Licensed databases
The Specialised Information Service Middle East, North Africa and Islamic Studies provides access to licensed electronic products such as databases, e-books and e-journals throughout Germany.
Depending on demand and the licence agreement, these products are available to a subject-specific circle of users or to all German research institutions as a national licence
Overview
Video tutorial
Watch our video tutorial to find out more about FID licences and how you can benefit from them.
Licences
Current Trials
These products are provided for a limited period of time to be evaluated by the academic community. We need your feedback as a mandate, for or against the acquisition of a permanent licence.
The two test accesses AzerNews and Respublika Armeniia are from the 1 March 2026 until 30 April 2026 available.
Respublika Armeniia
A weekly information and analytical newspaper founded in 2001 by the President, the Government, the National Assembly and the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Armenia.
Time-limited Licences
Time-limited licences only allow access to a resource for a predetermined period of time. There are currently no time-limited licences available.
Licensed products
These products are made available on a permanent basis or as a subscription by the Specialised Information Service Middle East, North Africa and Islamic Studies.
E-book packages
Al Manhal MENA E-Book Collections
*Note: Due to technical problems at KEZANA, access may be interrupted at times
Miras Maktoob
The e-book collection of 248 volumes (189 works) offers editions of literary works and treatises on Iranian cultural history dating back to the 10th century.
Newspapers and magazines
Muslims of the Soviet East
Middle Eastern and North African Newspapers
Kavkaz
Afghan Serials Collection
Russian Islamic Studies
The "Universal Database of Russian Islamic Studies" offers access to current Russian newspapers and academic journals on Islam. The service is available free of charge throughout Germany and at German institutes abroad via the national licence system.
Afghan Central Press
Newspapers from Afghanistan The digital archives of 4 newspapers from Kabul are available to you as a national licence. Three of them were published in Persian/Pashto and one in English. The issues are mainly from the second half of the 20th century.
Slovo Kyrgyzstana Digital Archive
Today's newspaper "Slovo Kyrgyzstana" was founded on 23 March 1925 under the title "Batratskaja Pravda" (or "Batratskaia Pravda"), was published in Bishkek and functioned as the press organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan until 1991.
Al-Ahram
The archive includes all available issues of the important and influential newspaper from Egypt from 1875 - 2027 (except archive years 2021 and 2022).
Cumhuriyet
The archive includes all available issues of the oldest secular Turkish daily newspaper Cumhuriyet from 1924-1929 in Ottoman and from 1930-2027 in Turkish.
Source material, databases and tools
Social Movements, Elections, Ephemera
Election material from the countries of the former Soviet Union The collection "Social Movements, Elections, Ephemera" provides an extensive pool of primary source material on elections and political movements in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan, 1834-1922: From Silk Road to Soviet Rule
Sources from the British National Archives The collection contains documents from the British National Archives on the history of Persia, Central Asia and Afghanistan. These range from correspondence or minutes to intelligence reports, newspaper extracts and maps.
Confidential Print: Middle East, 1839-1969
LexiQamus
The History of Afghanistan Online
The most important history of Afghanistan ever written (originally in Persian): Siraǧ al-tawārīḫ or The History of Afghanistan. It was commissioned by the Afghan prince and later Amir Habib Allah Khan (r. 1901-1919) as an official national history
Encyclopedia of Turkic Languages and Linguistics
The Encyclopedia of Turkic Languages and Linguistics (published by Brill) is a comprehensive reference workwhich offers you articles by renowned experts in Turkology on a wide range of topics.
Completed test accesses
These offers were already available for testing, but have not (yet) been licenced. Please continue to send us your feedback.
E-Marefa
The database provider has opened up its entire range of services to users of our specialised information service for 2 months. e-Marefa includes subject areas such as Middle East studies, Maghreb studies, Islamic studies and Arabic language or the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Sezgin Online
Digital archive of the influential Turkish daily newspaper The archive includes all available issues from 1924 - 1929 in Ottoman and from 1930 - 2020 in Turkish.
Al Manhal EBA model
Digital archive of the influential Turkish daily newspaper The archive includes all available issues from 1924 - 1929 in Ottoman and from 1930 - 2020 in Turkish.
Muteferriqa
Muteferriqa is a research portal for printed Ottoman Turkish documents. Published by Miletos, Muteferriqa is intended to serve as a simplified entry point.
Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, and Marathi Jewish Printing in India Online
The Valmadonna collection of Hebrew and Jewish books from India, provided by Brill, is a unique and unrivalled source.
Al Manhal Journal Collections
Database of Arabic journals The Al Manhal Journal Collections offer journals on humanities and social science topics from the Arab and Islamic world.
Noorlib
Database of Iranian e-books In the Noorlib text and image database, the Computer Research Centre of Islamic Sciences (CRCIS) in Iran provides specialist literature on Islamic studies.
Noormags
Database of Iranian e-books In the Noorlib text and image database, the Computer Research Centre of Islamic Sciences (CRCIS) in Iran provides specialist literature on Islamic studies.
Dar Almandumah
Full-text database for Arabic academic publications Dar Almandumah is a database for journals, conferences and dissertations from all Arab countries. It offers access to almost one million articles in the fields of humanities, economics and education.
The Shangoda Collections from Dagestan
Manuscripts from the Middle East 150 manuscripts form the collection of Rafi' Shamghudi (1863-1932), a famous scholar and book lover from Shangoda in central Dagestan.
World Religion Database
Statistics on religions in all countries of the world Source materials from censuses, surveys, and optimal estimates provide a comprehensive picture of international religious demographics.
İdealonline
Test access to Turkish e-book collection We have arranged test access for our user group with the Turkish database provider İdealonline. Access to İdealonline for users of the University of Duisburg-Essen here.
Turcademy - Evaluation of a Turkish e-book collection
The Specialised Information Service for Middle Eastern, North African and Islamic Studies provides test access to the Turkish e-book database "Turcademy" in the category "Social and Humanities Sciences".
Service for licences
User group models for FID licences
The Specialised Information Service for Middle Eastern, North African and Islamic Studies acquires access rights to fee-based online services for various academic user groups.
Acquisition proposal
Is a book, journal or access to a database not yet available in Germany? Please make an acquisition suggestion.