US credibility on the line
The Daily Star U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Rome Sunday ahead of talks on the Middle East peace process, or what is left of it. But if America genuinely wants to be seen as a […]
Author Archives
Rafiq A. Tschannen
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.
Beyond Russia: Geopolitical hot spots in 2015
No political actor dominated the global stage in 2014 like Vladimir Putin. He meddled in Ukraine and successfully annexed Crimea, but now Putin looks like he overplayed his hand. Tough sanctions from the West and plunging oil prices have left Moscow with a scary currency crisis. The fear is that […]
Muslim Groups are Putting Their Faith in Food Banks to Help the Poor
Ali Jawad, a 22-year-old business student and regular volunteer at a Muslim food bank in London, sees a constant stream of people picking up packaged goods to feed themselves over […]
Student Raises Thousands for Homeless Hero Who Offered Her Money
Dominique Harrison-Bentzen declined his generous offer, but was so moved by the gesture that she started a campaign to raise enough money to help him get a flat. She called […]
PHD POTENTIAL: Switzerland’s Indian migrants as agents of change
PHD POTENTIAL Switzerland’s Indian migrants as agents of change By Anand Chandrasekhar DEC 19, 2014 – 11:00 India must recognise and tap the potential of its brainy returnee migrants (Keystone) The value of India’s migrants is often judged by their ability to send remittances back home. But perhaps their worth should […]
Iraq Kurds press fightback as top rebel reported killed
NAHYAT AL-AYADHIYA, Iraq: Kurdish forces pressed their biggest offensive against the Islamic State group so far on Friday, buoyed by US reports that IS supremo, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s top aide in Iraq has been killed. Kurdish peshmerga forces were securing the surroundings of Mount Sinjar after breaking a months-old siege […]
Arabs are trapped between heroism and deviance
Summary SUMMARY by Rami G. Khouri Those elites and foreign powers were caught off guard four years ago today, on Dec. 17, 2010, when Mohammad Bouazizi set himself on fire in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, when he became exasperated by the mistreatment he experienced at the hands […]
Vladimir Putin Says Russian Economy Will Rebound
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin tried to play down Russia’s dire economic straits in his annual news conference on Thursday, attributing the troubles to declining oil prices that, following a short period of economic turbulence, were bound to recover along with global demand. “We are going through a trying […]
In Central African Republic, Catholics reach out to Muslim ex-rebels
By Oliver Maksan Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the president of the bishops’ conference and archbishop of the capital city of Bangui, recently visited a camp where former members of the […]
Qur’an lesson for today: 325. Commandment – Wine and the game of hazard and idols and divining arrows are forbidden and unlawful
325. Commandment – Wine and the game of hazard and idols and divining arrows are forbidden and unlawful [5:91] O ye who believe! wine and the game of hazard and idols and divining arrows are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So shun each one of them that you may prosper. [2:220] They […]
Non-EU family members do not need visa to enter UK, says European court Judges’ decision in McCarthy case is another setback in campaign by British government to control immigration from EU
Non-EU family members do not need visa to enter UK, says European court Judges’ decision in McCarthy case is another setback in campaign by British government to control immigration from EU Ian Traynor in Brussels. The Guardian, Thursday 18 December 2014 13.32 GMT European freedom of movement rules do not allow […]
PILOT PROJECT : Pioneering course helps refugees integrate
In canton Lucerne a pilot project is building new opportunities for refugees who have been granted asylum in Switzerland. (SRG Schweiz Aktuell, swissinfo.ch) Sursee in canton Lucerne is breaking new ground in terms of integration. In collaboration with the Sursee Bricklayers Association, the canton is promoting “Perspective Building”, a pilot […]
Jordan’s Palestinian draft calls for peace with Israel in a year
UNITED NATIONS: Jordan formally submitted to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday a draft resolution calling for peace between Israel and the Palestinians within one year that “fulfills the vision of two independent democratic and prosperous states.” The Palestinian-drafted resolution was formally submitted to the 15-member council, which means […]
Islam condemns the killing of children — Queen Rania
AMMAN — “When did children become legitimate targets for radicals? When did global human rights treaties designed to protect children cease to matter?” Her Majesty Queen Rania asked in an opinion piece published Wednesday on The Huffington Post. In the article, the Queen commented on recent attacks in Pakistan and Yemen, […]
Qur’an lesson for today: 324. Commandment – what is forbidden and unlawful for you
324. Commandment – what is forbidden and unlawful for you [5:4] Forbidden to you is the flesh of an animal which dies of itself, and blood and the flesh of swine; and that on which is invoked the name of one other than Allah; and that which has been strangled; and that […]
MIDDLE EAST PEACE : Israel criticised at Geneva meeting
DEC 17, 2014 – 15:56 Construction materials being unloaded at a new housing unit in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Har Homa (Keystone) A total of 126 of 196 parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention have met in Geneva and agreed that international humanitarian law must be followed in areas […]
Learn how to live for free on your next holiday
Want to make your next holiday unique and save money at the same time? Join Home Exchange, a fast-growing social network that helps you stay for free. Read on […]
‘Palestinians to press’ UN vote despite US veto warning
AFP | Dec 16, 2014 | JORDAN TIMES RAMALLAH — The Palestinians are to submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on Wednesday as planned although US Secretary of State John Kerry warned of a veto, Palestinian officials said. “We will submit our project to the UN Security […]
Jordan: House speaker urges restraint as MPs reject projected gas deal with Israel
by Raed Omari | Dec 16, 2014 | 23:49 MP Mahmoud Kharabsheh (second left) is among signatories to a memo calling for a no-confidence motion in the government (Photo by Osama Agarbeh) AMMAN — A planned gas deal with Israel is causing considerable damage to relations between the executive and […]
Robert Fisk: Peshawar school attack: Massacre of the innocents in Pakistan born of ambivalence towards Taliban. Army and security police have wavered between backing and attacking the group
It was a massacre of the innocents. Every report must admit this – because it’s true. But it is not the whole truth. The historical and all-too-real connections between the Pakistan army, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) security police and the Taliban itself – buoyed by the corruption and self-regard of […]