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.
WEATHER, AMMAN Today, May 13, 2016 By Reuters – May 12,2016 -JORDAN TIMES ANKARA — Iranian Muslims will miss the annual Hajj (the greater Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) in September, media reported on Thursday, as Tehran and Riyadh traded blame over a failure to agree organisational details. The […]
May 12,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Guy Verhofstadt Europe’s refugee crisis is far from solved, but there are signs that the agreement finalised by the European Union and Turkey on March 18 is reducing the flow of refugees and migrants from Turkey to Greece. According to Frontex, the European border-management agency, […]
May 12,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – RAMI G. KHOURI We are into the season when you will be flooded with articles and analyses on the 100-year anniversary of the Sykes-Picot agreement that was signed on May 18, 1916. That agreement between Great Britain and France, with Russian acquiescence, defined how […]
May 12,2016 -JORDAN TIMES – George S. Hishmeh This time around, presidential candidates from both parties in the US seem to attach as much importance to foreign policy as to local. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees respectively, have demonstrated their discredited positions on the […]
Cardinal Dominik Jaruslav Duka, the Archbishop of Prague, demeans Muslims and claims the Pope’s efforts are ‘just a gesture’ Robert Fisk @indyvoices 46 comments Being a Merseyide Anglican, my Dad […]
When you read this, you will never think of Thunderstorms the same way again. This should make you smile!!! A Child’s View of Thunderstorms A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to school. […]
December 31, 2010 JULIE MCCARTHY Princess Mussarat Ahmed Zeb displays a piece of traditional Swati embroidery from her collection. The “happy colors” of the embroidery are part of the heritage of a land that has seen its share of sadness. Ahmed Zeb is reviving the heritage of Swati textiles while […]
May 11, 2016 – A Bulgarian university professor who has translated the Holy Quran into Bulgarian said the translation helped him and some others in his country to find the right path and convert to Islam. AhlulBayt News Agency – A Bulgarian university professor who has translated the Holy Quran […]
Firefighters stand in the burned-out shell of the inflatable tent. Photo: DPA Published: 10 May 2016 www.thelocal.de A large temporary refugee home in western Germany was completely burned down on Monday night, but a prompt evacuation allowed all the inhabitants to escape unharmed. “We can be thankful that despite the large […]
NO STATUS see video report: http://tp.srgssr.ch/p/inline?urn=urn:swi:video:42046214 EMBED CODE APR 4, 2016 – 15:45 Sometimes asylum seekers go underground, as they have no hope of getting official refugee status. They’re known as “sans papiers” (without papers). (SRF/swissinfo.ch) Asylum is only granted to those who face persecution or imprisonment in their country […]
Source: Swiss Info channel By Marta Dominguez Diaz What does London’s election of Sadiq Khan, a Muslim, and son of Pakistani migrants, as mayor mean for Europe amidst the prevailing […]
May 10,2016 – THE JORDAN TIMES – HAROLD JAMES Democracy everywhere is facing serious challenges. The United States is gripped by the most bizarre presidential primary campaign in living memory, with populist outsiders threatening to topple established party machines. Brazil is paralysed by constitutional crisis. Europeans trace their malaise to […]
Remembering forgotten Gaza May 10,2016 -OSAMA AL SHARIF It has been almost two years since Israel waged another war on Gaza, one that remains the centre of controversy until today, even within Israeli security and military circles. The 51-day aggression in the sweltering summer of 2014 against one of […]
May 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – RAMZY BAROUD There is a witch hunt in the British Labour Party. Britain’s opposition party leader Jeremy Corbyn is being hounded for not rooting out alleged anti-Semitism in his party. Those leading the charge are pro-Israel Zionists and their supporters within the party, who are, […]
May 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Hasan Abu Nimah Anti-Semitism is generally defined as hostility, prejudice or discrimination against Jews, for no other reason than being Jews. Any such attitude should be condemned. No individual or community should be the target of any form of prejudice or discrimination for what […]
The jihadist force’s reputation is being cleaned up, to suggest it is deserving of CIA support Robert Fisk @indyvoices So ol‘ Doc Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s chief executive successor, has told the Syrian Jabhat al-Nusra that it can dissociate itself from Al-Qaeda. Good public relations: Nusra doesn’t like the Isis “caliphate” […]
Reuters International May 10, 2016 – 02:45 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, suggested on Monday he would make an exception for London’s newly elected Muslim mayor, the New York Times reported. “There will always […]
Family trusts US tax havens – the new Switzerland? By Kara Scannell and Vanessa Houlder May 9, 2016 – 09:14 What would the former US presidents have made of South Dakota’s status as a booming tax haven? (Keystone) After pursuing Swiss banks for helping Americans hide money, the United States […]
By AFP – May 09,2016 – JORDAN TIMES People wait to board a bus as they are transferred to a different location, at a makeshift camp for refugees and migrants at the Greek border village of Idomeni, on Monday (Reuters photo) UNITED NATIONS — A new UN plan to tackle […]
By Reuters – May 09,2016 -JORDAN TIMES Russian S-400 Triumph medium-range and long-range surface-to-air missile systems are seen during the Victory Day parade at Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on Monday (Reuters photo) MOSCOW — Russia rolled out an air defence missile system of the kind used to […]