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.
Gulf News Dubai: An Emirati woman has donated Dh21 million to support charitable, humanitarian and social projects of Dar Al Ber Society, it was announced on Wednesday. The anonymous donor philanthropist donated Dh4.5 million for building a mosque that will accommodate 800 worshippers in the Shamkha area. She also contributed […]
A Palestinian author on his roots in Gaza Ahmed Masoud talks about the Israeli assault of 2014 and how it has scarred not just him and his family, but also an entire region Image Credit: Syed Hamad Ali Going back in time For his book Vanished, Ahmed Masoud drew upon […]
ARAB NEWS Published — Friday 14 August 2015 JEDDAH: Hafr Al-Batin city in the Eastern Province woke up to a rare incident of forgiveness on Wednesday. Baddah bin Rashid Al-Sahli chose to forgive his son’s killer only a short time before the sentence of execution was due to be […]
By AFP – Aug 13,2015 – JORDAN TIMES A bus with the Cuban and US flags is seen on a beach in Havana, on Wednesday (AFP photo) Washington — John Kerry has a date with history. On Friday, he will become the first US secretary of state to visit Havana, […]
By AFP – Aug 13,2015 – JORDAN TIMES A Palestinian bedouin checks a torched tent in Ein Samiya, a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Thursday after a reported attack by Jewish extremists during which they also sprayed graffiti in Hebrew reading, ‘administrative revenge’ (AFP photo) EIN SAMIYA, […]
Aug 13,2015 – JORDAN TIMES – RAMI G. KHOURI The four separate armed attacks Monday against Turkish security forces and the US consulate in Istanbul are all repeat performances of similar attacks in recent years, so we can easily see this as simply another rough day for Turkey but not […]
A new album looks at the close links between the Rastafari religion and reggae music Bob Marley: his popularity spread the Rasta gospel. Photograph: Peter Still/Redferns Jim Carroll Thu, […]
Thu, Aug 13, 2015, IRISH TIMES Sir, – I am the national president of the Women’s Auxiliary Organisation of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Ireland and I wish to refer to your article “Cleric says some imams in Ireland hold extremist views” (August 3rd). I note the comments of […]
NUCLEAR DEAL Switzerland lifts suspended Iran sanctions AUG 12, 2015 – 19:02 Most of the suspended sanctions were related to Iran’s oil industry (Keystone) The Swiss cabinet decided on Wednesday to lift sanctions against Iran that were suspended since January 2014. The move comes after the agreement reached by Iran […]
Hassan Sheikh, who served on the front line against Isis, was fatally shot by a machine-gun fired by either Sulieman Assad or his bodyguard BY ROBERT FISK THE INDEPENDENT Wednesday 12 August 2015 In government-controlled Syria, you respect the President. But you do not mess with the […]
We cling to our belief that barbarism will never outlast the power of the righteous BY ROBERT FISK, THE INDEPENDENT Hitler set a bad example. He was evil. His regime was evil. His Reich was destroyed, the Nazis vanquished, the Fuhrer dying by his own hand in the ashes of […]
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, […]