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.
JAN 5, 2016 – 10:23 The plywood shelters were put up in an exhibition hall near Zurich (Keystone) A first group of refugees has moved into an exhibition hall near Zurich where they are occupying small wooden houses specially built for them after models purchased from IKEA were deemed unsafe. […]
WAGE DISCRIMINATION Women paid up to 20% less than men for same work JAN 5, 2016 – 10:00 In Switzerland, salaries for equally qualified men and women doing the same job can vary by as much as 20% in men’s favour. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch/SRF) To narrow that gap, the Swiss […]
Reuters International JAN 4, 2016 – swissinfo.ch By Sam Wilkin DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia rallied Sunni allies to its side in a growing diplomatic row with Iran on Monday, deepening a sectarian split across the Middle East following the kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shi’ite cleric. Bahrain and Sudan […]
JAN 4, 2016 – 17:56 Iranian anti-riot police stand guard during a demonstration near the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran. (Keystone) The Swiss foreign ministry has summoned the Saudi Arabian charge d’affaires to express its opposition to the mass execution of 47 people, including a prominent Shiite cleric. In a […]
Tehran Times Social Desk TEHRAN — An 80-year old Iranian philanthropist from Khomeyni Shahr, Isfahan province, who has already built 236 schools, is wishing to build up to 1,000 schools. Mohammad Taqi Davarpanah, who could never go to school himself, has built 236 schools in poor districts of 10 provinces […]
Leader urges global response to execution of Sheikh Nimr Tehran Times Political Desk TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has strongly condemned the Saudi execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, saying the entire world, including Muslim nations, should react to this “crime”. Ayatollah Khamenei made the […]
Saudi Arabia’s state television channel displays an image of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, on Jan. 2, 2016, Dubai. (AP) SULTAN AL-SUGHAIR Published — Monday 4 January 2016 DAMMAM: The Kingdom announced Saturday it had executed 47 prisoners convicted of terrorism charges, including Al-Qaida detainees and a prominent Shiite cleric who rallied […]
By AFP – Jan 01,2016 – JORDAN TIMES A producer from the Perigord region checks her ripe strawberries, due to the unusual warm temperatures, on December 29, in Cendrieux, southwestern […]
By AP – Jan 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – TEHRAN, Iran — The execution of a Shiite cleric in Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia has laid bare the divisions now gripping the Middle East, as protesters set fire Sunday to the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran and demonstrators took to the streets […]
Jan 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES EDITORIAL The 31-year-old Arab Israeli suspected of having killed two people and injured eight others outside a pub in Tel Aviv on Friday might be yet another Palestinian fed up with the treatment of his people by Israelis. If that is the case, his act […]
Jan 04,2016 – JORDAN TIMES – Amer Al Sabaileh The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that outlines a peace process for Syria, and puts aside the dispute over the fate of Bashar Assad. The resolution aims at destroying Daesh’s and other terrorist groups’ sources of income. There is […]
Sweden has begun ID controls as part of the government’s efforts to limit the number of refugees entering the country. Everyone entering Sweden from midnight on Sunday by bus, train or ferry from Denmark will be checked and those lacking valid ID documents will be turned back. Sweden, which until […]
By Abdul Cader Asmal Posted Jan. 2, 2016 at 2:51 PM Sandwiched between demonic terrorists on the one side and malicious Islamophobes on the other, the overwhelming majority of decent American citizens who include their law-abiding Muslim counterparts are askance as to what to make of Islam and the […]
by Selena Hill (staff@latinpost.com) In effort to combat misconceptions about Islam, a group of Muslim men hit the streets to spread a message of love and peace in the heart of New York City on New Year’s Eve. Salaam Bhatti, a 29-year-old estate planning attorney from Queens, NY, spent Thursday […]
Associated Press ATHENS, Greece: Chinese artist Ai Weiwei wants to raise consciousness about the plight of refugees through his, and his students’, art. Ai, who has made his name as much through his clashes with Chinese authorities as through his art, has set up a studio on the Greek island […]
Refugees warm themselves at the fire in the reception center of Moria on Lesvos island, Dec. 31, 2015. (Xinhua/Liu Yongqiu) MYTILENE, Greece, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) — The first snowflakes fell on New Year’s Eve at the reception center of Moria in the suburbs of capital Mytilene on Lesvos island […]
John Simpson World affairs editor 24 December 2015 From the sectionWorld Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage captionMany migrants have headed for Germany Migrant crisis EU migration: Crisis in graphics Merkel’s demise greatly exaggerated Will Germans embrace or shun refugees? In depth report As winter has approached, the apparently ceaseless flow of migrants heading […]
“We mourn for Tamir, and for all of the black people who have been killed by the police without justice.” 01/02/2016 02:08 pm ET | Updated 22 hours ago Lilly WorknehBlack Voices Senior Editor, The Huffington Post Samaria Rice said she is “mad as hell” over a grand jury’s decision […]
By BEN HUBBARD and THOMAS ERDBRINKJAN. 3, 2016 BAGHDAD — A war of words between Middle East rivals escalated on Sunday, with the supreme leader of Iran warning that […]
By Jeannie Wurz http://tp.srgssr.ch/p/swi/inline?urn=urn:swi:audio:41845760 SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES DOWNLOAD MP3 FILE JAN 3, 2016 – 11:00 Living in a foreign country can be challenging, no matter how old you are. How well you adapt depends on the support available from family, friends, and the community. SWISSINFO.CH