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.
King of Saudi Arabia orders food, medical aid for devastated Syrian regions Mar 7, 2016 RIYADH — Saudi Arabia will provide food and medical aid to the most devastated regions in Syria in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies. An agreement to this […]
Mar 12, 2016 Abdulaziz Al-Thekair The headwaiter of a fancy European restaurant rebuked members of a Saudi family for sitting at a big table and making their two housemaids sit at a smaller separate table. The Saudi family did not violate the local laws but did violate the social norms […]
ASYLUM DECISION Bunkers to be commandeered for asylum needs MAR 11, 2016 – 16:08 Civilian bunkers, like this one in canton St Gallen, have already been used for asylum seekers in Switzerland (Keystone) Federal and cantonal authorities will soon be able to force local communities to open their civilian bunkers […]
Photo: DPA No space for Allah as German unis close prayer rooms Published: 11 Mar 2016 16:35 GMT+01:00 Updated: 11 Mar 2016 16:35 GMT+01:00 Three leading German universities have closed down pray rooms used by Muslims, sparking accusations they are singling Muslims out for unfair treatment. German unis offer ‘best […]
ROOTS OF EXTREMISM MAR 11, 2016 – 15:41 Homegrown jihadism “is coming” to Switzerland, argues a former Islamic extremist – unless new ideologies are presented to young Muslims. Young people in the country have vanished from their homes and gone to join jihadi movements. And a Winterthur mosque has been […]
Mar 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – I have kept the pledge I made many months ago not to waste my time reading any press articles on the American presidential nominating contests, because the 15 or so candidates on the Republican side meant that nothing would become clear until after the first […]
Mar 10,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – George S. Hishmeh A week ago, my mailbox had a surprising letter addressed to my wife and me by a David Trone, who only provided a post office number and the name of a nearby neighbourhood for his address. The opening line was addressed to “dear […]
UAE GDN Online Desk The Parax Paper stall featuring samples of the first copies of the Holy Quran printed on stone paper, was the centre of attraction on the second day of Paperworld Middle East at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The revolutionary and environmentally-friendly stone […]
By Alexander Smoltczyk and Maurice Weiss Maurice Weiss/ DER SPIEGEL Iman Hassen Chalghoumi at the last station on Paris’ 148 bus line: When he preaches, he has to wear a bullet-proof vest. Day after day, Paris attacker Samy Amimour drove a bus through the city’s notorious banlieues before murdering scores […]
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL By Frédéric Burnand, Geneva MAR 9, 2016 – 17:00 According to Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, the death penalty is not an effective answer to terrorism (Keystone) The newest incarnation of the United Nations’ top human rights body is marking its ten year anniversary, and while the […]
By Reuters – Mar 09,2016 – JORDAN TIMES A student attends a class inside the Freedom School, in the town of Al Tamanah, in the southern countryside of Idlib, Syria, on Wednesday (Reuters photo) BEIRUT/GENEVA — The Syrian opposition said on Wednesday there had been fewer breaches of […]
By JT – Mar 09,2016 – JORDAN TIMES His Majesty King Abdullah receives a copy of a plan to enhance the human rights situation in Jordan, delivered by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, on Wednesday (Photo courtesy of Royal Court) AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday expressed keenness […]
Documents appearing to have been stolen from Isis’ border authority Lizzie Dearden @lizziedearden Thursday 3 March 2016 41 comments Anyone passing into Isis territory undergoes stringent checks to weed out potential spies Details of more than a dozen British Isis members are among 22,000 recruits reportedly revealed in a cache of leaked documents […]
Can you tell the difference? Source: Huffington Post By Carol Kuruvilla; Associate Religion Editor Islamophobia has become frighteningly commonplace in the U.S. There’s a lot of hatred, misinformation and misplaced […]
A general view shows buildings under construction in the Israeli settlement of Har Homa in annexed east Jerusalem, on Monday. (AFP) AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Published — Wednesday 9 March 2016 pia: Starving Gaza animals are up for sale More JERUSALEM: Israel is razing Palestinian homes and other buildings constructed with […]
Mar 08,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – OSAMA AL SHARIF The US presidential race is attracting attention outside the United States because of the stark contrast among candidates, especially on the Republican side, over foreign policy and the increasing possibility that outsider billionaire Donald Trump could soon become the presumptive party […]
By AFP – Mar 08,2016 – JORDAN TIMES Syrians carry aid, in the form of diesel fuel, delivered by the Qatari Red Crescent in the rebel-held town of Beit Sawa, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, on Monday (AFP photo) GENEVA — A new round of talks aimed […]
By Julia Baum JBaum@community-newspapers.com POSTED: 02/17/2016 Members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Silicon Valley last week held an exhibition on the Holy Quran and other Islamic readings in an effort to unite and educate others. Dozens of neighbors turned up at the three-hour event on Feb. 12 at the Pearl […]
Epigraph: “As often as we approach the Quran, it always proves repulsive anew; gradually, however, it attracts, it astonishes, and, in the end forces admiration.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Source: […]
LOCAL DEMOCRACY MAR 2, 2016 – Lieli and Oberwil are part of a village outside Zurich. It has attracted many affluent residents but the local council is not keen on accommodating asylum seekers (Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch) The town hall assembly of Oberwil-Lieli last November might go down in the history of […]