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.
By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man |Published January 29, 2016 The end of normalcy for Israeli settlements? Stricter trade guidelines, harsher rhetoric and corporate responsibility campaigns all send a clear message: Israel’s closest allies are no longer willing to passively accept the occupation, and the only consensus on settlements is that they […]
Reuters International FEB 1, 2016 – 16:54 HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland plans to test drones along its frontier with Russia, an official said on Monday, as a growing number of migrants crosses that northern border of the European Union’s Schengen passport-free travel zone. Major Jussi Napola of the Finnish border […]
Voices Talk of diversity is hypocritical when Tory policies have made life worse for ethnic minorities How can releasing diversity stats solve the issue of underrepresentation when austerity has left ethnic minorities 200 per cent worse off than their white counterparts? Amit Singh @asingh11189 David Cameron Getty Images Writing in […]
SECURITY By swissinfo.ch and agencies JAN 30, 2016 – 15:23 Swiss police outside the French consulate in Geneva on December 11, when four terrorist suspects were being hunted (Keystone) Switzerland has dropped an investigation of two men of Syrian origin arrested in Geneva last month over traces of explosives found […]
By Jeannie Wurz FEB 1, 2016 – 11:00 Providing ageing immigrants with information through roundtable discussions is the goal of the project “Together into the Future”. (Keystone) They came to Switzerland as foreign labourers or refugees, and likely never thought they would spend their old age in the country. A […]
Leading world storytellers to attend festival in Tehran Tehran Times Culture Desk TEHRAN – 11 foreign storytellers will be attending the 18th edition of the International Storytelling Festival opening in Tehran on February 16. The festival has been organized by the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults […]
ARAB NEWS Published — Monday 1 February 2016 Beyond any shadow of doubt, Daesh and its likes have nothing to do with Islam. All the actions of these terrorist organizations are in sharp contrast with the true teachings of Islam and Sunnah. It seems that Daesh is just a puppet […]
Jan 31,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – JOSCHKA FISCHER There is an alarming political shift to the right occurring on both sides of the Atlantic, linked to the growing force of openly chauvinist political parties and figures: Donald Trump in the United States, Marine Le Pen in France. Other names could […]
Jan 31,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – KLAUS SCHWAB Of the myriad challenges the world faces today, perhaps the most overwhelming is how to shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution that began at the turn of the century. New technologies and approaches are merging the physical, digital and biological worlds in ways […]
Jan 31,2016 – JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL According to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, His Majesty King Abdullah will be telling the February 4 refugee donors’ conference that “the Syrian crisis is no longer a refugee concern only, but a security burden, an issue of sleeper cells, illicit drug trafficking, terror and […]
Source: Independent Doesn’t Netanyahu realise how enraged Europeans are at his government’s treatment of the Palestinians? Robert Fisk @indyvoices 3 hours ago 10 comments I suspect that it was Ban’s […]
MALI HOSTAGE Twice-kidnapped Swiss woman splits opinion By swissinfo.ch and agencies JAN 31, 2016 – 14:21 Stöckli in 2012 after having been kidnapped for nine days (Keystone) Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter is clear: freeing the Basel missionary Beatrice Stöckli, who was kidnapped in Mali earlier this month, is a […]
MARIAM ANWER Published — Friday 29 January 2016 Death is always a bitter realization, a huge reminder and a recurring scary thought: ‘How long before I am the one lying lifeless being washed, shrouded and buried by others?’ Allah says in His Glorious Book: “Every soul will taste death, and […]
In this Jan. 13, 2016 photo, a Muslim boy watches pilgrims as they circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia during the minor pilgrimage, known as Umrah. (AP) ARAB NEWS Published — Sunday 31 January 2016 JEDDAH: The […]
Jan 30,2016 – JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon used strong words against Israel’s latest plan to build yet 153 more housing units in the West Bank during a recent UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East. The UN head criticised Israel’s settlement activities, calling them “provocative […]
By AFP – Jan 28,2016 – JORDAN TIMES United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefs the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East and Palestine on Tuesday at the UN in New York (AFP photo) UNITED NATIONS — Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday renewed his […]
By AFP – Jan 30,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Abu Mahmoud, a 52-year-old rebel fighter, speaks with a fellow fighter next to gas masks inside a tunnel, used as a base, in the rebel-controlled area of Arbeen, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, on Friday (AFP photo) […]
By Rula Samain – Jan 30,2016 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Religious leaders and environmentalists on Saturday stressed the importance of safeguarding nature and protecting the environment. At a one day event organised by the Catholic Centre for Studies and Media in cooperation with Konard Adenauer Stiftung, Christian and […]
Jan 30,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – MUSA KEILANI Geneva III negotiations were launched this week in the hope of putting an end to the civil war in Syria, which, after five years, killed more than quarter of a million citizens and forced 8 million to become refugees, according to the […]
By Mohammad Ghazal – Jan 30,2016 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Syrians constitute 46 per cent of non-Jordanians living in the Kingdom and 13.2 per cent of the overall population, preliminary results of the national census conducted in late November showed on Saturday. Of Jordan’s total population of 9.5 million, […]