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 Khaled Neimat | Feb 05, 2014 JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Jordan is not being kept in the dark about developments in the US-brokered Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told deputies on Tuesday. Jordan is a key player in the efforts to ensure a fair agreement is reached, […]
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s much-awaited talks with the Taleban got off to a shambolic start on Tuesday after government negotiators failed to turn up at an agreed time following days of confusion over who should represent the insurgents. The preliminary peace talks began following a spate of killings, but there is skepticism […]
We all know about Photoshop and the dissimulation of truth. A picture taken recently of an armed Syrian fighter with a rifle in his hand contained an unexplained video-camera in the bottom left hand corner. So the photographer, in the interests of clarity, deleted the intruding camera in favour of […]
The World Bank’s former chief economist wants to replace the US dollar with a single global super-currency, saying it will create a more stable global financial system. “The dominance of the greenback is the root cause of global financial and economic crises,” Justin Yifu Lin told Bruegel, a Brussels-based policy-research […]
Epilogue There should be no compulsion in religion. Surely, right has become distinct from wrong; so whosoever refuses to be led by those who transgress, and believes in Allah, has […]
Story Summary Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah issued a royal decree on Monday that punishes citizens who fight in conflicts outside the kingdom, with prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years in jail. Many young Saudi men appear to have been encouraged to join the fight in Syria by […]
Abbas, in an interview published by the paper on Sunday, shifted from his insistence on a three-year time frame for Israel’s withdrawal from occupied territories under any future peace […]
In a statement issued at the fourth session of the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), on Sunday here, Madani said that current international human rights laws are based on Western values. He said the OIC was looking particularly at limitations on freedom of expression, gender equality, applying […]
Source: Anti-immigrant Northern League slams project (By Stefania Fumo) (ANSA) – Venice, February 3 – Venice Mayor Giorgio Orsoni wants to put his city on the map as a site of internationally weighty institutions, and a possible Islamic Museum plus study center is one of them. On Monday, the mayor […]
If a new lawsuit by the Libyan sovereign investment fund is to be believed, Wall Street bankers were able to accomplish what decades of sanctions could not—Gaddafi’s downfall. “Geopolitics is now a game best played with financial and commercial weapons. The new geoeconomic game may be more efficient and subtle […]
The Vatican last year sent out a survey to Catholics around the world focusing on attitudes to sex and sexuality. The responses are now in — and they show that the Church is badly in need of reform. Can Pope Francis meet such expectations? Adolescents find it embarrassing to talk […]
by Fida M. Hassnain (Author) , Suzanne Olsson (Author) An amazing first-hand journey to Kashmir-a look into the evidence that Jesus survived crucifixion-proof that he lived and died in Kashmir and is buried in the famous tomb known as Roza Bal. Meet the family who claim that Yuzu Asaph, Jesus, is their ancestral grandfather. Learn […]
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel and Washington were at loggerheads on Sunday after senior Israeli figures attacked US Secretary of State John Kerry for warning of a growing boycott threat if peace talks fail. The latest spat erupted a day after Kerry warned of the potential economic impact on Israel if the […]
Involved with the neo-Nazi skinhead movement, Marc Springer grew up as an anti-Islam, anti-Muslim racist. His passion into reading eventually led him to read about Islam and Muslims, and finally to Islam, turning around his life completely from disbelief to a devoted worshipper of Allah. He says: People say that […]
The shopping boom has begun in Jeddah, the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques, with the arrival of thousands of Umrah pilgrims in the city. Thanks to the electronic system […]
February 01, 2014 12:05 AM By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star STORY SUMMARY If you think the controversy of actress Scarlett Johansson’s relationships with Oxfam and the Israeli company SodaStream is a minor side story about Hollywood celebrities, think again. This is the latest signal of a major direction […]
February 03, 2014 12:15 AM By David Ignatius The Daily Star STORY SUMMARY Hoping to understand the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in human terms, I made a visit last week to a Palestinian farmer named Hammadeh Kashkeesh, whom I first met 32 years ago. First, try to imagine the landscape, and […]
World War I may have ended in 1918, but the violence it triggered in the Middle East still hasn’t come to an end. Arbitrary borders drawn by self-interested imperial powers […]
MOENJODARO, Pakistan: Hundreds of people swarmed the ancient ruined city of Saturday to attend an inaugural festival commemorating Pakistan’s cultural heritage, days after experts warned the event endangered the UNESCO […]
BEIRUT: Al-Qaeda fighters killed the leader of a rival Islamic brigade in a twin car bombing near Syria’s northern city of Aleppo, an attack likely to further exacerbate rebel infighting […]