Daniel Gerlach

Christoph Sydow
Obituary: Christoph Sydow

A keen-eyed observer of the Middle East who asked the right questions and found answers to many of them. A sportsman you could rely on. But above all, our dear friend and colleague. We mourn Christoph Sydow. 

Der Mann, der an Soleimanis Seite starb
Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis

In 2017, zenith’s editor-in-chief, Daniel Gerlach, met Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, “the Engineer” behind a prominent Iraqi paramilitary organisation, who was killed on 3 January by a US drone strike in Baghdad. Who was he and what drove him?

Gilles Kepel and the Middle East
Gilles Kepel and the Middle east

Gilles Kepel’s latest book on ‘getting out of the chaos’ in the Middle East can be read as an account of the interplay of authoritarian rule and Islamist mobilisation. Or as a critical appraisal of Kepel’s own intellectual journey.

Members of the Popular Mobilisation Forces marching in Iraq, November 2016.
Jihadism vs Muqawamism

The ideology of resistance is a distinct feature of powerful armed groups in the Middle East. It is time to introduce a new concept and, probably, a new term.