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.
Deana Nassar Published — Friday 3 April 2015 The Qur’an says: “We have sent down the Book to you which manifests the truth about all things and as guidance and mercy and good news for Muslims.” (Qur’an, 16:89) It reminded me of a post I read on Facebook recently and […]
428. Commandment – Punishment for Gay people [4:17] And if two men from among you are guilty of it, punish them both. And if they repent and amend, then leave them alone; surely, Allah is Oft-Returning with compassion and is Merciful.
By Dieter Bednarz, Christoph Reuter and Bernhard Zand REUTERS A Saudi Arabia-led coalition continues to bombard Yemen in an effort to stop the advance of an Iran-backed Shiite militia there. The conflict is becoming a proxy war for regional supremacy. The risks to the House of Saud are great. On […]
The Persian Paradox: Iran Is Much More Modern Than You Think An Essay by Erich Follath DPA People in the West tend to have a monolithic view of Iran. But there’s a lot more to the country than the mullah-led theocracy, and it often gets ignored. And national pride is alive […]
EPIDEMIC Ebola vaccine passes safety test in Geneva trial By Simon Bradley in Geneva APR 1, 2015 – 23:00 A health worker injecting a man with an Ebola vaccine in Conakry, Guinea, in March (Keystone) The experimental Ebola vaccine partially tested at Geneva University Hospital (HUG) is safe and effective, […]
By Robert Fisk, The Independent One summer’s day in 1990, I walked into a beautiful Crusader chapel in Keserwan, a gentle mountainside north of Beirut, where an old Catholic Maronite priest pointed to a Byzantine mosaic of – I think – Saint John. What he wanted to show me […]
Iran nuclear deal: A powerful Tehran turned into America’s policeman in the Gulf? It could happen This week’s Lausanne deal could trigger a political earthquake by Robert Fisk, The Independent Iran was reborn as a major Middle East nation when it agreed to limit its nuclear ambitions. Despite the “ifs” […]
426. Commandment – Punishment for those who make false and defamatory statements about their wives [24:7] And as for those who calumniate their wives, and have not witnesses except themselves — the evidence of any one of such people shall suffice if he bears witness four times in the name of Allah saying that he […]
Hanna Yusuf Follow Friday 3 April 2015 I never fully believed that British Muslims were being victimised, but then I was stopped at Heathrow It’s so distressing when those who are supposed to protect you treat you like a criminal I’ve always been aware of the injustices British Muslims face, […]
The Future of World Religions report: One in ten Europeans will be Muslim by 2050 Almost all of the major religious groups are expected to increase in numbers over the next four decades Kashmira Gander Thursday 02 April 2015 2K Print A A A A new study charting how religions […]
By Robert Fisk, The Independent They might ask the Pakistanis to send part of their vast army into the cauldron – but that would not be adding oil to the fire. It would be adding fire to the oil. The depth of the sectarian war unleashed in Yemen shows itself […]
Commandment – come not near unto adultery; surely, it is a foul thing and an evil way [17:33] And come not near unto adultery; surely, it is a foul thing and an evil way. [24:4] The adulterer (or fornicator) shall not marry but an adulteress (or fornicatress) or an idolatrous woman, […]
Geopolitical Diary APRIL 1, 2015 | The Obama administration has slipped past self-imposed deadlines and minced words over red lines before. Although certainly an embarrassment for the White House, another missed deadline in the seemingly never-ending Iran nuclear negotiations — which stretched beyond the latest deadline of March 31 — […]
425. Commandment – Punishment for those who make false and defamatory statements about chaste women [24:5] And those who calumniate chaste women but bring not four witnesses — flog them with eighty stripes, and never admit their evidence thereafter, and it is they that are the transgressors, [24:6] Except those who repent thereafter […]
B PERMIT Starting over in Switzerland By Catherine McLean swissinfo.ch FEB 4, 2015 – 11:00 Jwan Othman and Media Joulak attend German classes each day, taking turns watching the children (Catherine McLean / swissinfo.ch) Jwan Othman and Media Joulak sit down on a black couch in the tidy main […]
SUFISM AND DREAMS A gypsy came to a Sufi master as he often received a small amount in charity from him. One day the gypsy told him about his dream, about which the master was very astonished. At the same time the son of an important official came to visit […]
AMMAN — Jordan on Wednesday closed its border with Syria for security reasons, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. The agency quoted Interior Minister Hussein Majali as saying that passenger and cargo traffic across the border was halted as a result of escalating violence in the Syrian town of […]
OnIslam & News Agencies Wednesday, 01 April 2015 MOSCOW – A leading Russian Muslim group has issued a fatwa against the so-called Islamic State (ISIL) and called it “enemy of Islam”, amid increasing threats to the faith that is mistakenly associated with the militant group. “The followers of ISIS are […]
BY STEPHEN BATTAGLIO LOS ANGELES TIMES Reza Aslan will be at the University of Toledo speaking on “Youth Revolt: The Future of the New Middle East.” CNN is looking to a higher power in its quest to get new viewers. The cable news network’s original series lineup for 2016 includes […]