Berlin is increasingly emerging as a hub of Arab intellectual life in Europe. In this first study of Arab culture to zoom in on the thriving metropolis, the contributors shed light on the dynamics of transformation with Arabs as agents, subjects, and objects of change in the spheres of politics, society and history, gender, demographics and migration, media and culture, and education and research. The kaleidoscopic character of the collection, embracing academic articles, essays, interviews and photos, reflects critical encounters in Berlin. It brings together authors from inter- and multidisciplinary fields and backgrounds and invites the readers into a much-needed conversation on contemporary transformations.

Hanan Badr is a professor and chair for public spheres and inequalities at the Department of Communication, Universität Salzburg, Austria, and AGYA alumna. Her work focuses on global inequalities and communication, comparing media systems, activism and media, diversifying communication research, and how globalization and digitization transform journalism. She won awards including the Kluge Fellowship at the Library of Congress and the DAAD Scholarship Award. Nahed Samour is post doc researcher at the Law & Society Institute at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. She works on public law in Germany, (the history of) international and Islamic law and investigates the role of religion, race, and gender in law.