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.
Helping hands (and feet) When humanitarian assistance turns hi-tech By Isobel Leybold-Johnson May 2, 2016 – 14:45 In 2014, the ICRC helped 300,000 people via its physical rehabilitation services and prostheses (cicr) An affordable prosthetic foot for war amputees is the Lausanne-based Humanitarian Tech Hub’s first project. The research and […]
For years, oil analysts have suggested that Saudi reserves are nothing like the kingdom claims them to be Robert Fisk @indyvoices Thursday 28 April 2016 Just like his adventure in Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s young Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman got it all wrong this week. It’s not Saudi Arabia […]
By Isobel Leybold-Johnson APR 29, 2016 – 22:49 Technicians working in the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) tunnel of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, as seen earlier in the year (Keystone) The Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator at Cern, just outside Geneva, has been immobilised temporarily after a short […]
You’re just trying to summon up the moral wherewithal to die with dignity. By My Catbird Seat – May 23, 2015 “Israeli troops go on a rampage in the West Bank, kill Palestinians, demolish Palestinian homes” Posted May 20, 2014 Transcript Part 1 PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome back […]
April 30, 2016 TEHRAN – Ali Akbar Velayati, head of the Expediency Council Center for Strategic Research, said on Thursday that Tehran won’t allow the U.S. to rob $2 billion of Iranian funds. “The Islamic Republic has shown it will never waive its rights… and the Iranian people won’t allow […]
Reuters | Published — Saturday 30 April 2016 An Islamic State fighter is seen carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher in Iraq, in this still image taken from an amateur video supplied by Kurdish Peshmerga and received by Reuters on Friday. (Reuters) BAGHDAD: Daesh may exult in online portrayals of radicals […]
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid | Published — Friday 29 April 2016 The entire universe, in the way it is created and the way it is controlled, bears witness to the oneness of Allah: “Surely, His is the creation and commandment. Blessed is Allah, the Lord of the Aalameen (mankind, jinn […]
Mariam Anwer | Published — Friday 29 April 2016 We seldom think about the purpose of our life. Yet, it is extremely critical for us to know about this as it is having a purpose in life that pushes us to use our intellect and abilities in the right direction […]
ARAB NEWS | Published — Saturday 30 April 2016 TABUK: A secondary school in the Al-Ula governorate recently organized a party during its open day to celebrate the marriage of a 17-year-old student, triggering concern among some marriage officials. According to local media, the student of King Abdulaziz secondary school […]
Apr 28,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – JONATHAN POWER A woman for the next secretary general of the United Nations? Well, it is a lot more complicated than that. There are other criteria in play; there is an unwritten rule that the regions of the world should take turns to occupy the […]
Apr 28,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – RAMI G. KHOURI During a very fast, one-day, visit to Washington, DC on Monday, I participated in a day of lectures and panel discussions organised by a private company on some of the world’s most challenging political and economic issues, including the “Arab youth” […]
A headstrong grandee had obtained from the Sultan the rights of share-cropping on the land occupied by Nasrudin. When the Court clerk asked him what crop he wanted to share, he merely said: ‘Just put in “whatever is above the ground”.’ He presented himself at the Mulla’s house with the […]
By Reuters – Apr 27,2016 – JORDAN TIMES UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Syria Staffan de Mistura gestures prior to a round of negotiations between the Syria’s regime-tolerated opposition (Moscow-Cairo group) and the UN, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on […]
Varied views on whether Quran should influence laws in countries BY JACOB POUSHTER As strife in the Middle East continues to make headlines, from the militant group ISIS to Syrian refugees, the Muslim world is sharply divided on what the relationship should be between the tenets of Islam and the […]
ALPINE RESEARCH Iron Age man was a fan of Swiss cheese APR 26, 2016 – 19:25 Dominique Yersin produces Etivaz cheese on the Le Grin alpine pasture at Chateau d’Oex […]
Reuters International APR 27, 2016 – 19:26 VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s parliament on Wednesday passed tough new asylum measures, including a process under which migrants could be turned away at the border within an hour, which could be activated if lawmakers decree public order is threatened. Austria has mostly served […]
By AFP – Apr 26,2016 – JORDAN TIMES TEHRAN — Iran Tuesday summoned Switzerland’s ambassador, who represents Washington’s interests in Tehran, to protest a court ruling that $2 billion of frozen Iranian assets be used to compensate American victims of “terror”. The US Supreme Court ruled last week that […]
Apr 26,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – HASAN ABU NIMAH The French government’s repeated attempts to thaw the frozen Palestinian-Israeli peace process do not seem to have ceased despite lack of enthusiasm for the endeavour from almost all those supposedly concerned. Apart form the Palestinian Authority, the two other key partners, […]
Families were preferred, as were those whose homes had been destroyed in Syria, and all had to have proper documents Image Credit: Reuters Syrian couple Rami, 51, and Suhila, 50, walk with their sons Abdul Majid (right), 15, and Rashid, 18, at the Sant’Egidio community in Rome. Published: 18:56 April […]
Mission would be part of a broader Italian plan to close the Western Mediterranean route into the European Union Published: 16:29 April 25, 2016 AFP Rome: Nato is three months away from launching patrols off Libya as part of a plan to stop refugees arriving in Italy, Italian Defence […]