Rafiq A. Tschannen is a Swiss national. He converted to Islam and joined the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at the age of 16 after reading the German translation of the Holy Qur'an. He worked in 15 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, first as Finance Director in the private industry and later as Chief Executive Officer of NGOs and International Governmental Organizations. He is now devoting his time to The Muslim Times as Editor for Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Switzerland and as Associate Chief Editor.
Oct 11,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – RAMZI BAROUD The Israeli official narrative regarding its conflict with the Palestinians is deliberately confounding because a muddled up discourse is convenient. It allows the narrator to pick and choose half-truths at will in order to create a falsified version of reality. For instance, […]
Oct 11,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – HASAN ABU NIMAH Analysts often refer to the 100-year-old Sykes-Picot agreement as the underlying cause of the problems the Arab world has been facing for decades. While they condemn the agreement that divided the Arab world and imposed artificial lines between the states that […]
LINDA HEARD | Published — Tuesday 11 October 2016 Linda Heard The upcoming US presidential election needs a redo. Both candidates are generally disliked and both are embroiled in various kinds of scandals. Neither is of the caliber to lead America, never mind the so-called free world. In a perfect […]
from Iraqi Red Crescent Society Published on 11 Oct 2016 —View Original The Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) / Karbala branch has mobilized all its humanitarian and material efforts for the visit of the Tenth of Muharram to provide the medical services and service to the visitors. Where the IRCS […]
Culture October 9, 2016 TEHRAN – “Color of Whisper”, an exhibition of posters and typography inspired by Ziyarat Ashura, a salutatory prayer to Imam Hussein (AS) and other martyrs of the battle of Ashura, is underway at the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran. The collection of fifteen huge posters created […]
Oct 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – EDITORIAL With Moscow deciding to increase its military involvement in Syria and establish a permanent military base in the country, tension between it and Washington can be expected to increase, hopefully not to crisis level. The world has plenty of those and could ill […]
By AP – Oct 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES In this March 28, 2015 file photo provided by Egypt’s state news agency MENA, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi (right) talks with Saudi King Salman after the king arrived in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (AP photo) CAIRO — Close allies […]
By AFP – Oct 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the opening ceremony of the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday (AFP photo) ISTANBUL — Russia and Turkey on Monday signed an agreement to […]
Reuters International OCT 11, 2016 – 13:16 Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan attend Democracy and Martyrs Rally, organized by him and supported by ruling AK Party (AKP), oppositions Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), to protest against last month’s failed military coup attempt, […]
Oct 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – MARK LEONARD People used to think that the most important decisions affecting Europe were made in Paris, Berlin or Brussels. But in recent months, as the European Union has confronted the refugee crisis, and the Syrian conflict that is fuelling it, Moscow and Ankara […]
The democratic Kurdish parties are dwarfed by this battle, which consumed the centre of Diyabarkir last winter and early spring, and then Cizre – and then Nusaybin Robert Fisk in Nusaybin @indyvoices The PKK enlists women and men as suicide bombers and rifle-carrying suicide guerrillas in its battle against the Turkish […]
Middle East & North Africa Air strike on funeral may galvanize anti-Saudi forces in Yemen 7:45pm BST – 01:32 Anti-Saudi forces in Yemen appear to be galvanizing after an apparent Saudi-led air strike on a funeral kills 140 Yemenis, while Reuters discovers that U.S. officials warned the Obama administration the […]
Special Report – In fight against Islamic State, Kurds expand their territory A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces gestures in Zumar, Iraq October 25, 2014. REUTERS/Ari Jalal/File Photo left right 1/12 By Isabel Coles and Stephen Kalin | ZUMAR, IRAQ From the terrace of the house Abu Suhail occupies, […]
Hundreds of houses are peppered with bullet holes in Diyarbakir, where the Kurdish PKK, or Workers’ Party, are fighting the Turkish government Robert Fisk in Diyarbakir @indyvoices All day and all night, the big white trucks roar along the muddy road inside the black, volcanic walls of Diyarbakir. They enter […]
Multiple Trajectories of Islam in Africa Islam had already spread into northern Africa by the mid-seventh century A.D., only a few decades after the Prophet Muhammad moved with his followers from Mecca to Medina on the neighboring Arabian Peninsula (622 A.D./1 A.H.). The Arab conquest of Spain and the push […]
SABRIA S. JAWHAR | Published — Monday 10 October 2016 Sabria S. Jawhar When western feminists and human rights activists attack Islam they often zero in on the most obvious target: The hijab. The hijab is also the object of derision among bigots who feel it’s their duty to attack […]
EYAD ABU SHAKRA | Published — Monday 10 October 2016 Although Syria’s tragedy is too painful to be associated with humor, the suffering that both Moscow and Washington are inflicting on the Syrian people reminds us of a kind of a ‘black comedy’ joke. It goes like this: A barber […]
SIRAJ WAHAB | Published — Monday 10 October 2016 Maria Dubovikova, president of the International Middle Eastern Studies Club A leading Russian political analyst specializing in Middle Eastern affairs has described the United Nations Security Council as a talk shop that has become a battleground where global powers indulge in […]
Aleppo’s fall would not be expected to end war in Syria By Reuters – Oct 09,2016 – JORDAN TIMES In this April 21, 2014, file photo, provided by the anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Centre, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows a Syrian […]
Momani says no changes to sealed border policy By Khetam Malkawi – Oct 09,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Border Guards help Syrians cross the border into Jordan in this May 4 photo (Photo by Hassan Tamimi) AMMAN — Based on recent developments and upon further discussions with international agencies, […]