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.
By Khetam Malkawi – Aug 04,2015 – JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Despite regional turmoil and uncertainty, Jordan has consistently maintained a prudent foreign policy that guaranteed the Kingdom a “prominent place on the table, becoming centre for strategic decision making”, a senior official has said. “We have proved to be the […]
UNACCOMPANIED MINORS Settling into Switzerland as a teenage refugee http://tp.srgssr.ch/p/inline?urn=urn:swi:video:41582888 AUG 4, 2015 – 11:00 A programme has been set up in one Swiss canton to teach unaccompanied minors practical skills. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) In the last two years, the number of children seeking asylum in Switzerland without their parents has […]
King Abdullah’s message on what it means to be a Muslim Aug 03,2015 – JORDAN TIMES His Majesty King Abdullah’s speech to the European Parliament earlier this year was a historical statement that should not go unnoticed, either by European and Western audiences or education planners and leaders in […]
By AFP – Aug 03,2015 – Last updated at Aug 03,2015 0 0 googleplus0 0 0 A file picture taken on August 13, 2014, shows displaced Iraqi families from the Yazidi community crossing the Iraqi-Syrian border at the Fishkhabur crossing, in northern Iraq. One year since the brutal onslaught of […]
By Nick Tattersall KARKAMIS, Turkey (Reuters) – Packets of cigarettes and tea gathering dust in his one-room store, Mustafa Karatas doubts a joint U.S.-Turkish plan to flush Islamic State militants from the Syrian border will make much difference to his business any time soon. This main commercial street in Karkamis, […]
Tunisian firms prepare to issue Islamic bonds BY BERNARDO VIZCAINO Aug 3 Tunisian firms are preparing to issue Islamic bonds as the government finalises rules covering the sector, creating a new funding option for companies in an economy buffeted by labour unrest and militant attacks. Islamic finance – which bars […]
546. Commandment – And make ready for them whatever you can of armed force and of mounted pickets at the frontier, whereby you may frighten the enemy of Allah and your enemy and others besides them whom you know not, but Allah knows them. And whatever you spend in the way of Allah, it […]
Islamic State campaign of war and terror causing Irish backlash Mohammad Iftikhar (6) with his father, Dr Norman Iftikhar, at the 14th annual Jalsa Salana Annual Convention staged by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in Maynooth, Co Kildare. Photograph: Sara Freund/The Irish Times Ciarán D’Arcy Mon, Aug 3, 2015, 01:00 […]
545. Commandment – No blame lies on the weak, nor on the sick, nor on those who find naught to spend, if they are sincere to Allah and His Messenger [9:91] No blame lies on the weak, nor on the sick, nor on those who find naught to spend, if they […]
Aug 02,2015 – JORDAN TIMES – Amer Al Sabaileh The Turkish military intervention against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and Daesh marks a new turning point in the Syrian crisis. Undeniably, many questions could be raised regarding the timing and the real objectives of this move. Turkey has played a major […]
By Jordan Times – Aug 02,2015 – Last updated at Aug 02,2015 AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minster and Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat said on Sunday public schools cannot absorb any new students whether from UNRWA schools or Syrian students not yet enrolled. In remarks to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, […]
A Pegida demonstration in Dresden in May. Photo: DPA Refugees live in fear of German far-right Published: 30 Jul 2015 08:11 GMT+02:00 It’s an astonishing statement for a refugee from war-torn Syria, but Taher has had enough of the xenophobia he has experienced in Germany. “I want to return to […]
By Christoph Reuter spiegel.de Ali Arkady/VII/DER SPIEGEL Earlier, fighters with the League of Righteous Shiite militia tortured and murdered. But now they intend to save Iraq from the Islamic State. Can it work? A trip to the front in the city of Baiji explains much about the current […]
A view inside the Grand Mosque in Makkah. (AN photo by Ahmad Hashad) ARAB NEWS Published — Sunday 2 August 2015 JEDDAH: More than 26 million Umrah pilgrims and worshippers visited the Grand Mosque during the month of Ramadan and in the first few days after Eid Al-Fitr, thanks […]
By AFP – Jul 30,2015 – JORDAN TIMES Palestinians from the Jalazoun refugee camp hold their national flag as they watch at bulldozers demolishing the so-called Dreinoff buildings under an Israeli high court ruling in the settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday […]
Tarabband presents Arab music from Sweden, gives voice to victims of war By Muath Freij – Jul 31,2015 – JORDAN TIMES Members of the Tarabband group seek to present a mixture of Arab and Western music to a Western audience (Photo courtesy of Tarabband) AMMAN –– After stopping briefly in Jordan […]
By Maximilian Popp and Christoph Reuter spiegel.de OZAN KOSE/ AFP Turkish President Erdogan claims to be battling the terrorist Islamic State, but in reality he is mainly fighting against Kurds and the PKK. By doing so, he has shown that he is willing to derail the peace process […]
Jul 31,2015 – JORDAN TIMES RAMI G. KHOURI Events related to the Iran nuclear technology/sanctions agreement, the war in Yemen, and the battle against Daesh tend to dominate the headlines from the Middle East these days, but behind the scenes significant developments related to the Arab-Israeli conflict continue to take […]
By Khaled Abdullah swissinfo.ch SANAA (Reuters) – Born just before the outbreak of Yemen’s devastating war, Ali Mohammed al-Tawaari may well not survive it. Damaged by a lack of skilled […]
Associated Press By KEN DILANIAN, ZEINA KARAM and BASSEM MROUE WASHINGTON (AP) — After billions of dollars spent and more than 10,000 extremist fighters killed, the Islamic State group is […]