Mataf capacity now 70,000 per hour
The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs plans to open the newly constructed levels of the “mataf” (area for circumambulating the House of God) on the ground and first […]
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.
Arafat to have permanent tents
JEDDAH: ARAB NEWS Studies are under way to establish permanent fireproof tents in Arafat, said Saud bin Hamdan Al-Dikri, director of projects at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. […]
Gas missiles ‘were not sold to Syria’
Export papers seem to back Assad’s denial over sarin attack – but Russians won’t go into detail by Robert Fisk, The Independent While the Assad regime in Damascus has denied responsibility for the sarin gas missiles that killed around 1,400 Syrians in the suburb of Ghouta on 21 August, information […]
Mandatory military: Swiss voters endorse army conscription
by Urs Geiser, swissinfo.ch September 22, 2013 – 20:13 Switzerland will remain one of the last countries in western Europe with mandatory military service after voters overwhelmingly rejected a pacifist […]
Veiled vote : Burka ban approved in Italian-speaking Switzerland
by Gerhard Lob with agencies, swissinfo.ch September 22, 2013 – 18:08 Ticino has become the first Swiss canton to approve a ban on face-covering headgear in public places, following a […]
Official Statement On Dale Gavlak’s Involvement In Syria Exclusive
By Mint Press News Desk | September 21, 2013 By Mnar Muhawesh, executive director and editor at large for MintPress News Statement: Thank you for reaching out to me in regards to statements made by Dale Gavlak alleging MintPress for incorrectly attributing our exclusive report titled: “Syrians in Goutha claim […]
Official: Peru Bishop Removed Amid Abuse Charges
By FRANKLIN BRICENO Associated Press Associated Press Pope Francis has removed a Roman Catholic bishop in Peru who an influential former prelate says is suspected of sexually abusing minors. Gabino […]
All systems go for safe Haj
JEDDAH: P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR Published — Sunday 22 September 2013 The Civil Defense Department has drawn out an emergency plan to ensure the security and safety of the nearly two […]
Muslim bodies to approach SC on marriage age limit
By Express News Service – KOZHIKODE Published: 22nd September 2013 08:13 AM A co-ordination committee of various Muslim religious bodies in the state, with the support of top leaders of […]
‘Sexual jihad’: Tunisian women go to Syria to ‘relieve’ holy warriors, return pregnant
Tunisian women have traveled to Syria to wage ‘sexual jihad’, performing intercourse with dozens of Islamist fighters and returning home pregnant, Tunisia’s Interior Minister Lotfi ben Jeddou told MPs. The […]
Syria: The propaganda blitz
More than a decade after the war in Iraq, have global media outlets learnt to look beyond the spin? View video here: http://aje.me/1exlBbW This week on the Listening Post: Presidents, propaganda and channelling the media to get the message out: a look at the similarities and differences between Syria in […]
Those skimpy bikinis are the least of Indonesia’s woes
TOKYO — Indonesians are taking to the streets to demand the government heed their complaints. Are they livid about corruption? No. Fed up with poverty? Not really. Angry over political gridlock? Not so much. It’s those damn bikinis. In recent days, the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population has […]
Patterns of Anti-Muslim Violence
By Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam, The anti-Muslim riots in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas are already being compared to Gujarat 2002. As many as 50,000 people have been officially reckoned to have become internal refugees. According to official records, 85 people have died, but unofficial estimates put it at a much […]
Israel Should Annul the Oslo Accords
By DANNY DANON September 20, 2013 JERUSALEM — THIS month marks 20 years since the signing of the first of the Oslo Accords between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Two decades after Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat stood on the White House lawn with President Bill […]
I was an Iraqi refugee. I keep thinking of the 2 million displaced Syrians
My family was forced to flee Iraq in 1991. Now Syrian refugees face similar hardships and are at the mercy of other nations Aseel Machi theguardian.com, Wednesday 11 September 2013 13.45 BST As world powers debate the fate of Syria, there is much less discussion surrounding the status of Syrian […]
The Man With Pink Hair
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN September 17, 2013 I was at a conference in Bern, Switzerland, last week and struggling with my column. News of Russia’s proposal for Syria to surrender its poison gas was just breaking and changing every hour, forcing me to rewrite my column every hour. To clear […]
At least 20 killed when gunmen ambush Nairobi shopping mall
Source: CNN (CNN) — Gunmen ambushed an upscale shopping mall in the Kenyan capital on Saturday, leading to a fierce gunbattle with police and at least 20 people killed, the Kenyan Red Cross said. Fifty more people were wounded in the attack at the mall in Nairobi, said Abbas Gullet, head […]
Pioneers of Aviation: 17th Century Flight in Istanbul
One of the most enduring (and incorrect) accusations made about the Ottoman Empire is that it was intellectually stagnant. Orientalist historians claim that the Ottomans saw science and religion as […]
Farrakhan Delivers Stern Warnings to Obama, the Muslim World and Israel
Louis Farrakhan speaks at the state capitol steps in Montgomery, Ala. on Friday June 14, 2013. Farrakhan and others are holding a caravan across Alabama to encourage the U.S. Supreme […]
Rebel vs. Rebel: Syrian jihadi groups are now kidnapping and killing one another. Is this the beginning of an all out war, or an opportunity for the moderates?
BY HASSAN HASSAN | SEPTEMBER 18, 2013 FOREIGN POLICY Earlier this month, clashes erupted between the al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra and FSA-affiliated groups. When the gunfire stopped, the moderates were […]