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.
Saudi Arabia has British military advisers and continues to bomb Yemeni civilians with British weapons. Yet our government is strangely quiet about it Britain is arming and aiding a fundamentalist dictatorship that’s bombing and killing civilians. This is an incontestable fact. The Saudi tyranny – gay-hating women-oppressors who kicked off […]
FOREIGNER DEMOGRAPHICS JAN 28, 2016 – 13:33 Requests for asylum in Switzerland rose by two-thirds in 2015 (Keystone) The number of foreigners moving to Switzerland fell last year as emigration rose, bringing a second consecutive slowdown in net immigration – although asylum requests jumped by two-thirds. Government data released on […]
Saudi Arabia Ambassador Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi addresses the United Nations General Assembly, in this Jan. 22, 2015 file photo. (AP) ARAB NEWS Published — Thursday 28 January 2016 JEDDAH: The Kingdom has called on the Security Council to set Israel a time frame to abide by international agreements to withdraw […]
Jan 27,2016 – JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL In a recent statement to Israel Radio and Army Radio, the American ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, said that the current state of Israeli-Palestinian relations is characterised by a set of circumstances “that are leading to a bi-national state”. Israel’s continued expansion of settlements […]
Jan 27,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Daoud Kuttab In today’s politically expedient age, it has become rare to see a leader defend one of his own. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, went on air this week, attempting to deflect the avalanche of angry protests directed at the Palestinian intelligence chief Majid […]
Jan 27,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Dominique Moisi Five years ago, when the so-called “Arab Spring” erupted, Turkey’s hour seemed to have arrived. Having been humiliated by the European Union after years of accession negotiations — talks marked by a chain of false promises from the EU — Turkey’s then-prime minister […]
Seventy-seven per cent of Brits support deporting migrants on spousal visas if they fail to learn English withinin two and a half years. Blimey Yasmin Choudhury @yasminisyasmin 26 comments British Muslims leave an East London mosque following prayers Getty Muslims this morning woke to the news that Trevor Phillips, the ex-chairman […]
Delegates to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos were reportedly very interested in the ‘killer robots’ issue Doug Bolton @DougieBolton Monday 25 January 2016 6 comments A robot owned by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots distributes promotional literature calling for a ban on fully autonomous weapons in Parliament […]
Sharia banks are not permitted to do business with companies dealing in alcohol, gambling, or prostitution Eleanor Ross Monday 18 January 2016 13 comments BAWAG PSK is trying to appeal to Austria’s 600,000-strong Muslim population Reuters An Austrian bank has announced it will be piloting an Islamic current account in February, the […]
By Humayon Dar Published: January 25, 2016 Need for them to shift from money management to adding broader socio-economic services. PHOTO: FILE LONDON: Many industry observers assert that all Islamic banking products in essence are replicas of conventional banking products, be they Islamic deposits or financing products based on leasing or […]
MIGRATION CRISIS Ministers discuss border controls in light of new refugee routes JAN 25, 2016 – 21:28 Refugees fleeing horrendous conditions in their home countries are being forced to try alternate routes to safety as countries in Europe close their borders (See inside the article for a large view of […]
Source: SwissInfo.ch People who were born in Switzerland but who do not have Swiss citizenship are concerned. On February 28, Swiss voters will decide – again – on deporting foreigners […]
He says it’s disrespectful to assume Muslim communities will change Mr Phillips claims Muslims ‘see the world differently from the rest of us’ Muslim Council says demanding change has promoted discrimination PM thinks integration failures have helped extremist ideas gain traction By MARK DUELL FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 05:04 GMT, 27 […]
January 27 2016 Ammon Bundy arrives to address the media at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon on January 5, 2016. Reuters Reuters The leader of an armed occupation at a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon and others were arrested on Tuesday after shots were fired during a […]
Both countries are waging a war on terrorism, but their enemies appear to have several faces Robert Fisk @indyvoices Thursday 21 January 2016 People move the body of a victim outside a hospital in Charsadda, Pakistan EPA Like Pakistan, like Turkey. If the university massacre outside the old North West Frontier […]
Jordan Times – 26 January 2016 – RAMZI BAROUD Whenever Mariam Aljamal’s children hear the sound of thunder at night, they wet their beds. Their reaction is instinctive, and is shared by a large number of children throughout the Gaza Strip. Mariam’s three children — Jamal, Lina and Sarah — were all […]
Jan 26,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – OSAMA AL SHARIF The much-anticipated Geneva negotiations between the Syrian opposition and the Damascus regime did not take place on January 25, as planned. Dubbed “Geneva 3”, the meeting, also called proximity talks, would have launched a long and arduous political process, under Security […]
Jan 26,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Hasan Abu Nimah Earlier this week, a 13-year-old girl was shot dead by an Israeli security guard near the Almon Jewish settlement, in the Jerusalem area, during an alleged stabbing attempt. Ruqayya Eid Abu Eid is not the first child to be killed by Israeli soldiers […]
Jan 26,2016 -JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL During an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, on the sidelines of the Davos World Economic Forum, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about the Syrian conflict and how he sees it end. There is no military solution to the Syrian civil war, Netanyahu stated, but […]
January 25 2016 Two wounded, two assailants killed in West Bank stabbings Two attempted stabbings near Israeli settlements, attackers shot Two shot dead after latest attacks on Israel soldiers AFP/ West Bank Two Palestinians stabbed two women Monday at a grocery in an Israeli settlement of the West Bank before […]