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.
An Imam shocked his community when he announced that he was resigning from that particular Masjid and moving to a drier climate. After the session, a very distraught lady came to the Imam with tears in her eyes, “Oh, Imam, we are going to miss you so much. We don’t […]
AFP | Mar 17, 2013 | JORDAN TIMES WASHINGTON — The US-led invasion of Iraq overthrew a dictator, but 10 years on the war is seen to have destabilised the Middle East, exposed the limits of military power and left America no stronger than before. With US forces having withdrawn […]
by Taylor Luck, Jordan Times AMMAN — Jordan downplayed reports of rising tensions with Damascus on Sunday, refuting accusations by Syrian officials of Jordanian support for rebel forces. Minister of […]
BAGHDAD: The 21-year-old college student in Baghdad lost her father during the Iraq War to gunmen from a rival Muslim sect. Now she dreams of an Iraq where all people […]
By BEN EHRENREICH NEW YORK TIMES On the evening of Feb. 10, the living room of Bassem Tamimi’s house in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh was filled with […]
Source: BBC.Com. Antony Ratcliffe, 42, from Nottingham, was turned back at Colombo’s main airport on Friday for allegedly showing a lack of respect for Buddhism. The authorities are tough on perceived insults to Buddhism – the religion of the island’s majority ethnic Sinhalese. But Mr Ratcliffe says the “inoffensive” body […]
Source: Dawn.Com The young man entered the tavern and asked for a glass of wine. “Heart-red, soul-crystal or world-muddy?” asked the bartender. “I am colourblind,” said the client. “Quench my thirst, please.” The bartender gave him a glass of water and said: “Know your drink before you ask.” Now a […]
Akiva Freidlin launches ad campaign to rebuke American Freedom Defense Initiative’s hateful, anti-Islamic subway posters NEW YORK DAILY NEWS by Clem Richardson Like many people, Akiva Freidlin found the American […]
BROOKLINE, Mass. — Your mother-in-law fixes you a plate of food. Does she determine what you eat, and how much? By DINA KRAFT The New York Times So went the […]
By RASHID KHALIDI NEW YORK TIMES WHAT should Barack Obama, who is to visit Israel next Wednesday for the first time in his presidency, do about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? First, he must abandon the stale conventional wisdom offered by the New York-Washington foreign-policy establishment, which clings to the crumbling remnants […]
by Xudong Yang and Dahai Shao, swissinfo.ch Mar 15, 2013 When peasant Yang Zhifa found a piece of old terracotta as he dug a well, he thought he’d stumbled on […]
By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star STORY SUMMARY Much of the discussion in the U.S. about President Barack Obama’s trip to the Middle East next week centers around whether he will initiate any new diplomatic moves on Arab-Israeli peacemaking, and what he might say about Iran and the continuing […]
By Andrew J. Bacevich,March 08, 2013 Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University and a retired Army officer. An updated edition of his book “The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War” will be published this month. Judgments rendered by history […]
STORY SUMMARY At least 112,000 civilians were killed in the 10 years since the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq that ousted Saddam Hussein, a new report published on Sunday said. Including combatants on all sides of the decade-long conflict, as well as yet undocumented civilian fatalities, the figure could rise […]
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE Saturday 16 March 2013 LOS ANGELES: The US Central Intelligence Agency is collecting information on radicals in Syria for possible lethal drone strikes against them at a later stage, The Los Angeles Times reported late Friday. Citing unnamed current and former US officials, the newspaper said President […]
JORDAN TIMES: AMMAN — US President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Jordan on March 22 as part of his Middle East trip that also includes the West Bank and […]
Reuters | Mar 16, 2013 | JORDAN TIMES BRUSSELS — The European Union’s foreign policy chief urged caution on Saturday about a Franco-British drive to lift an EU arms embargo to help rebels in Syria, questioning the impact such a step might have on attempts to reach a political settlement […]
BEIRUT — A brigadier general and about 20 soldiers defected from the Syrian army in two separate incidents on Saturday, activists said, in another sign that the strength of President Bashar Assad’s armed forces is diminishing. Brigadier General Mohammed Khalouf appeared dressed in a camouflage military uniform in a video […]
Funny Clean Jokes – Drop Dead Six retired Irishmen were playing poker in Monaghan’s flat in Dungarvan when Sean O’Toole loses �700 on a single hand, clutches his chest and drops dead at the table. Showing respect for their fallen brother, the other five continue playing standing up. Michael Lennon […]
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority said Friday it would file a police complaint against a food company after finding large quantities of pork in its halal-labeled products. Kebab meat sold by Norwegian group Kuraas to restaurants contained between five and 30 percent pork even though it was marked as halal, […]