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.
Aug 10,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Rami G. Khouri The Israeli government move to close Al Jazeera television network’s operations in the country is not surprising in itself, given that the government’s irritation with Al Jazeera for the past two decades of comprehensive, live coverage of events in Israel and the […]
REUTERS LONDON A taxi travels along Oxford Street during a bus strike in London January 13, 2015 (Reuters File Photo) Modern slavery and human trafficking are more prevalent across Britain than previously thought as more international gangs realize they can make significant sums from it, the National Crime Agency (NCA) […]
MELIH ALTINOK@melihaltinok A man watches a television news program showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump at a railway station in Seoul, Aug. 9, 2017. A possible nuclear war following the tension between Washington and Pyongyang is a dangerous threat for every country Having had […]
The Muatis are one of hundreds of thousands of refugee families who have come to Germany from Syria since the war broke out. They desperately want to fit in and contribute to society, but even as the children relish their newfound freedoms, the parents worry about their future. By Claas Relotius […]
In recent months, relations between Germany and Turkey have reached a new low. After a series of escalating spats, tourism and investment in the country have collapsed. Will it finally drive Turkish President Erdogan to change course? By Katrin Elger, Maximilian Popp, Christian Reiermann and Michael Sauga Photos DPA August […]
Reuters International THIS CONTENT WAS PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 9, 2017 An Iraqi boy sells water in front of destroyed houses on a street in Western Mosul, Iraq August 7, 2017. Picture taken through a glass window. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (reuters_tickers) By Raya Jalabi MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – Abu Ghazi stood […]
Reuters International THIS CONTENT WAS PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 8, 2017 FILE PHOTO: Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab Province and brother of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, gestures after appearing before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in Islamabad, Pakistan June 17, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood/File Photo (reuters_tickers) By Mubasher Bukhari […]
There are still honourable Israelis who demand a state for the Palestinians; there are well-educated Saudis who object to the crazed Wahabism upon which their kingdom is founded; there are millions of Americans, from sea to shining sea, who do not believe that Iran is their enemy nor Saudi Arabia […]
THIS CONTENT WAS PUBLISHED ON AUGUST 9, 2017 In the documentary The Poetess, Hissa Hilal always wears a niqab.(pardo.ch) The screening of a documentary film in Locarno about a Saudi poetess criticising patriarchal Arab society became embroiled in polemics when the woman featured in the film, The Poetess, covered […]
SEBASTIAN SYME 02 AUGUST 2017 WWW.GRAPHIC.COM.GH His Holiness Ahmad presenting an award to one of the female Ahmadi students The worldwide leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, has delivered a message of peace and empowerment to women of the Islamic faith, at the […]
KOTA KINABALU, Aug 8 — The Sabah state fatwa council has today banned 16 “deviant teachings”, which not only included hardliners Hizbut Tahrir and the minority Shiites and Ahmadis, but also “liberalism” and “pluralism”. Assistant minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Ariffin Arif said the 16 teachings were […]
Aug 08,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Hasan Abu Nimah The visit of His Majesty King Abdullah to Ramallah, the temporary seat of the Palestinian Authority, two days ago, is by no means an ordinary step. Coming at this critical moment, the visit sends a very important message of support to all […]
By ILO News – Aug 09,2017 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — The General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU) has begun issuing the Arab region’s first non-employer and non-position-specific work permits for Syrian refugees since the Syrian crisis erupted in 2011. The temporary permits are issued for a minimal […]
By AFP – Aug 08,2017 – Antoun Tawil, one of Syria’s last traditional lute makers, tunes an oud, an instrument his country was once renowned for producing, at his workshop in Tekkiyeh Sulamaniyeh, in the capital Damascus, on July 9 (AFP photo) DAMASCUS — Antoun Tawil, one of Syria’s […]
One Syrian told me, ‘These Kurdish groups are liars. We gave them weapons to fight the terrorists – now we no longer give them weapons to protect themselves. We did not give them weapons so that they could make states. Now they are fully supplied by the Americans’ Robert Fisk […]
Aug 08,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – There is something immoral in WaRamzy Baroudshington DC, and its consequences can be dire for many people, particularly for the health of US democracy. The US government is declaring war on the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The fight to defeat BDS […]
Even in this early stage of the Second World War, ethnic minority British citizens did show enormous courage – one of the bravest ARP men during the Blitz was black, although we have yet to see a film about him Robert Fisk @indyvoices In my mother’s family scrapbook, there is […]
As David Cameron found when he was considering intervention in Libya, those who have experienced, or at least know about war, are generally warier about the prospect than those who have not, and more conservative in their assessment of what can be achieved Mary Dejevsky @IndyVoices 4 days ago 32 […]
YAHYA BOSTAN@yahyabostan The outrageous phone call between the U.S. Embassy officers and Gülenist putschists in January 2014 needs to be investigated in detail by U.S. authorities Articles It was just a few days after last summer’s coup attempt. Adil Öksüz, a Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) member who spent the night […]
YAHYA BOSTAN@yahyabostan Published July 2, 2017 Participants carry a banner reading “Muslims and Friends against Terror and Violence” as they take part “The Not With Us” rally against the rising anti-Islam sentiment and extremism in Cologne, Germany, June 17. It is important for European leaders to call it as they see […]