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.
Source Asia Times: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) boasts 57 self-proclaimed Muslim states (that includes the Palestinian territories). If the OIC embraces them, why then does the world label those in opposition to the rulers of these lands as “Islamists”? Who are the true believers or true Islamists – […]
Source: Asia Times: KARACHI – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistani government have come under heavy fire for a sudden U-turn on its policy over US drone strikes in the country’s northwestern tribal areas along Afghanistan border following the Sharif’s visit to Washington last month. Criticism has culminated in […]
Source: The Telegrapgh: Israeli jets have launched an attack inside Syria to prevent missiles being transferred to the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah, according to new reports on Thursday. An explosion at a missile base to the south of the regime-held port city of Latakia on Syria’s north-west coast was first reported by Syrian […]
Source: The Telegraph The inhabitants of the desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia are not renowned for their sense of humour. In a country where public executions by beheading are commonplace, and even relatively minor transgressions such as drinking alcohol can be punished by the lash, the kingdom’s all-powerful religious police do not […]
Source: The Telegraph Fundamentalist Christians love Halloween. OK, maybe I should qualify that statement. They love the opportunity that Halloween gives them to remind us of the existence of Satan and his desire to suck in the souls of innocent children – plus, for good measure, some ritual Catholic-bashing. I hold firmly […]
Source: The Telegraph via Wasim Sr: Russia spied on foreign powers at last month’s G20 summit by giving delegations USB pen drives capable of downloading sensitive information from laptops, it was claimed today. The devices were given to foreign delegates, including heads of state, at the summit near St Petersburg, […]
By Amal Stapley Tuesday, 29 October 2013 00:00 For new Muslims who hadn’t grown up with Islam, the experience of actually following in the Prophet’s footsteps cemented Islam in our […]
By David D. Judson Just last week, the question came again. It is a common one, sometimes from a former colleague in newspaperdom, sometimes from a current colleague here at Stratfor and often from a reader. It is always to the effect of, “Why is Stratfor so often out of […]
Al Arabiya Saudi King Abdulla bin Abdul Aziz has been named among the 10 most powerful leaders of the world in 2013 by Forbes magazine. “With 50% of its population […]
ERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel attacked two targets in Syria, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network reported. The attacks in Latakia and Damascus on Wednesday night targeted SA-8 portable missiles that were to be transferred to Hezbollah in northern Lebanon, according to the report published Thursday evening, which cited unnamed sources. The missile […]
Why we shouldn’t care that the world’s most irresponsible country is displeased at the U.S. By Fareed Zakaria Monday, Nov. 11, 2013 America’s middle east policies are failing, we are […]
Today’s Zaman: Amid fears that tension in Parliament would rise over several Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputies wearing headscarves while attending parliamentary sessions, four headscarved deputies walked into […]
by Shahzad Rana, Friday Times Is Jemima Khan’s new film against drones one sided? Not very far from the glittering lights of Las Vegas, the foundation of America’s drone war […]
FRANKFURT — The number of people out of work in the euro zone rose slightly in September, according to official data published on Thursday, showing that signs of renewed economic growth have not yet filtered through to the labor market. The jobless rate itself was 12.2 percent last month, a […]
The opening of New Zealand’s largest purpose-built mosque will be beamed live to millions of Muslims around the globe tomorrow. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community’s worldwide spiritual leader Hazrat Mirza Masroor […]
By A. Abdul Aziz. Press Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at – Sri Lanka Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad has travelled to inaugurate the Baitul Muqeet Mosque in Auckland The World Head of […]
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday held talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron on means to strengthen cooperation between Jordan and the UK, as well as regional […]
by Taylor Luck | Oct 30, 2013 | 21:51 AMMAN — Police on Wednesday arrested two hard-line Islamists for alleged ties to Syrian jihadist groups, according to security sources. Jamal Rayyan, a veteran leader of the Jordanian Jihadi Salafists was apprehended at his home in Baqaa and a second member […]
by Simon Bradley, swissinfo.ch October 30, 2013 – 15:24 The city of Geneva has been in the spotlight this week as part of the latest National Security Agency (NSA) spying […]
Story Summary An interview with U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice in the New York Times a few days ago capped a fascinating debate that has been going on in circles that follow the United States’ Middle East policy – if we should speak of an actual “policy” or perhaps […]