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.
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the World Economic Forum make it clear he is against the establishment of a Palestinian state, chief Palestinian negotiator […]
The Kingdom’s soaring divorce rates have forced young Saudi girls to opt for pursuing higher education rather than getting married at an early age. Divorce cases increased to more than […]
by Robert Fisk, THE INDEPENDENT Saddam is Dead! Long live Saddam! And glancing through the grisly list of executions which the new, free, democratic, American-constructed Iraq has carried out – […]
JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Indonesia’s State Palace said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was not to blame for natural disasters as suggested by some psychics. Cabinet Secretary […]
While many in France will lambast François Hollande for how he has run the country, most it seems are not in a position to criticize him over his private life with a new survey published on Tuesday showing that one in two Frenchmen cheat and infidelity among both sexes is […]
STORY SUMMARY AP An official in the Israeli prime minister’s office says Benjamin Netanyahu believes Jewish settlers should have the option of staying in a future Palestinian state. Over 500,000 settlers live in areas the Palestinians hope will be part of their state. Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jan-27/245377-israeli-official-palestine-should-allow-settlers.ashx#ixzz2ra9rjhEV (The Daily Star :: […]
A Saudi in Remah married his daughter off to a young Saudi for a single riyal after the groom lost the money he had saved up for paying the “mahr” (dowry) in a traffic accident, sabq.org reported on Saturday. The groom met with the accident while returning from the bank […]
ASSOCIATED PRESS ARABNEWS.COM Published — Monday 27 January 2014 GENEVA: Syrians on opposite sides of their country’s civil war tried again Sunday to find common ground, with peace talks focusing on the release of prisoners and an aid convoy to a besieged city that once more came under mortar attacks […]
[13:17] ….. Say, ‘Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Most Supreme.’ [6:103] Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no God but He, the Creator of all things, so worship Him. And He is Guardian over everything. Explanation: God, being the Creator […]
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 […]