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.
Source: Spiegel Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and German Chancellor Merkel in Berlin last fall. A European commissioner’s remark that Germany and France would one day come crawling “on their knees” begging Turkey to join the EU has miffed Berlin and thrilled Ankara. As German Chancellor Merkel prepares for a visit […]
Source: The Local. The German Catholic Church ruled on Thursday that the use of the morning-after pill was acceptable in certain cases for rape victims. More:
Source: TOI In late 2010 Sherry Rehman sparked fury among religious groups as a lawmaker by lodging a private member’s bill seeking to abolish the death penalty for blasphemy after a Christian mother of five was sentenced to death. (TOI photo by Nilesh Wairkar) MULTAN: Pakistan police are investigating the […]
Finding harmony in music and Islam By Anuja Jaiman Many times when I have recited some part of the Holy Quran in front of American audience, the frequent comment has been ” Wow, that’s so musical.” And somewhere in the classical music (specially in India) I tend to feel some touch […]
Benedict Face to Face with Islam February 20, 2013 Andrew Doran In 1095, in a carefully crafted speech before prelates and nobles in Claremont, France, Pope Urban II called Europe to action: A Crusade to aid the Christian empire of Byzantium. Emissaries of the emperor in Constantinople had come […]
First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, according to a government report that showed continued weakness in the job market. The Labor Department report showed 362,000 Americans filed for jobless benefits in the latest week, up from 342,00 the previous week, when claims may have been limited by snow […]
STORY SUMMARY A new survey by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace identifies which Indonesian provinces have the most instances of religious intolerance, demonstrating that the issue is unfortunately a real problem in the country. Many people initially find it hard to believe that in Indonesia, home to the […]
STORY SUMMARY By Michael Young The Daily Star Put aside for a moment that Christian approval of the Orthodox plan Tuesday seemed a natural misstep for a community bathed in self-doubt about its own future, as Christian numbers have declined. The reality is that the largest Christian community, the Maronites, […]
By Megan Devlin — Staff Writer THE ITHACAN Ithaca College will host Nancy Hoque, designer and founder of sixteenR.com, an online store that sells scarves for Muslim women. Hoque will […]
VESTAL — When Afzal Rehman arrived here more than 20 years ago for a medical residency, he didn’t know of any others locally who shared his religious faith. Rehman, an […]
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday underlined the need to promote tolerance and cooperation as basis for dialogue and understanding among all followers of the three monotheistic religions. […]
RIYADH : ABDUL HANNAN TAGO ARABNEWS Thursday 21 February 2013 US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the first week of March as […]
DAMMAM: SIRAJ WAHAB ARABNEWS Thursday 21 February 2013 The 2-year-old survivor of the horrific road accident in Makkah that claimed the lives of his parents, grandfather and two other close […]
If you’re about to apply for a job, there’s no doubt that a good CV is more important than ever. Every country, though, has a slightly different approach to the perfect resume. Rebekka Affolter, who writes the blog for leading Swiss recruitment website swissjobs.ch, tells The Local how to polish […]
Source: Time Magazine. By Jason Motlagh / Dhaka A young girl’s call pierces through the din of the packed square. Like the macabre billboards that loom above featuring bearded old men in nooses, and the blood red headbands worn by scores of participants, her demands are direct and full-throated: “Hang […]
SHANGHAI — A day after a United States security company accused a People’s Liberation Army unit in Shanghai of engaging in cyberwarfare against American corporations, organizations and government agencies, China’s defense ministry issued a strong denial and insisted that the report was flawed. At a news conference in Beijing Wednesday, […]
Source: The Local It is not enough to launch an operation against the individual perpetrators of the Quetta bombings, it must root out the entire Lashkar e Jhangvi from Pakistan. And those captured must be sentenced, not released. These terrorist attacks escalated when the Supreme Court released the leader of […]
Source: Asia Times. By Derek Henry Flood In his February 12 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama outlined the beginning of the end of American participation in Afghanistan’s now decades long civil war. The US would endure a phased troop withdrawal meant to halve the presence of American […]
Source: The Local: One man has made it his mission to set up a bike-sharing network in Berlin, loaning out Fahrräder for free. Trust advocate Graham Pope spoke to The Local about cycling into the future. More: