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.
Feb 23,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – OSAMA AL SHARIF It has been some time since US Secretary of State John Kerry talked about the two-state solution, illegal Israeli settlements and “tensions” — that should read daily Israeli provocations — at Al Aqsa Mosque compound. This week he met with His […]
Feb 23,2016 -JORDAN TIMES – Hasan Abu Nimah The government of Morocco has declined hosting the annual Arab summit due at the end of March in Rabat. The situation in the Arab world and the challenges facing the Arab nation were cited by a Moroccan foreign ministry official as causes of […]
By Khetam Malkawi – Feb 23,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Edward Kallon (Photo by Osama Aqarbeh) AMMAN — Jordan has been very helpful in facilitating delivery of humanitarian aid to the south of Syria, a UN official has said, as the conflict in the area across the northern border has intensified […]
Field Notes FEBRUARY 19, 2016 | STRATFOR.COM By Jasmin Mahmoud There are no perfect measures of the toll the Gaza blockade is taking on the 1.9 million residents locked inside, but those that give a glimpse tend to be pretty macabre. The number of suicide attempts handled by Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, […]
By SPIEGEL Staff DER SPIEGEL The New Germany: Within only 12 months, over 1 million people moved to Germany. How will they integrate? More than a million refugees are now living in Germany. The next task is to integrate them. SPIEGEL spoke with dozens of experts and people working in […]
Photo: Christophe G Published: 23 Feb 2016 More and more foreigners in Switzerland are seeking Swiss citizenship according to official figures, reversing a downward trend over the previous 10 years. Figures from the Swiss immigration office show that the number of naturalizations rose by around 20 percent in 2015, with […]
SCHOOL DRESSCODE FEB 22, 2016 – 20:54 Two young women studying in Zurich (Keystone) With an eye on Muslim hijab, Swiss People’s Party members in canton Valais have collected more than 4,000 signatures calling for a ban on headgear in public schools – despite a recent federal court decision rejecting […]
SAAD AL-DOSARI Published — Tuesday 23 February 2016 As the world governments and security agencies are stepping up their efforts to fight online terrorism, terrorist groups are actively changing and upgrading their tactics. Social media platforms have become their open playgrounds they use to recruit fighters, to communicate between cells, […]
By AFP – Feb 20,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Members of Iraqi security forces are deployed at the border between Iraq and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (Reuters photo) BAGHDAD — Iraqi tribesmen battled Daesh militants inside their Fallujah stronghold for a second day Saturday, a significant challenge to long-standing extremist control […]
By Omar Obeidat – Feb 22,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour speaks at a ceremony in Amman on Monday to announce the preliminary findings of the 2015 population census (Petra photo) AMMAN — Jordan’s population increased by nearly 87 per cent over a decade, with the number […]
Feb 22,2016 -JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made a surprise visit to Damascus last week for urgent talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem, in a bid to secure the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas besieged by the Syrian army. Damascus agreed, or […]
Villages that remained loyal to the Syrian regime have paid a steep price Robert Fisk Nubl, Northern Syria @indyvoices 55 comments This is the untold story of the three-and-a-half-year siege of two small Shia Muslim villages in northern Syria. Although their recapture by the Syrian army – and by Iranian Revolutionary Guards […]
RECIPES FROM ON HIGH By Jo Fahy OCT 26, 2014 – From the pope’s favourite sweet treats to the Swiss Guards’ pasta preferences, it’s all in the book (Katarzyna Artymiak ) When a young cook from Zurich chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the Swiss Guard, he […]
“Whoever wants to let refugees, men, women and children be shot at the border, they represent inhumane positions,” according to Germany’s Justice Minister Heiko Maas, who says there is a […]
A Comoran beach. Photo: David Stanley, via Flickr Published: 21 Feb 2016 In her house made of palm tree leaves and plywood rotting from the humidity on a tropical Comoros island, Aicha has hanging on the wall a map of her El Dorado, Mayotte. Pregnant, she’s ready to risk her […]
Can Syria be put back together again? Soon life after Isis will have to be contemplated here Robert Fisk @indyvoices It is about 18 months since Isis took control of Raqqa, imposing its strict rules on citizens. Now the group Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered is fighting back against its […]
READER RESPONSE Social media divided on religion in school By Stefania Summermatter and Gaby Ochsenbein POLITICS Education Religion FEB 18, 2016 – Potential for conflict: religion at school (Keystone) Do pupils have a right to pray in state schools? An article on this issue published by swissinfo.ch in ten languages […]
HEBRON, February 22, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli armed forces Monday delivered a demolition notice to three Palestinian families in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron. Coordinator of the national committee against the wall and settlement activities Rateb Jabour told WAFA Israeli soldiers notified Palestinians of notices to demolish three residential structures, […]
© Photo: Screenshot MIDDLE EAST 12:50 22.02.2016 These young boys are part of the twisted strategy of Daesh terrorists who have sent dozens of kid recruits to their death and boast about this on social networks, the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel wrote on Saturday citing a new study on the […]
© REUTERS/ SANA MIDDLE EAST 12:40 22.02.2016 More than 80 nations, particularly Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have provided financial, logistical and material assistance to terrorist groups, who are fighting in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad told Spain’s El Pais newspaper. The Syrian leader described foreign sponsorship as “active” and “unlimited.” Some […]