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.
In Shia Muslims’ holiest site, a new openness to other faiths Dec 5th 2015 CORDIAL encounters between representatives of different creeds are common enough in the Western world, whether the organisers are universities, governments or NGOs. (In the latter case, inter-faith activity is often aimed at building bridges by tackling […]
The government’s new ‘jewellery law’ takes effect on Friday. Photo: Claus Fisker/Scanpix Published: 05 Feb 2016 Beginning Friday, Danish police now have the authority to take cash and valuables from refugees – here’s how it will work in practice. NY Times blasts ‘Denmark’s cruelty toward refugees’ (02 Feb 16) Denmark […]
French riot police at the Calais ferry terminal. Photo: Philippe Huguen/AFP Anti-Islam protestors clash with police in Calais Published: 06 Feb 2016 – http://www.thelocal.fr Around 150 protesters gathered in central Calais carrying signs such as “This is our home,” waving the French flag and singing the French national […]
Cardinal Reinhard Marx said the response to the migrant crisis should not solely be a matter of “charity but also reason.” Photo: DPA Published: 06 Feb 2016 The German Catholic Church called for a reduction in the influx of refugees arriving in Germany, saying the country cannot take in “all […]
Several thousand Pegida supporters turned up in Dresden. Photo: DPA Published: 06 Feb 2016 A march by Germany’s anti-Islamic organisation Pegida drew thousands to the eastern city of Dresden on Saturday on a day that saw rallies across Europe in support of the movement. ‘Germany must take fewer refugees’ – […]
Catastrophic failure of institutions the real culprit, not individual heroes or villains Amanda Taub By the time it became clear to the world that Egypt’s Arab Spring had gone […]
A crowded mataf is seen in the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (AN photo by Ahmad Hashad) ARAB NEWS Published — Sunday 7 February 2016 MADINAH/JEDDAH: Pilgrims and visitors performing tawaf […]
Feb 06,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Jacek Rostowski The first challenge to the Western hegemony that followed the collapse of communism in Europe was the emergence of the so-called BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — in the 2000s. Rapidly growing and collectively accounting for nearly […]
By AFP – Feb 06,2016 – JORDAN TIMES WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holding the UN report, speaks on the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy in London, Friday (AP photo) LONDON […]
By AFP – Feb 06,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Kurdish women hold flags and shout slogans during a demonstration against the exclusion of the Syrian Kurds from the Geneva talks, in the northeast Syrian Kurdish city of Qamishli, on Thursday (Reuters photo) QAMISHLI, Syria — Syrian Kurdish separatists have announced […]
Feb 06,2016 – JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL His Majesty King Abdullah recently issued directives to concerned Royal Palace officials to continue implementing Royal initiatives extending help to underprivileged families, charity societies, orphanages, the elderly and people with disabilities. These most vulnerable groups of people will benefit from the Royal directives, which […]
By AP – Feb 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Aerial view of the solar plant of Ouarzazate, central Morocco, on Thursday (AP photo) OUARZAZATE, Morocco — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI […]
Voices The tables have turned and now it is the rebels who find themselves surrounded, along with the tens of thousands of civilians in their sector of the city Robert Fisk Middle East correspondent @indyvoices Friday 5 February 2016 61 comments A Syrian man comforts a boy amid the rubble […]
The Independent Adam Withnall © Provided by The Independent An aerial view of the Zaatari refugee camp on the Jordan-Syrian border, which houses 80,000 people (Picture: [copyright])The king of Jordan has warned his country could stop taking refugees from Syria if it is not offered more support by the international […]
Our Source: MSN News Ban Ki-moon and the Israeli government are at odds after the United Nations secretary-general criticised the Israeli occupation in an address to the Security Council last week. Ban said it was “human nature” for Palestinians to react to the occupation, specifically pointing to settlement building as […]
DATA By Duc-Quang Nguyen FEB 5, 2016 – SWISSINFO.CH The issue of immigration regularly features at the ballot box in Switzerland. On February 28 voters will decide whether to back a rightwing initiative to enforce the deportation of convicted foreigners. Who are the foreign residents living in the small alpine nation? […]
Iran’s Rezaee sees possibility of regional war if Saudis enter Syria Tehran Times Political Desk TEHRAN – Mohsen Rezaee, the former chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, has not ruled out the possibility of a widespread war in the Middle East if Saudi soldiers enter Syria. The remarks by […]
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. (AP) AFP Published — Saturday 6 February 2016 BAGHDAD: Iraq’s top Shiite cleric will no longer provide weekly Friday political messages that have had a major impact on politics and security, an apparent sign of frustration with the government. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is revered […]
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Published — Sunday 7 February 2016 BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union on Saturday called on Israel to halt the demolition of Palestinian housing, some of which was EU-funded, and reiterated its opposition to expanding Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. “In the past weeks there have […]
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Sat, February 06 2016, 3:15 PM Women and children of the Ahmadiyah religious sect in a district in Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung province, were evacuated on Friday evening to save them from the wrath of local residents. The evacuation was made […]