Israelis kill 46 Gazans on Day 12, raising toll to 342
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: The Gaza death toll hit 342 on Saturday as Israeli warplanes intensified their bombardment and troops pressed a ground assault on the 12th day of 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.
Egyptian military block activist aid convoy to Gaza
Summary Egyptian soldiers in north Sinai prevented an aid convoy of activists from reaching the Rafah border crossing with the embattled Palestinian Gaza Strip on Saturday, an AFP correspondent said. At least 333 Palestinians and three Israelis have died in the unrest, the third conflict to erupt in and around […]
What Kind of Israel Do Settlers Want? A Journey Across the Green Line
By Jane Eisner Published July 14, 2014, issue of July 25, 2014. Jane Eisner’s special report, Across the Green Line, will run in two parts, starting today and continuing tomorrow. Here’s how Ofra began as a Jewish community. Modern history puts the start date as April 1975. Ofra’s inhabitants will […]
Heaven’s Bankers: Inside the Hidden World of Islamic Finance by Harris Irfan, review: 'noble intentions' Is sharia-compliant banking just a way of twisting the rules?
By Mona Siddiqui8:00AM BST 19 Jul 2014 Even those who assume to know something about sharia – Islamic law – are reticent to make claims about Islamic finance, so complex is this area of law. So when the phrase “sharia-compliant” first emerged in Western financial sectors in the early Nineties, […]
Orthodox Jewish design duo are branded 'appalling' and 'shameful' for posting a photo of Muslim fashion blogger wearing their modest-chic wares
By LAUREN LUMSDEN PUBLISHED: 20:38 GMT, 18 July 2014 A Brooklyn-based women’s clothing line run by two Orthodox Jews has come under fire for sharing a picture to Instagram of a popular Muslim fashion blogger wearing one of their designs. Mimu Maxi, a boutique specializing in modest-yet-stylish clothing, received dozens […]
Germany: Catholics: Numbers of Church resignations increases significantly
Editor’s Note: Please excuse the grammar, ‘google translate’ being used: Last year the Catholic Church in Germany lost almost 180,000 people, significantly more than in 2012; reason for this may […]
Israeli ground offensive kills 44 Gazans on first day
CAIRO: Egypt renewed its call for a truce to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on Friday as the overall Palestinian death toll since July 8 to 285, including 44 killed on Friday as Israel pressed a major ground offensive in the coastal enclave.An Israeli soldier was […]
Iran, six powers agree to 4-month extension of nuclear talks: envoys
Summary Iran and six world powers on Friday agreed to a four-month extension of negotiations on a long-term nuclear deal that would gradually end sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, diplomats close to the talks said. The talks are taking place because of a preliminary […]
Editorial: Daily Star Lebanon: Murder with impunity
Summary Israel has been successful at portraying its actions in the Gaza strip as a war against the Hamas movement; the simple fact is that it is a war against Palestinians. The Israelis have expended considerable effort, as they always do, in generating a wall of propaganda about their actions, […]
PALESTINIAN CONFLICT: Swiss asked to boost Geneva Conventions in Gaza
The Swiss foreign ministry is holding exploratory talks for an international conference on the respect of humanitarian law in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian authorities. The ministry confirmed it received a letter from the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, urging Switzerland as a depository state of the Geneva Conventions […]
Abbas' son: Peace talks are futile, one-state solution only peaceful resolution to conflict – Tareq Abbas says his father should abandon peace talks, dissolve PA, force Israel to take over West Bank.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ youngest son Tareq told the New York Times on Tuesday that he believes peace talks with Israel are futile and that the one-state solution is the only peaceful way to resolve the conflict. Like many Palestinians, Tareq objects to extending the US-led peace talks, and […]
Evidence Points to Pro-Russia Separatists in Destruction of Malaysian Plane
Source: NY Times UNITED NATIONS — The United States on Friday ramped up its suspicions that pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine felled a Malaysian jetliner, asserting there was “credible evidence” that a Russian-built antiaircraft system in a rebel-held location had fired the missile that destroyed it, killing all 298 people […]
30 Palestinians killed and dozens of injuries as Israel continue its ground invasion of Gaza
PNN’s correspondent in Gaza, Hassan Dohan, reports that the Israeli Occupation Forces raided several border areas last night, entering the Strip from the eastern and northern borders. The Israeli army attacked Gaza by land , sea and air. They targeted several residential areas, killing 30 Palestinians and injuring dozens. In […]
Reflections on an Unforgiving Day
Source Stratfor: We ate breakfast to the news that an airliner had crashed in Ukraine. We had lunch to the news that Israel had invaded Gaza. An airliner crashing is perhaps more impactful than an invasion. We have all wondered, when we hear of a crash, or even in quiet moments […]
ESCALATION: OSCE urges inquiry of plane crash in Ukraine
The Swiss chairman of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has called for an impartial investigation into the circumstances of Thursday’s crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane […]
Looking back: How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas
By ANDREW HIGGINS Updated Jan. 24, 2009 Editor’s Note: This article dates back to 2009, but we feel today’s readers should be reminded. Moshav Tekuma, Israel Surveying the wreckage of […]
Qur'an lesson for today: The Holy Qur'an is a clear Sign, so you may take heed
175. The Holy Quran is a clear Sign, so you may take heed [68:53] Nay, it is naught but a source of honour for all the worlds. [36:70] And We have not taught him poetry, nor does that suit it (the Qur’an). It is but a Reminder and a Qur’an […]
Qur'an lesson for today: 177. Warn through the Holy Qur'an
177. Warn through the Holy Quran [6:20] Say, ‘What thing is most weighty as a witness?’ Say, ‘Allah is a Witness between me and you. And this Qur’an has been revealed to me so that with it I may warn you and whomsoever it reaches. What! do you really bear […]
Qur'an lesson for today: 179. When His Signs are recited to them they increase their faith
179. When His Signs are recited to them they increase their faith [8:3] True believers are only those whose hearts tremble when the name of Allah is mentioned, and when His Signs are recited to them they increase their faith, and who put their trust in their Lord,
Qur'an lesson for today: So admonish, by means of the Qur'an, him who fears My warning
178. So admonish, by means of the Qur’an, him who fears My warning [50:46] We know best what they say; and thou hast not been appointed to compel them in any way. So admonish, by means of the Qur’an, him who fears My warning. [17:42] We have explained the truth […]