Fighters seize historic Aleppo mosque
Friday 1 March 2013 BEIRUT: Fighters seized control of the historic Umayyad Mosque in Syria’s second city of Aleppo yesterday after several days of fierce clashes that damaged the building, […]
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.
The story of Maurice Bucaille’s inspiring conversion to Islam
MAURICE Bucaille was born to a French parent and, like his family, he grew up a Christian. After his secondary education, he joined Faculty of Medicine, France University. Later, he […]
Spain overturns city’s ban on full-face veils
Reuters ARABNEWS Friday 1 March 2013 MADRID: Spain’s Supreme Court has overturned the city of Lleida’s ban on women wearing full-face veils — such as burqas or niqabs — in […]
Manning plea statement: Americans had a right to know ‘true cost of war’
After admitting guilt in 10 of 22 charges, soldier reveals how he came to share classified documents with WikiLeaks and talks of ‘bloodlust’ of US helicopter crew Ed Pilkington at […]
Gambling with God:
Source: CNN The faithful fill St. Peter’s Square as Pope Benedict XVI attends his last public audience on Wednesday, February 27, in Vatican City. Benedict’s decision to resign earlier this month caught a lot of Vatican watchers, apparently even some in his inner circle, off-guard. (CNN) — The love of […]
City University Pulls Islam Prayer Space Over Sermons Content: Jewish Chronicle
City University pulls Islam prayer space over sermons content By Jennifer Lipman, February 28, 2013 Follow Jennifer on Twitter A London university that was found to have serious problems with campus radicalisation has won praise from extremism monitor Quilliam after withholding campus space for Muslim prayers unless staff are permitted to […]
New American Media News Headline
Havana Real Estate “Boom” Lures Investors & Exiles New America Media, News Analysis, Louis Nevaer Just over a year after the Cuban government permitted the first sale of real estate between private parties, a housing boom is emerging in Havana. Sequestration Nearing, Calif. Schools Get Breathing Room […]
GALLOWS for Sayedee, Naib Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh!
Courtesy: The Daily Star GALLOWS for Sayedee War crimes tribunal finds him guilty of 8 out of 20 charges, hands death for 2 offences Julfikar Ali Manik and Mahbubur Rahman Khan Ending all speculations, the first war crimes tribunal yesterday sentenced Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee to death in its […]
French Muslim Leader on Papacy: ‘A New Beginning Is Necessary’
Dalil Boubakeur is one of France’s most prominent Muslims. In a SPIEGEL ONLINE interview, he discusses what retiring Pope Benedict XVI did wrong in bridging the Muslim-Catholic divide and how […]
Betting on the New Pope to Reach Millions of Dollars
By ALEX ALVAREZ (@soalexgoes) While the U.S. has deemed it illegal to place bets on who will become the next pope — the selection process is considered an election — […]
Benedict XVI leaves Vatican, issues final tweet
Eric J. Lyman, Special for USA TODAY At 8 p.m. sharp local time (2 p.m. ET), Benedict will become the first pontiff in 600 years to retire. VATICAN CITY — […]
Micro-continent discovered under Mauritius, Reunion islands in Indian Ocean
PORT-LOUIS, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — Scientists have discovered the existence of a micro-continent lying under the Mauritius and Reunion islands in the Indian Ocean, the Nature Geoscience magazine published on its website. The researchers from Oslo, Liverpool and Witwatersrand universities said that the micro-continent which has been given the name, […]
US announces direct non-lethal battlefield aid for Syrian rebels
By Catherine Chomiak, Producer, NBC News ROME – In a policy shift, the United States on Thursday announced plans to channel non-lethal assistance directly to Syrian rebels in the battlefield […]
Indonesia: Religious Minorities Targets of Rising Violence
Government Inaction, Discriminatory Laws Embolden Militant Groups (Jakarta) – The Indonesian government is failing to protect the country’s religious minorities from growing religious intolerance and violence, Human Rights Watch said […]
Israel settlement construction is ‘systematic, deliberate and provocative’: EU
By Al Arabiya with AFP Israel’s settlement construction in annexed east Jerusalem is part of a strategy aimed at preventing the Holy City from becoming the capital of two states, […]
Hollande hopes for rapid ‘political solution’ on Syria within weeks
By Al Arabiya with AFP French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that he believed it would be possible to come to a political decision on the Syrian conflict in the […]
Freedom fatwa? Saudi cleric says women don’t need to veil, can travel alone
By Al Arabiya An influential Saudi cleric has issued a religious edict, commonly known as Fatwa, allowing women to travel without a male guardian, uncover their faces and eat alongside […]
Bangladesh Islamist party leader sentenced to death for war crimes
by Naim-Ul-Karim DHAKA, Feb. 28 — Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, believed to be the second-most important leader of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, was sentenced to death in capital Dhaka Thursday for […]
Jamaat-e-Islami Party has hijacked Islam and their activities have nothing to do with Islam!
Not anti-religion but pro-justice: Bangladesh protesters The Hindu The organisers also said their main objectives were to ensure capital punishment for war criminals and a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing, the Islami Chhatra Shibir, as they have unleashed a reign of terror across Bangladesh to foil the […]
Bangladesh’s ‘Pakistani’ party
Courtesy: Hindustani Times Indrajit Hazra Dhaka, February 26, 2013 The signs are there all over Dhaka. If it’s not blatant demands to “hang the war criminals” in posters and billboards surrounding Shahbagh Square where Bangladesh erupted on February 5, there are murals depicting demonic Islamist fundamentalists on the […]