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.
Latest blunders include “delayed” reports, confused allegiances and invited dignitaries who never arrive. It seems Cameron isn’t quite cut out for the region BY ROBERT FISK, THE INDEPENDENT PR Dave is my favourite British prime minister – because you can never be sure of his next blunder in the Middle […]
Abdullah al-Senussi execution: This perversion of justice suits Western security services just fine The secret agreements between our intelligence and Gaddafi’s torturers will now remain safe for good BY ROBERT FISK Shutting them up. That’s what it’s about. The hangman’s drop, the crackle of the firing squad, and their secrets […]
555. Commandment – O ye who believe! fight such of the disbelievers as are near to you and let them find hardness in you [9:123] O ye who believe! fight such of the disbelievers as are near to you and let them find hardness in you; and know that Allah is […]
Aug 11,2015 – JORDAN TIMES – HASAN ABU NIMAH When the Iran nuclear deal was reached a month ago in Vienna, analysts’ accounts went wildly in every possible direction, attaching to it every inconceivable and unthinkable attribution. Predictions went as far as claiming that the two-year-long negotiations had not […]
Saudi Arabia rejects Russian calls to work with Assad against Daesh By AFP – Aug 11,2015 – JORDAN TIMES MOSCOW — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Tuesday poured cold water on Russian calls to join forces with the Syrian authorities against Daesh militatns, insisting it would never work with President […]
Geopolitical Weekly AUGUST 11, 2015 | By George Friedman Each year at this time — the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima — the world pauses. The pause is less to mourn the dead than to debate a moral question: whether the bombing was justified and, by extension, whether the […]
AUG 11, 2015 – 10:46 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday “early details” of how to coordinate international efforts to fight Islamic States have started to emerge. Lavrov was speaking at a joint news conference with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. He said Moscow and […]
By Veronica DeVore www.swissinfo.ch AUG 11, 2015 – 11:00 Politbox and regional partner RSI spoke to young people in Ticino about their views on asylum seekers (Copyright 2015. All rights reserved.) Closing borders and providing space in private homes are both ideas that have been raised for how […]
Aug 10,2015 – JORDAN TIMES – James J. Zogby A flurry of recent bilateral and multilateral discussions involving Americans, Russians, Saudis and others have provoked speculation that there may be a renewed push for negotiations to end the conflict in Syria. I can only hope the speculation is not mere wishful thinking, […]
By Abeer Numan – Aug 10,2015 – JORDAN TIMES In this photo taken last Tuesday, a Syrian refugee boy carries his younger brother back to their tent at a makeshift settlement near the Syrian border on the outskirts of Mafraq, some 80km northeast of Amman (AP photo by Muhammed Muheisen) AMMAN […]
554. Commandment – Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites [9:73] O Prophet, strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites. And be severe to them. Their abode is Hell, and an evil destination it is. [66:10] O Prophet! strive hard against the disbelievers and the hypocrites; and be strict against them. Their […]
Islam is part of the West now, live with it posted by Harry J. Bentham Tous les arts ont produit des merveilles: l’art de gouverner n’a produit que des monstres. Most arts have produced miracles, while the art of government has produced nothing but monsters. Louis Antoine de Saint-Just One […]
August 8, 2015, 9:34 am by S Venkat Narayan Our Special Correspondent NEW DELHI, August 5: India is planning to grant citizenship to migrants who fled religious persecution in neighbouring Muslim countries Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the local media reported today. There is a proposal under Prime […]
US consulate in Turkey targeted as wave of attacks kills 9 Yesim DikmenSeyhmus Cakan| Reuters ISTANBUL/DIYABAKIR: Two women shot at the U.S. consulate inIstanbul Monday and at least eight people were killed in a wave of separate attacks on Turkish security forces, weeks after Ankaralaunched a crackdown on ISIS, Kurdish […]
547. Commandment – Take your precautions; then either go forth in separate parties or go forth all together [4:72] O ye who believe! take your precautions; then either go forth in separate parties or go forth all together. [34:12] Saying, ‘Make thou full-length coats of mail, and make the rings of a […]
549. Commandment – O Prophet, urge the believers to fight [8:66] O Prophet, urge the believers to fight. If there be of you twenty who are steadfast, they shall overcome two hundred; and if there be a hundred of you, they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because […]
550. Commandment – Only defensive wars are permitted [22:40] Permission to fight is given to those against whom war is made, because they have been wronged — and Allah indeed has power to help them — [2:191] And fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight against you, but do not […]
552. Commandment – And if they break their oaths after their covenant, and attack your religion, then fight these leaders of disbelief — surely, they have no regard for their oaths — that they may desist [9:12] And if they break their oaths after their covenant, and attack your religion, then fight these leaders of […]
553. Commandment – Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah and against the friends of Satan [4:77] Those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight in the cause of the Evil One.Fight ye therefore against the friends of Satan; surely, Satan’s strategy is […]
Giorgos Moutafis/ DER SPIEGEL Two worlds are colliding on the beaches of the Mediterranean this summer: Vacationers looking for relaxation and migrants seeking relief from poverty or warfare. The result is a moral conundrum for Europe.By Spiegel Staff It’s quiet on the beach. Vacationers are still sleeping in their hotels, and […]