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.
Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Philippine government and the country’s largest Muslim rebel group completed talks Saturday on a deal to end four decades of fighting that has killed tens of thousands of people and helped foster Islamic extremism in Southeast Asia. The accord between Filipino negotiators and […]
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday that the government is actively considering which Syrians should be allowed to come to Britain. His comments come four days after Prime Minister David Cameron said that he is now open minded about accepting injured Syrians, particularly children. Cameron’s statement was made after […]
Group is made up of 12 global leaders who try ‘to promote peace, justice and human rights’ AFP Published: 18:28 January 26, 2014 Gulf News Tehran: Former UN chief Kofi […]
by Mohamed Cherif, swissinfo.ch January 26, 2014 – 11:00 The recently appointed United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Philippe Lazzarini of Switzerland, reckons the war-torn country may be turning the corner, thanks to the support of the international community. A “new deal” for Somalia: that’s what the international community […]
Against the backdrop of a looming Swiss referendum on whether to limit the number of foreign arrivals, the World Economic Forum has given much thought to the issue of migration: […]
STORY SUMMARY By Tom Miles Syria’s civil war foes held their first face-to-face meeting on Saturday at the start of talks to end nearly three years of conflict which has […]
STORY SUMMARY UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan has undergone an operation after suffering a stroke and is in a stable condition, the presidential affairs ministry said on Saturday. […]
An Israeli official says the Tel Aviv regime is considering replacing the al-Aqsa Mosque in al-Quds (Jerusalem) with a temple. Minister of Housing and Construction Uri Ariel on Friday called […]
swissinfo.ch and agencies January 24, 2014 – 17:12 The number of asylum seekers in Switzerland fell by a quarter in 2013 compared with the previous year. The authorities received 21,465 […]
STORY SUMMARY Democratic and Republican U.S. senators called Tuesday for the country to take in more of the millions of people forced from their homes during Syria’s nearly three-year civil war. Only 31 Syrian refugees – out of an estimated 2.3 million – were allowed into the United States in […]
MARK GALEOTTI ARABNEWS.COM Published — Saturday 25 January 2014 What is the price of security? Three billion US dollars, it seems, as far as the Russians are concerned. Even in the midst of an economic slowdown, they have committed unparalleled resources to protect the Sochi Winter Olympics from terrorists, who […]
DAVOS, Switzerland: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, has criticized the US over its policy on Syria, and called for a UN resolution […]
Facade of the museum is destroyed, and some interior ceilings have collapsed Nevine El-Aref, Friday 24 Jan 2014 ALAHRAM ONLINE The façade of the Museum of Islamic Art in central Cairo has been completely destroyed by a powerful car bomb that exploded outside the adjacent Cairo Security Directorate early on […]
British Prime Minister David Cameron at Davos on Friday urged the rest of Europe to seize an opportunity to win back millions of jobs through the “reshoring” of production from […]
For years, the United States has been demanding that Islamabad launch a military action against the extremist Haqqani Network in its semi-governed region of North Waziristan. The US believes the area is being used by al Qaeda and Taliban operatives as a base to launch attacks on international troops in […]
KABUL: An Afghan official says a gunman on a motorcycle opened fire at a group of local cricket players, killing five of them during a game in eastern Laghman province. […]
Excavations prior to the construction of a new neighborhood in Israel have turned up the ruins of a 1,500-year-old Christian church with a beautiful mosaic. Archaeologists found the Byzantine-era church […]
Suheir Azzouni/Mondoweiss Far-fetched Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations began earlier this month. But in parallel process for my family, long-time residents of occupied East Jerusalem, we have been sent into exile by […]
By Mustafa Barghouthi On Monday January 13th, the office of the special Envoy of the Quartet in Jerusalem, Mr. Tony Blair, circulated the eulogy [see below] he delivered at Ariel Sharon’s funeral, in the form of a Quartet statement. The full text of his eulogy, now accessible to the public, […]
The first day of talks in Switzerland, on Wednesday, was riddled with harsh denunciations made by both sides of the other’s lack of compromise and brutality on the ground during a fierce civil war. Meanwhile, other participants defended their own prerogatives. Western countries, Arab states, and Turkey supported the opposition […]