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.
The relief of Isis-besieged Kuweires air base last year after an astonishing two-year hold-out was a major symbolic blow against Isis in Syria. Robert Fisk, the first Western journalist to visit the site, finds tales both of death and defiance Robert Fisk @indyvoices The remains of the Isis fighters still […]
By Jonathan Kent BBC News, Kuala Lumpur It was an Easter Sunday on 26 March 1967. At around 3pm that day Jim Thompson, already well known as the “Thai Silk King”, walked out of Moonlight Cottage where he was holidaying with friends in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands and was never seen […]
The Telegraph By Zia Weise2 hrs ago Turkey is willing to grant citizenship to Syrian refugees, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, in a controversial announcement that will raise questions over his commitment to halt the migration flow to Europe . Speaking at a Ramadan dinner in Kilis, […]
IMMIGRATION Asylum seekers lose status over home visits JUL 3, 2016 – 11:07 Anyone applying for asylum in Switzerland is not allowed to return to their country of origin. If they do so, they risk losing their recognised status as a refugee (Keystone) Almost 200 asylum seekers lost their official […]
Young Muslim takes on state on headscarf ban and wins Source: The Local Published: 01 Jul 2016 A 25-year-old lawyer has taken on the state of Bavaria over its attempts […]
Photo: P Cutler Court fines Muslim father in latest swimming lessons row Published: 30 Jun 2016 08:59 GMT+02:00 A Muslim father was fined in Switzerland on Wednesday for refusing to allow his daughters to take swimming lessons at school, in the latest case exposing the challenges of integration in the […]
The bombings came near the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the streets are filled with young people and families after dusk Samuel Osborne @SamuelOsborne93 The death toll from an Isis-claimed car bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, has risen to 78, according to Iraqi officials. More than 160 […]
Jul 02,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – MUSA KEILANI The Jerusalem Day was celebrated this weekend in many Arab and Muslim capitals by street demonstrations and public events reminding heads of states of their duty towards the Holy City. For the last 36 years, the last Friday of the fasting month […]
Jul 02,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – PROJECT SYNDICATE Why are some regions plagued by seemingly endless instability? In the Middle East, one widespread argument, which even Daesh expounds, puts much of the blame for chronic conflict on the Sykes-Picot Agreement, the secret deal agreed 100 years ago by France and […]
Palestinian men pray at a mosque in the West Bank city of Nablus on the second Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, July 27, 2012. (photo by REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini) Nablus’ ancient mosques tell story of religions throughout history NABLUS, West Bank — The mosques in the old town of Nablus, […]
Muslims conduct taraweeh prayers as they gather for Lailat al-Qadr, at Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, July 24, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih) Al-Azhar refuses to consider the Islamic State an apostate Egypt’s Al-Azhar issued a statement Dec. 11, 2014, refusing to declare the Islamic State (IS) apostates. “No believer can be declared […]
Posted 02 Jul 2016 13:56 PHOTOS Myanmar has struggled to contain bouts of deadly religious bloodshed in recent years, with bristling sectarian tensions and rising Buddhist nationalism posing a challenge to the government AFP/Ye Aung Thu YANGON: A mob wielding weapons razed a Muslim prayer hall in northern Myanmar, state […]
Middle East expert Patrick Cockburn dissects the “age of disintegration” that gave us Brexit and Donald Trump. PATRICK COCKBURN JUL. 2, 2016 Margus Johanson/Thinkstock This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. We live in an age of disintegration. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Greater Middle East and […]
PROTEST STUNT Duo defy first day of Ticino headgear ban By Stefania Summermatter JUL 1, 2016 – Nora Illi on the streets of Locarno in defiance of the headgear ban (Ti-Press) A Swiss woman, who has converted to Islam, and a French-Algerian businessman are facing fines after defying a new […]
RELIGION AND GENDER Why Islam? The story of three female converts By Sibilla Bondolfi JUL 1, 2016 – 11:00 Nora Illi, an officer of the Islamic Central Council Switzerland (ICCS), at an event in May 2010. (Keystone) With a burka ban coming into force in part of Switzerland on Friday, […]
Resistance against occupation continues Agencies | Published — Saturday 2 July 2016 In this file photo, Palestinian schoolgirls walk with a donkey as the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem, is seen in the background. (Reuters) RAMALLAH: The Israeli military says an Israeli was killed and three […]
ARAB NEWS | Published — Saturday 2 July 2016 A woman takes a picture with a smartphone on the Smetovi mountain range near Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in this December 20, 2015 file photo. (REUTERS) JEDDAH: Bosnian authorities have stipulated that Saudi citizens wishing to travel to Bosnia Herzegovina must […]
‘I was a maths teacher. I shot him in the back of the head. Three times. I felt nothing. Now I regret.’ Robert Fisk @indyvoices Friday 1 July 2016 Unlike his […]
July 2, 2016 | by Rabwah Times | 1 Ahmadiyya, a minority Islamic sect have raised concerns after falling victim to Algeria’s controversial crackdown on religious minorities. Algerian newspaper EnNahar revealed that the crackdown against the Ahmadis in Algeria started in the first week of June, the investigation was spread […]
By Riham Alkousaa and Maximilian Popp Konstantinos Tsakalidis/ DER SPIEGEL Refugee Mesut Mahmud The closure of the Balkan route has left tens of thousands of refugees stranded in Greece with nowhere to go. Smugglers who once profited from sneaking migrants deeper into Europe are now offering a new service: A […]