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 Renat Kuenzi FEB 23, 2017 Opponents of Turkish president Erdogan demonstrate in front of the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva. They call for the release from prison of PKK leader Öcalan. The Turkish authorities for their part want Switzerland to punish people who insult Erdogan (Keystone) […]
The National Front leader thought that Lebanon, burdened with a million Syrian refugees, should send them home as soon as the war is over. She clearly did not know that tens of thousands of Lebanese are actually related to Syrians Robert Fisk Beirut @indyvoices Marine Le Pen has been doing a […]
The Algerian police Wednesday announced the arrest of 12 members of Ahmadiyya religious community accused by authorities for promoting the outlawed movement. The men were arrested at Chlef, north of the country, the national police announced in a statement aired on radio. “Members of this movement were in possession of […]
US aid reform in 2017 and global health security: This week in development news By Michael Igoe @AlterIgoe U.S. foreign aid reforms begin to take shape, U.N. agencies combine forces for an urgent funding appeal, while Bill Gates and Bono make the case for development to a national security crowd. […]
Ah, it was a time of bustling cities and pressing obligations! After a time, I grew weary of the pace and needed a respite, a quiet time in which to gather my inner peace again. So I took the barest necessities and went into the desert, to be alone in […]
Good day! My name is Nasruddin. I was born in Amritsar in the Punjab, in India. Or…it was so long ago… it may have been in Cairo, in Egypt. In fact, I think it was Newark, New Jersey, though my uncle claims it was Turkey, and my birth certificate […]
By Irina Slav – Apr 27, 2016 Depressed oil prices, rampant corruption, and pipeline vandalism are only parts of Nigeria’s oil problem. It’s now losing a massive 400,000 barrels of crude daily to pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, an amount equal to the entire daily export capacity of its […]
Tom Verde Our third story is that of Shajarat al-Durr, the first woman to sit upon an Egyptian throne since Cleopatra, nearly 1,300 years before. Art direction for the “Malika” series is by Ana Carreño Leyva; calligraphy is by Soraya Syed; and the logo graphics are by Mukhtar Sanders (Image Source) *** [Note of […]
DAILY SABAH ISTANBUL Elçin Özge Cörüt at the moment her wallet was pickpocketed. The exact moment a pickpocket swiped a woman’s wallet in Istanbul was captured on film in a selfie taken by the victim. The event occurred aboard an Eminönü-Üsküdar ferry, which links the European and Asian sides of […]
DAILY SABAH ISTANBUL AA Photo United States Rep. Senator, John McCain, who met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Monday, has announced that he went to Syria before coming to Turkey. McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reportedly visited the city of northern Syrian city […]
Reuters International FEB 22, 2017 – ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss police raided several houses and searched a mosque in the southern canton of Ticino on Wednesday as part of an investigation into suspected Islamist activity, federal prosecutors said. More than 100 officers took part in the operation and arrested one […]
Feb 22,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Michael Jansen Donald Trump’s short-lived suggestion the US could back the “one-state solution”, involving a bi-national Palestinian-Israeli state, instead of the internationally accepted “two-state solution”, alarmed Palestinians, Israelis and the international community. A day later, Trump’s UN ambassador Nikki Haley reaffirmed US’ endorsement of the […]
By AFP – Feb 22,2017 – JORDAN TIMES Hospital workers transport a man injured in the Charsadda blast to the hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Tuesday (Reuters photo) ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military announced the launch of a nationwide anti-terrorist operation on Wednesday, days after a series of bloody […]
Feb 22,2017 -JORDAN TIMES – Daoud Kuttab It is not entirely clear what the purpose of the casual comment on the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem made by US President Donald Trump during his press conference with Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu was. When commenting about the form that any “ultimate deal” […]
By REUTERSFEB. 22, 2017, NEW YORK — Muslim Americans have helped raise more than $84,000 to repair vandalized headstones at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, according to an online fundraising page, amid attacks and threats against Jewish institutions. About 170 headstones were toppled or damaged at the century-old […]
WASHINGTON — President Trump has directed his administration to enforce the nation’s immigration laws more aggressively, unleashing the full force of the federal government to find, arrest and deport those in the country illegally, regardless of whether they have committed serious crimes. Documents released on Tuesday by the Department of […]
By YISHAI FLEISHERFEB. 14, 2017 CreditLauren Simkin Berke HEBRON, West Bank — Last week, Israel’s Parliament passed a controversial bill that allows the government to retroactively authorize contested West Bank Jewish communities by compensating previousPalestinian land claimants. Opposition parties warn that this law could open Israel to prosecution at […]
Feb 21,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Hasan Abu Nimah There was loud overreaction recently to the Knesset legislation sanctioning the Israeli theft of Palestinian land for building Jewish settlement. The pattern repeated itself last week, with US President Donald Trump’s remark with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next to him at […]
Reuters International FEB 22, 2017 An aerial view of the Grand Mosque is seen on the second day of Eid al-Adha, during the annual haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca September 25, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood (reuters_tickers) DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has sent a delegation to Saudi Arabia […]
Will Hamon’s and Mélenchon’s supporters back Le Pen’s opponent to keep her out of office, as the polls suggest? Andreas Whittam Smith @indyvoices What would have to happen for Marine Le Pen, leader of the far right Front National (FN), to win the French presidential election in May? Following Brexit and Donald […]