Libyan PM Ali Zeidan kidnapped by gunmen, government says
By NBC News and wire services TRIPOLI — Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has been taken by force from a hotel in Tripoli by a group of former rebels, the […]
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.
Mass fraud
Source: ET: We may be moving steadily closer to a system where it becomes possible to pick up electoral fraud, using sophisticated electronic technology now available. Following the moving of an electoral tribunal by a PTI candidate, Muhammad Zubair Khan, who according to announced results had lost by a huge […]
Former dictator Musharraf granted bail, free to leave Pakistan
By Syed Raza Hassan and Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD | Wed Oct 9, 2013 (Reuters) – Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf could leave Pakistan as soon as Thursday after a decision […]
Obama to choose Yellen for top Fed job, markets relieved
(Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate Fed number two Janet Yellen on Wednesday to run the world’s most influential central bank, providing some relief to markets that would expect her to tread carefully in winding down economic stimulus. The nomination will put Yellen on course to be the […]
The dilemma of Kashmir's half-widows
Decades of conflict have produced many ‘half-widows’ whose husbands have disappeared but are not declared deceased. Decked by thick deodar forests, terraced corn fields, apple orchards and jagged mountains, the […]
Religious liberty and the Supreme Court
Source: The Economist: The way to determine whether the government is impermissibly “endorsing” religion, the courts later decided, is not to canvass actual citizens but to imagine how a reasonable observer would look upon a creche, a ten commandments display, a cross or a Jesus statue. Over the past generation, as the endorsement test has […]
Mission failure
Source: The Economist: THE first major response to the terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, came two weeks to the day after the shooting began on September 21st. US Navy Seals (pictured above on a training exercise) led a failed morning raid on a house in […]
Religion and the UN
Source: The Economist: WHEN the United Nations was created after the second world war, it was “an era of secular international relations and few if any anticipated that religion would ever again be an important international actor.” However, as Professor Jeffrey Haynes of London Metropolitan University goes on to show […]
A tragedy off the coast of Indonesia that should shame Lebanon's neglectful government
by Robert Fisk, The Independent This is the story of how the Syrian war reached out 5,000 miles across the globe and destroyed at least 29 Lebanese lives in the Indian Ocean. It is a story of tragic irony; the destitute Lebanese families who wanted to live in Australia and […]
Egypt Gov't Revokes Permit for Muslim Brotherhood’s NGO
TEHRAN (FNA)- Egypt’s interim government revoked the permit for a non-governmental organization set up by the Muslim Brotherhood. The move follows a Sept 23 court ruling that banned the Brotherhood […]
Taliban sexually abuse suicide bombers during training
Source: LUBP Observers confirm sexual abuse Doctors and activists in Pakistan and Afghanistan have medically confirmed that such abuse occurs. “We have examined at least five teenage boys … who were sexually abused by the Taliban in South Waziristan,” Dr. Muhammad Hashim at the Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital in […]
Why the 'Atheists: You're Wrong' Billboard isn't a Christian Message
I was scrolling through my Facebook feed a few days ago when I came across a picture of the new billboard in Times Square. If you’re one of the approximately […]
Pakistan Muslims Dig Up Hindu Grave, Spiking Religious Tensions
Source: VOA via Wasim Sr A crowd of Islamic fundamentalists dug up the grave of a Hindu man in Pakistan, police said on Tuesday, in the latest sign of growing religious tension in the increasingly unstable province of Sindh.Shouting “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is greatest”, the crowd dug out the […]
French police detain suspected Islamist sent from Pakistan
Source: News.Yahoo.Com via Wasim Sr. PARIS (Reuters) – A Frenchman held in Pakistan for months on suspicion of training Islamist militants was detained for questioning by French police on his return home, an official at the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday. Naamen Meziche was arrested on a bus along […]
Dating dilemma: How soon is too soon to date
By Lois M. Collins, Deseret News SALT LAKE CITY — The escalator to the theater at the Gateway shopping center is packed on a Saturday night with families and couples and groups of kids. On the plaza at the bottom, a small crowd has formed around two boys playing footbag […]
Michele Bachmann: Obama 'Funding' Terrorists Is Proof That We're Living In The End Times
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) believes that we’re living in the End Times — and she claims to have proof. In an interview Saturday with Jan Markell on the Christian radio program “Understanding the Times,” Bachmann accused President Barack Obama of giving aid to terrorists. This, she says, is solid evidence […]
Japanese Newsreel Footage on Effects of A-Bomb Seized by U.S. 68 Years Ago
In the weeks following the atomic attacks on Japan 68 years ago, and then for decades afterward, the United States engaged in airtight suppression of all film shot in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombings. This included footage shot by U.S. military crews and Japanese newsreel teams. In addition, for […]
Eye of the Storm: Life Goes on in Damascus Despite Civil War
By Dieter Bednarz and Klaus Brinkbäumer As the civil war rages around them, Syrians in the capital of Damascus continue to support President Bashar Assad despite their fears. They simply […]
Testing Limits: Diocese Opens Door to Communion for the Remarried
Source: Spiegel International By Birger Menke The archdiocese of Freiburg recently signalled a willingness to allow remarried divorcées to receive communion. While far from revolutionary, the move reflects a desire to change […]
EU Immigration: Only the Rich Are Welcome
Source: Spiegel International Hundreds of poverty-stricken refugees are drowning in the Mediterranean, while at the same time, many European Union member states issue residence permits to wealthy Chinese, Arabs and […]