms, and the project outcomes of women groups supported by governmental organizations and national and international donors. Thus, in order to reflect upon how contemporary security notions are framed, gendered security per- ceptions ought to be considered as they signify the exercise of peacebuilding programs in the local context. Persistent advocacy of gender equality is about cultural change, which eventually becomes a modality for non-violent society., Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, Vol 12 No 2 (2019): Violence in Southeast Asia

Islamophobia's occurrence in any particular country has little do with the presence of Muslim; it is possible to be Islamophobic when there are virtually no Muslim around. This because the lack of Muslims is filled by the surplus of Islamophobic representations. This surplus of representations is now increasingly reliant on the internet. There are many studies reporting on Islamophobia on the internet, classifying the negative representations, the targeted acts of aggressive online behaviour (trolling) against Muslims. These studies are basically taxonomies, and they share this feature with general literature on Islamophobia, which is concerned with reporting instances of Islamophobia empirically with little time spent on its theorisation. Such an understanding of Islamophobia implies that it is simply dismissed as being a matter of prejudice, bias, and closed views. A Critical Muslim Studies understanding of Islamophobia developed initially in the collected volume Thinking Through Islamophobia (2010), and then subsequent publications shift the focus away positivism to decolonial discourse theory. Using decolonial discourse theory, this study will how online Islamophobia is not just a distortion of Islam, or hatred of Muslims but rather it main vectors for denying Muslim political consciousness.

Contrary to the expectations of secularization theory, religion remains socially important and affects politics in multiple ways - especially regarding conflict between religious communities. Theoretically, religion can increase altruism, but belief in the superiority of one's faith may facilitate intergroup discrimination and related conflict. Previous findings remain inconclusive, however, as specific religious ideas have hardly been tested. In this article, we argue that the content of religious ideas has causal effects on intergroup discrimination. We hence test the impact of two opposing, prominent religious ideas on altruism and discrimination: universal love and the notion of one true religion. Conducting dictator games with Christians and Muslims in Ghana and Tanzania, we find causal effects: Whereas the idea of one true religion increases intergroup discrimination, that of universal love fosters equal treatment. The policy implications hereof are obvious - promoting tolerant religious ideas seems crucial to avoiding conflict.

Since Ted Gurr’s Why Men Rebel it has become conventional wisdom that (relative) deprivation creates grievances and that these grievances in turn lead to intergroup violence. Recently, studies have yielded evidence that the exclusion of ethnic groups is a substantial conflict risk. From a theoretical angle, the relationship is straightforward and is likely to unfold as a causal chain that runs from objective discrimination to (subjective) grievances and then to violence. We test this proposition with unique group-format data on 433 religious minorities in the developing world from 1990 to 2008. While religious discrimination indeed increases the likelihood of grievances, neither grievances nor discrimination are connected to violence. This finding is supported by a large number of robustness checks. Conceptually, discrimination and grievances can take very different shapes and opportunity plays a much bigger role than any grievance-based approach expects.

The G20 Africa Partnership Conference and the AU–EU Summit, as well as the headlines related to African migrants in North Africa, put the African continent into the spotlight last year. Popular protests challenged various autocratic rulers, and the former liberation movements of Southern Africa faced their own struggles. These ambiguities in the continent's political, economic, and social development will remain apparent in events that we deem critical for the region in 2018. The reform of the African Union (AU) will be piecemeal rather than profound. Many AU member states will resist AU chairman Paul Kagame's push for policy implementation and the strengthening of the AU Commission. The year 2018 is unlikely to be a good one for democracy in Africa. The scheduled elections are unlikely to provide more democratic space. They will take place in fragile contexts, including Mali and South Sudan, or in hybrid and authoritarian settings. Authoritarian tendencies will continue to be evident in further attempts to abolish presidential term limits in several countries. South Africa and Nigeria will be preparing for national elections in 2019. In Nigeria, the run-up to the elections might incite violent conflict and create political stasis, while South Africa's new president, Cyril Ramaphosa, needs to fight corruption and revive the economy. The Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will remain conflict hotspots. Radical Islamist groups remain particularly active in Mali, Somalia, and Nigeria. The weakening of these groups may increase their recourse to terrorist tactics. The future relationship between Europe and Africa will be shaped by the post-Cotonou agreement. A bumpy start to formal negotiations is likely to lie ahead because of the Europeans' emphasis on the political sphere and the lack of an "African position." Key matters for many African governments are trade relationships, recent initiatives such as the Compact with Africa, and migration policies. Our selective account of "ten things to watch in Africa" is on balance sceptical about the continent's political prospects in 2018. This is despite ongoing socio-economic progress in many parts of Africa. Not all the dim prospects have to materialise if action is taken by African rulers and populations, as well as by Africa's partners - particularly the EU. Among the more daring options for European policymakers would be a renegotiation of the European-African trade deals and legal migration pathways under a post-Cotonou agreement.

This paper takes a close look at the graphic novel The Vanished Path (2015) by comics artist and filmmaker Bharath Murthy. Sub-titled as “a graphic travelogue”, The Vanished Path relates Murthy and his wife’s pilgrimage, as new entrants to the Buddhist faith, through Hindu-dominated northern India and Nepal, where the religion was born but later lost popularity. Murthy himself acknowledges the influence of manga author Osamu Tezuka’s epic series Buddha (1972–1983), set in the era of early Buddhism. However, The Vanished Path departs from Buddha in engaging with religious politics in contemporary India, which has witnessed the recent rise of Hindu militant nationalism. My analysis shows that while the visual text of The Vanished Path presents an overt plea for rehabilitating early Buddhist thought in modern India, the visual text concurrently encodes a covert defence of the longstanding tradition of secular values in the region. This tradition encompasses the acceptance of religious minorities. The paper also addresses creative engagements in comics and graphic novels between two different Asian cultures, as opposed to the critically familiar historical and geopolitical nexus between Western countries and India., U radu se analizira grafički roman The Vanished Path [Iščezli put], nedavno objavljen u izdanju indijske podružnice svjetskoga izdavača HarperCollinsa (2015), crtača stripova i filmaša Bharatha Murthyja. Podnaslovljen „grafički putopis“, The Vanished Path govori o hodočašću Murthyja i njegove supruge, novoobraćenika na budizam, kroz rodno mjesto te religije – sjevernu Indiju i Nepal, gdje dominira hinduistička vjeroispovijest i gdje je budizam s vremenom izgubio na popularnosti. Sam Murthy kao važan utjecaj navodi epsku seriju autora mangi Osamua Tezuke Buddha (1972. – 1983.), smještenu u razdoblje ranoga budizma. Međutim, The Vanished Path od Buddhe razlikuje interes za vjersku politiku suvremene Indije, definiranu nedavnim usponom hinduističkoga militantnoga nacionalizma. Provedena analiza pokazuje da vizualni tekst grafičkoga romana The Vanished Path predstavlja otvoreni poziv na rehabilitaciju rane budističke misli u suvremenoj Indiji, a istodobno neizravno staje u obranu dugovječne tradicije sekularnih vrijednosti na tome području. Ta tradicija uključuje prihvaćanje religijskih manjina. Rad se također osvrće na kreativnu interakciju u stripu i grafičkome romanu između dviju azijskih kultura nasuprot u kritici uvriježenome povijesnome i geopolitičkome povezivanju zapadnih zemalja i Indije., Den Untersuchungsgegenstand dieses Beitrags bildet der graphische Roman The Vanished Path (2015) des Comiczeichners und Filmregisseurs Bharath Murthy. In dem mit dem Nebentitel „Ein graphischer Reisebericht“ versehener Roman wird die Reise von Murphy und seiner Ehefrau als buddhistische Neubekehrte durch das Gebiet Nordindiens und Nepals beschrieben, das als Geburtsstätte des Buddhismus gilt, wo allerdings diese Religion an Popularität eingebüßt hat und wo sich der Hinduismus breit machte. Murthy selbst erklärt, unter großem Einfluss des vom Manga-Autoren Osamu Tezuka verfassten epischen Werkes Buddha (1972–1983) zu stehen, dessen Handlung in der Zeit des frühen Buddhismus spielt. Dennoch liegt der Unterschied zwischen Tezukas und seinem Werk in Murthys Interesse an der durch den jüngsten Aufstieg des hinduistischen militanten Nationalismus bestimmten Religionspolitik des modernen Indiens. Aus der im Beitrag vorgenommen Werkanalyse geht hervor, dass der visuelle Text des graphischen Romans The Vanished Path zwar zur Rehabilitierung des frühen buddhistischen Gedankenguts offen aufruft, zugleich aber die langfristig praktizierte säkulare Tradition in diesem Bereich verteidigt, wonach das Vorhandensein von religiösen Minderheiten akzeptiert wird. Im Beitrag wird gleichfalls auf die kreative Interaktion im Bereich des Comics und des graphischen Romans zwischen diesen zwei asiatischen Kulturen eingegangen, und zwar trotz der in der Kritik sehr oft vorkommenden geschichtlichen und geopolitischen Verknüpfung Indiens mit den westlichen Ländern.

Camps can only be a strictly short-term solution. In the mid-term, cash-for-rent schemes under the roof of an international organization such as the United Nations are necessary. Add rent subsidies from the beginning and combine vocational training, higher education and cash-for-work schemes in parallel to create inclusive economic incentives in the long run. Connect profound conflict and market analyses to (re-)build sustainable livelihood activities and markets. Rather than returning to an inefficient economic system, small- and medium-sized enterprises ought to be promoted. Foster local integration and reintegration policies of regional governments by creating the necessary additional infrastructure (housing/education/health) in destination communities as a compensation for the solidarity of hosting populations rather than increasing social tensions by targeting specific groups - such as vulnerable persons. Reward minority/human rights guarantees, (re-) integration projects and good government practice by making them a prerequisite for assistance. Frame all activities with inter-community trustbuilding activities intended to foster reconciliation. Infrastructure projects should create spaces that connect hosts and displaced persons while respecting traditional structures of ethno-religious co-existence amongst different communities. Traumata are prevalent and have to be addressed in all projects by providing respective psychosocial support.

Kuwait has expelled fifteen Iranian diplomats and submitted a formal letter of protest to the Lebanese government as the fallout from the ‘Abdali affair’ reverberates around the state. Fourteen members of the suspected terror cell, charged with stockpiling large quantities of weaponry in Kuwait and receiving training from Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), disappeared in mid-July. The supreme court in Kuwait had overturned an earlier acquittal and sentenced them to between five and fifteen years’ imprisonment. The diplomatic rift marks a turnaround from Emir Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah’s early 2017 outreach to Iranian President Rouhani, when the Emir sought to identify the parameters of a possible strategic dialogue that could dial down tensions in the Gulf. In addition to impacting the bilateral relationship between Kuwait and Iran, the affair underscores Kuwait’s vulnerability to external fissures that connect domestic Kuwaiti politics with broader regional upheaval.

In June 2017, the European Union announced its support for Sahelian governments in fighting religious extremists. This move is a reaction to severe religious violence in many sub-Saharan countries. As of mid-2017, eight out of ten armed conflicts in the region are displaying a religious dimension. Either warring factions differ by religious identity, or they have incompatible ideas regarding the role of religion in the state. Ideas-based "theological" conflicts have strongly increased recently. Geographical hotspots of theological armed conflicts are the Sahel, Nigeria, and Somalia. All these conflicts either have already spilled over to neighbouring countries or are likely to do so. The consequences have been extreme: the violence has claimed thousands of lives and produced millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, and it continues to undermine the political, economic, and social development of the affected countries. Although Islamist insurgencies predominate in ideas-based religious conflicts, Christian rebel groups in Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda have also been active since the turn of the millennium. Countries with mixed religious populations are prone to interreligious conflicts, which has materialised in cases such as the Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire. The causes of these conflicts are not yet fully understood, though they appear to demonstrate a mixture of religious and secular roots. Parallel ethnic- and religious-identity boundaries increase the risks of interreligious confrontation. Weak states both enable the activities of religious extremists and make their ideology a tempting alternative for the population. External support for religious extremism from countries in North Africa and the Middle East poses a special problem. There are no easy solutions. Efforts to counter religious conflicts must focus on religious and non-religious causes as well as security and development. Development prevents religious violence in the long run; security operations can help hinder or deal with imminent threats. International actors should support African governments, but sustainable policies will be in vain if they do not build on African efforts and capacity.

By the 1930s, the Iranian society was driven toward modernization. Consisted with the concept of modernization, feminism ushered a whole new era in Iranian history. Besides, the outbreak of World War II and the consequent abdication of Reza Khan afforded women a golden opportunity to fight for their rights and emancipations. This movement was also supported by the famous male writers of the time among whom Jalal Al-e-Ahmad marked a prominent place. He was keen enough to properly explore women's situation in his works and notice the drastic effect of modernization upon women's situation. Hence, in this study, we try to investigate Al-e-Ahmad's short story entitled “Pink Nail Polish” 1948 with respect to Bakhtin's Carnivalesque's theory. Furthermore, it is shown how Bakhtin's new literary mode can create the excellent chance of studying Iranian women's situation properly. Finally, we explain that due to the drastic change of Iranian women's situation towards modernity, they may lead a double life if their rights are not respected. This can lead to a disproportionate relationship between the husband and the wife as the marital infidelity becomes rampant.

A U.S. missile strike against the Assad regime in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack may have lessened a fear of Russia among countries that nominally back the Syrian opposition. Renewed U.S. diplomatic engagement in Syria could relieve pressure on the opposition to accept a settlement at the Geneva talks, which would be little more than a facelift of the Alawite-dominated regime. The international environment has lacked the balance to redress the disenfranchisement of Syria's majority Sunni population - a root cause of the war. European states hope to employ their reconstruction funding capacity. But stabilization remains far-fetched without a political transition and an inclusive system that can end the Assad clan's monopoly on power. (Autorenreferat)

Since 2014, the Shiite Badr Organization, led by its Secretary General Hadi al-Amiri, has become one of the main actors in Iraqi politics. This development was largely possible due to the successes of its paramilitary units in the fight against the Islamic State (IS). The Badr Organization, which relies strongly on support from Tehran, has thus become the most important instrument of Iranian politics in its neighbouring country. Tehran’s aim is to exert as much influence as possible on the central government in Baghdad and, at the same time, build a strong militia that depends on it. Since Badr established control over the province of Diyala and the Interior Ministry of Baghdad, the organization has grown appreciably and is now playing a role similar to that of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Badr is also part of a growing “Shiite International” which supports the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and aggravates religious conflicts between Sunnites and Shiites through its violent acts. The combination of these factors makes the organization an increasingly important obstacle to the future stabilization of Iraq. (author's abstract)

Seit 2014 ist die schiitische Badr-Organisation unter der Führung ihres Generalsekretärs Hadi al-Amiri zu einem der wichtigsten Akteure der irakischen Politik aufgestiegen. Dafür waren vor allem die Erfolge ihrer paramilitärischen Einheiten im Kampf gegen die Terrororganisation IS verantwortlich. Die stark von Teheran abhängige Badr-Organisation ist so zum wichtigsten Instrument iranischer Politik im Nachbarland geworden. Ziel dieser Politik ist es, möglichst großen Einfluss auf die Zentralregierung in Bagdad auszuüben und gleichzeitig möglichst starke, von Iran abhängige schiitische Milizen aufzubauen. Seit Badr die Provinz Diyala und das Bagdader Innenministerium kontrolliert, scheint die Organisation zusehends in eine Rolle hineinzuwachsen, wie sie die Hizbullah im Libanon (für Iran) spielt. Damit wird die Badr-Organisation zu einem immer größeren Hindernis auf dem Weg zu einer künftigen Stabilisierung des Irak. Außerdem tritt Badr als Teil einer wachsenden Internationale schiitischer Milizen auf, die in Syrien das Regime von Bashar al-Assad unterstützen und durch ihre Gewalttaten religiös-konfessionelle Konflikte schüren. (Autorenreferat)

Zentrales Thema dieser Studie ist die Frage, wie die islamische Staatenwelt mit dem Pluralismus in ihrer eigenen Religion umgeht. Die meisten Länder haben erst mit ihrer staatlichen Unabhängigkeit in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhundert das religiöse Recht der weltlichen Gesetzgebung unterstellt. Dadurch wurden aus Untertanen unterschiedlicher Konfessionen und islamischer Glaubensrichtungen gleichberechtigte Staatsbürger. Die Verstaatlichung der islamischen Institutionen legitimiert die Regierungen allerdings zur Kontrolle über religiöse Doktrinen. So entstanden neben den klassischen Rechtsschulen nationale Varianten islamischer Glaubenslehren. Während Angehörige anderer Religionen teils Minderheitenrechte besitzen, wird die Vielfalt islamischer Lehrmeinungen von den Staaten selbst kaum anerkannt. Dieses Defizit nutzen islamistische Akteure wie Muslimbrüder oder Ennahdah, um sich als Opfer staatlicher Religionsbehörden darzustellen. Dabei zeigen sie selbst noch weniger Toleranz gegenüber dem religiösen Pluarlismus. Denn sie lehnen regionale und nationale Traditionen des Islam ab und wollen das religiöse Recht (Scharia) auf seine Ursprünge zurückführen (Salafismus, Wahhabismus). Die Anfänge islamischen Rechts lassen sich nur vage rekonstruieren, weshalb salafistische oder wahhabitische Doktrinen ebenfalls auf Interpretationen angewiesen sind. Der verstärkte Kampf um die Deutungshoheit im Islam kann nur gelöst werden, indem die Staaten den verschiedenen Glaubensrichtungen mit Toleranz begegnen und diese im Rahmen ihrer nationalen Gesetzgebung anerkennen. Den normativen Rahmen hierfür bilden die UN-Menschenrechtsdokumente wie die Anti-Rassismus-Konvention (1969), mit deren Unterzeichnung sich viele islamische Länder auch der Religionsfreiheit verschrieben haben. (Autorenreferat)

Auffanglager dürfen nur eine Übergangslösung darstellen. Mittelfristig ist ein rascher Übergang zu "Cash for Rent"-Modellen unter dem Dach einer internationalen Organisation, wie zum Beispiel den Vereinten Nationen, nötig. Um langfristig integrative wirtschaftliche Anreize zu schaffen, sollten Mietzuschüsse von Anfang an gewährt und mit beruflicher Bildung, Hochschulbildung und "Cash for Work"-Modellen kombiniert werden. Die Bewertung der regionalen oder lokalen Daseinsvorsorge muss mit profunden Konflikt- und Marktanalysen verknüpft werden. Darauf basierend sollten Erwerbsgrundlagen und Märkte (neu) aufgebaut werden. Statt zu einem ineffizientem Wirtschaftssystem zurückzukehren, gilt es kleine und mittlere Unternehmen besonders zu fördern. Maßnahmen der Regionalregierungen zu Förderung von lokaler Integration und Reintegration sollten gefördert werden. Dafür muss in den Aufnahmegemeinschaften die erforderliche zusätzliche Infrastruktur (Wohnungsbau / Bildung / Gesundheit) geschaffen werden. Dadurch würde die Solidarität mit den Geflüchteten honoriert werden, anstatt soziale Spannungen durch Beschränkung von Hilfe auf besonders schutzbedürftige Gruppen zu erhöhen. Minderheiten- und Menschenrechtsgarantien, (Wieder-)Eingliederungsprojekte und gute Regierungsführung sollten zur Voraussetzung für Hilfeleistungen gemacht werden. Um die Aussöhnung voranzutreiben, sollten alle Aktivitäten mit vertrauensbildenden Maßnahmen verknüpft werden. Im Rahmen von Infrastrukturprojekten sollten Räume der Begegnung zwischen Aufnahmegemeinschaften und Vertriebenen ausgebaut werden. Dabei sind allerdings traditionelle Strukturen ethnisch- religiöser Koexistenz zu berücksichtigen. Traumata sind weit verbreitet und müssen bei allen Projekten in entsprechenden psychosozialen Maßnahmen Berücksichtigung finden.

Nach Deutschland geflüchtete Menschen sind bisweilen in ihren Unterkünften mit verschiedenen Formen von Gewalt konfrontiert – etwa Gewalt gegen Frauen, Kinder, Schwule, Lesben und transgeschlechtliche Menschen, aber auch religionsbezogene Gewalt. Vielfach fehlt es an etablierten Verfahren und Handlungssicherheit bei den Einrichtungen und Behörden, um den Schutz Betroffener vor Gewalt zu gewährleisten. Daher sollten Standards und Verfahren für Gewaltschutz in den Einrichtungen etabliert, existierende Gewaltschutzkonzepte auf die von religionsbezogener Gewalt Betroffenen erweitert und für alle Einrichtungen verpflichtend gemacht werden.

Racism is a worldwide matter that is based on the physical characteristics of people's division into different categories on which some people become superior and some inferior. Racism and ethnicity are usually considered as the same concepts while in fact ethnicity is a sub-class of racism. In every nation, there are some ethnic groups with the same origin and similar customs that may or may not be judged equally by the power-handler ethnic groups. An example of such country is Afghanistan which is severely an ethnic country. This study explores the social, cultural, and scientific investigations done on the people's races and ethnical characteristics by using Afghan types as examples. Racism is not the result of scientific observation, but it is due to the human differences that happened between 16th and 19th century when people began differentiating among themselves. This aspect of racism is well expressed by the American sociologist "Feagin". In his view, the natural superiority of some people over others is rejected. The novel The Kite Runner depicts the two major Afghan ethnical populations, Pashtun and Hazara, and their social, cultural, and religious conflicts. Accordingly, this article will try to examine the root of ethnic prejudices and oppression among the Afghan people in the novel and the reasons for their ethnic conducts are explained and analyzed based on the Feagin's denial of human difference. Moreover, by providing some evidence it is proved that the biological difference is just some excuses for the powerful section to gain their egotistic goals.

A new citizenship amendment bill introduced in the Indian parliament in July 2016 proposes easing the path to citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians fleeing persecution in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In omitting Muslims from this provision, however, the bill has rekindled religious and ethnic tensions in India and South Asia.

Im Jahr 2011 weckte der Arabische Frühling große Hoffnungen auf eine Demokratisierung des Nahen Ostens, die jedoch bisher enttäuscht wurden. In vielen Ländern, in denen es Proteste und Aufstände gegeben hatte, ist sowohl die politische als auch die sozioökonomische und Sicherheitslage heute schlechter als vor Ausbruch der Proteste. Die restaurierten autokratischen Regime präsentieren sich wie bereits vor 2011 als Garanten einer vermeintlichen Stabilität. Moderate Islamisten, die im Arabischen Frühling angetreten waren, ihre Gesellschaften zu reformieren, sind zwischen die Mühlsteine aus Konfessionalismus, polarisierenden Machtkämpfen und dschihadistischer Apokalyptik geraten. Identitätskonflikte zwischen Sunniten und Schiiten prägen die meisten aktuellen Konflikte im ostarabischen Raum, seien es die (Bürger-)Kriege in Syrien, Irak und Jemen oder die innenpolitischen Rivalitäten im Libanon und in Bahrein. Die Konkurrenz um regionale Führung zwischen sunnitischem Saudi-Arabien und schiitischem Iran, Rivalitäten innerhalb des sunnitischen Lagers zwischen Saudi-Arabien, Katar, der Türkei und Ägypten, zwischen Muslimbruderschaft, Salafisten und Dschihadisten, Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Säkularen und Islamisten und der Militärputsch gegen die Muslimbruderschaft in Ägypten haben zu scheinbar unüberwindlichen Gegensätzen geführt. Der rasante Aufstieg des "Islamischen Staats" und die Attraktion, die seine Vision eines universalen Kalifats ausübte, belegen ein grundlegendes Dilemma: Es mangelt vor allem jungen Menschen an einer verlässlichen sozioökonomischen und politischen Perspektive, was sie anfällig für irrationale Heilsversprechen macht. Fazit: Das politische Schicksal des Nahen Ostens hängt von der Bewältigung dreier fundamentaler Herausforderungen ab: Die ethnisch-religiösen Identitätskonflikte müssen entschärft werden. Regierungen müssen partizipative Formeln der Machtteilung finden, um die politische Polarisierung zu überwinden. Die Gesellschaften der Region benötigen realistische Entwicklungsperspektiven im Diesseits, um der apokalyptischen Vision des "Islamischen Staats" Paroli bieten zu können. Internationale Akteure sollten moderate Islamisten mit ins Boot holen, weil sie als authentische Akteure einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Bewältigung dieser Krisen leisten können.