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 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is rejecting its seat on the UN Security Council and says the 15-member body is incapable of resolving world conflicts. The move came just hours after the kingdom was elected as one of the Council’s 10 nonpermanent members. In a statement carried on […]
JEDDAH: SIRAJ WAHAB & IBRAHIM NAFFEE Published — Sunday 20 October 2013 The Saudi government takes great pride in serving the guests of God, said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja here on Friday. Speaking at a reception for foreign journalists covering the Haj, the minister said the government […]
by Michael Kelley BUSINESS INSIDER The Syrian war, now in its 31st month, has transformed into a full-blown proxy war. The conflict not only involves Syria’s neighbors and regional powers, […]
Source: The Times of Malta There are a number of Muslim communities in Europe which require Islamic products and services – ranging from food and financial products to tourism – […]
A recent article in the Journal of Medical Ethics challenged the right of Muslim doctors to refuse to examine patients of the opposite sex. Robert Card reported cases of conscientious […]
Holy carp! A British tourist may have just reeled in a world record. While vacationing in Thailand for his birthday, Keith Williams hooked a 134-pound carp, believed to be the […]
Source: The Local: The lavish lifestyle of a bishop who is spending €31 million on building a new headquarters in west Germany was exposed on Friday, when it emerged he has spent €783,000 on a garden, €25,000 on a table and €15,000 on a bath tub. More:
Source: The Local. The self-proclaimed ‘King of Germany’ – who claims to rule a nine-hectare kingdom with 3,500 subjects – has been sent to prison for using a fake driving licence. He was caught using a licence from his fantasy realm – ‘New Germany’. More:
(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve will likely defer any decision to trim its massive bond buys until at least December, two top Fed officials suggested on Thursday, although a third Fed policymaker made no bones about her view that she opposes any such delay. A budget battle in Washington that […]
The Huffington Post | By Rachel Tepper A waiter at a Boston-area restaurant witnessed an act of kindness on Tuesday night that’s warmed hearts across the internet. “While waiting tables […]
by Joop Koopman Media & communications consultant Maronite Bishop Elias Sleman heads the Eparchy of Latakia in the north of Syria, a region that so far has been spared the violence of the country’s civil war, which may come as a surprise to many in the West who imagine the […]
Source: Radio Free Europe via Wasim Sr: SARAJEVO — Protesters in Sarajevo have covered a mock tomb in front of the parliament building with a black blanket to commemorate the death of a baby girl that they blame on red tape. The protesters claim that bureaucratic hurdles prevented the girl […]
By Christopher Alessi SPIEGEL.DE In Afghanistan, dangerous combat has helped post-war Germany’s reluctant armed forces gain self-confidence and expertise. But with the public and politicians loath to enter into new […]
By Hasnain Kazim spiegel.de A SPIEGEL journalist of Pakistani-German descent recently left Islamabad after four years of reporting there. In an essay, he describes life between two cultures and the conflicts his background often created for him as a foreign correspondent in Pakistan. When I got the chance to move […]
by Robert Fisk, The Independent, UK I stopped to buy walnuts in Sidon last week from a sunburned man sitting on the pavement of the old souk. Like the walnuts – soft, almost creamy inside their iron-hard husks – he came from the Syrian town of Bloudan. In years gone […]
by Scott Capper, swissinfo.ch October 17, 2013 – 20:00 Swiss and Georgian researchers have suggested that some of the earliest humans living 1.8 million years ago could all belong to […]
Nearly 30 million people around the world are living as slaves, according to a new index ranking 162 countries. The Global Slavery Index 2013 says India has the highest number of people living in conditions of slavery at 14 million. But Mauritania has the highest proportional figure with about 4% […]
BY V. ANBALAGAN OCTOBER 16, 2013 Sikhs will continue to use the word Allah in their religious practices as the word appeared numerous times in their holy scriptures, said the […]
by Samuel Jaberg in Moutier, swissinfo.ch October 17, 2013 – 11:00 Seduced by adverts and special offers, Swiss youngsters are increasingly getting caught in debt traps. But the cantons appear to be taking the bull by the horns and targeting the problem with prevention courses in schools. Speaking to a […]
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) With the 2013 government shutdown ended, President Obama has ordered all federal workers to get back to work Thursday. But it’s especially tricky getting the word out to all 450,000 employees, who have been home on furlough during the shutdown. Federal law prohibits workers on furlough from accessing […]