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.
Local authorities are calling on Muslim families to adopt Muslim children. World Bulletin / News Desk Muslims living in the UK capital London are being encouraged by the local authorities to adopt children. The local council in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets, which hosts a large Bangladeshi Muslim […]
Geopolitical Weekly Tuesday, January 7, 2014 Stratfor By Marc Lanthemann The 20th anniversary of NAFTA’s implementation on Jan. 1 has revived some of the perennial arguments that have surrounded the bloc since its inception. The general consensus has been that the trade deal was a mixed bag, a generally positive […]
Jordan has launched a campaign to attract sightseers from Muslim countries to boost the domestic tourism sector, reported al-Hayat newspaper. “The board launched a campaign to promote Islamic tourism in […]
Sunder Katwala THE INDEPENDENT It shouldn’t come as surprise that people’s anxieties about immigration aren’t eliminated by being told it’s good for the economy. The British Social Attitudes data may offer some important clues as to how those who want to defend the benefits of migration might best engage with […]
By Robert Fisk, The Independent And so, for the first time in recent history, it seems that the “war against terror” – and specifically against al-Qa’ida – is being fought by Middle East regimes rather than their foreign investors. Sure, American drones still smash into al-Qa’ida operatives, wedding parties and […]
Syrian rebels surrounded a compound held by al-Qaida-linked fighters and freed at least 50 people from a nearby prison Monday as clashes between rival factions in the country’s northern provinces spread to the largest city controlled by the opposition. The rebel-on-rebel fighting in Raqqa — a stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked […]
JEDDAH: Irfan Mohammed Published — Tuesday 7 January 2014 The General Presidency of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah launched a portable delivery service of […]
AFP ARABNEWS JERUSALEM: A plan for 272 new homes in West Bank settlements was approved on the eve of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s departure Monday, Israel’s Peace Now movement said. Israel had been expected to announce new settlement plans alongside the release of Palestinian prisoners last week — […]
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan failed to reach an agreement in the tripartite negotiations regarding the construction of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance dam, state news agency MENA reported. MENA reported that Ethiopia has refused to discuss the terms of “confidence-building measures”, which Egyptian officials say must be changed in order to […]
a book by Tariq Ramadan: In a Western world suddenly acutely interested in Islam, one question has been repeatedly heard above the din: where are the Muslim reformers? With this ambitious volume, Tariq Ramadan firmly establishes himself as one of Europe’s leading thinkers and one of Islam’s most innovative and […]
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | World | Mon, January 06 2014, 6:11 PM The Australian navy has driven illegal immigrants from Africa and the Middle East into Indonesian waters, an Indonesian police officer said in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Monday. The 45 boat people, including nine women, were from […]
Story Summary January 06, 2014 12:09 AM By Sinan Ulgen The Daily Star Following Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s recent visit to the Gulf states, the Islamic Republic’s charm offensive is set to continue with President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to Turkey early next month. Unlike the majority of Iran’s Arab […]
Hassan Barari ARABNEWS Apparently, it is hard to keep the lid on the mutual mistrust between Jordan and the Palestinian leaders. Despite their public statements to the contrary, Jordanian leaders fear that the Palestinian Authority (PA) may cut a deal with Israel at Jordan’s expense. In fact, it is no […]
MAHA AKEEL ARABNEWS Published — Monday 6 January 2014 As 2013 closed its chapter and 2014 rolled in, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) turned a new page in its history with the end of the term of its ninth Secretary-General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and the beginning of the term […]
By Verena Nees 4 January 2014 Four years after the worst massacre by German troops since World War II—in the Afghan village of Kunduz where over 140 people died, including women and children—a Bonn state court has rejected an application for compensation from two of the victims’ families. Qureisha Rauf […]
By F. Brinley Bruton, Staff Writer, NBC News Pope Francis has announced that he will make a pilgrimage to Israel, The West Bank and Jordan in May, underscoring a fresh […]
Israel rejects any US-proposed security concessions for the Jordan Valley, a cabinet member close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, as US Secretary John Kerry visited the Middle East. “Security must remain in our hands. Anyone who proposes a solution in the Jordan Valley by deploying an international force, […]
Turkey could help Russia prevent its Muslim population from being influenced by radical groups that have come under the spotlight in the wake of two suicide bombings in the Russian city of Volgograd last week, say analysts. “Turkey and Russia should establish cooperation not only between foreign ministries and intelligence […]
by Samuel Jaberg, swissinfo.ch January 3, 2014 – 11:00 Swiss authorities will need to use more than just economic arguments if they are to convince a majority of voters next February to keep borders open with the EU, says one migration expert. Three nationwide votes on immigration policy are set […]
Central Asian Muslim scholar Abu Raihan al-Biruni hypothesized the existence of the Americas in the early eleventh century. World Bulletin / News Desk Amid the growing wave of pessimism regarding […]