Author Archives

Rafiq A. Tschannen

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.

Turkish PM defends seeking China arms

The Turkish prime minister yesterday defended a controversial decision to enter talks with China to buy Turkey’s first long-range anti-missile system, but said no deal had yet been finalised. Ankara’s announcement last month that it was launching discussions with the China Precision Machinery Import-Export for the deal – worth US$4 […]

In Indonesia, a Push for Prohibition Strikes Fear

Source: NY Times: LEGIAN, Indonesia — They have defaced Britney Spears posters, denounced Pamela Anderson’s charitable work and threatened Lady Gaga and Miss World beauty pageant contestants. And now, hard-line Muslims in Indonesia, in concert with Islamic-based politicians, are eyeing new targets: Johnnie Walker, an award-winning local pilsner called Bintang, even […]

Snowden’s Leaks Most Serious in US History:

Source: Jakarta Globe: Leaks from Edward Snowden have helped America’s adversaries and represent the most serious breach of classified information in US history, the CIA’s former number-two ranking official said in an interview Friday. Michael Morrell, who served as deputy director and acting director of the CIA, told CBS television’s […]

An innocent in Washington

Source: Dawn.Com FOR decades, Pakistan has had a single-item foreign policy: Kashmir. Of late, drones have been added to this short list. Long gone are the days when Pakistan commanded respect on the global stage, and was seen as a spokesman for the developing world. Now, wracked by two violent […]

Testing Ennahda’s true colors

STORY SUMMARY Tunisia is where the Arab uprisings and revolutions started in December 2010, and Tunisia remains the country to watch closely to see if the promise of those historic developments will one day lead to a credible pluralistic and constitutional democracy. Developments taking place these days have brought Tunisia […]

Eastern Libyans declare shadow govt

TRIPOLI: The leaders of a movement for self-rule in eastern Libya has unilaterally announced the formation of a shadow government, the latest challenge to the weakened central authority. The announcement came several months after the movement, backed by some militias and local tribes, declared the eastern half of Libya to […]