Before the Sudanese army and paramilitary fighters turned their guns on each other last year, Ahmed used to sell one of Sudan's main exports: gum arabic, a vital ingredient for global industry. Now he's out of business, and his story encapsulates the broader economic collapse of Sudan during 10 months of war. Since combat between two rival generals began on April 15, Ahmed has been at the fighters' mercy.
The Syrian intellectual Sadiq al-Azm proposed Self-Criticism after the Defeat to the Arabs in 1968, and in the following year a Critique of Religious Thought. He sees a third way for the Muslim faith between radicalism and state Islam
Tolerance doesn't augment our knowledge of another's values, says Hans Joas, dean of the Max Weber Centre for Cultural and Social Sciences, Germany. Volker Maria Neuman spoke to Joas about the logic of the communication of values, the Middle East conflict, and the Clash of Civilizations