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.
Muslims Say They’re Loyal Americans, Poll Finds
Courtesy: NY Times By LAURIE GOODSTEIN A decade after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a Gallup poll released on Tuesday found that the vast majority of Muslim Americans say they are loyal to the United States and optimistic about the future, even though they are more likely than other religious groups […]
Awe and history in the Arab revolts
By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star For those many honest people around the world perplexed by the variations and inconsistencies in so many aspects of the current citizen revolts across the Arab world, historical analogies may be a good starting point to understand the full dimensions and implications of […]
Charity organizes Umrah trip for 1,000 ex-convicts
By MUHAMMAD HUMAIDAN | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: Tarahum, the national organization for the welfare of prisoners, ex-convicts and their families, is organizing Umrah trips for 1,000 of its registered members in Qunfudha this month. “A number of ex-convicts and relatives of prisoners are being sent for Umrah in Ramadan in […]
Somali refugees: No food to break Ramadan fast
By Abdi Guled, The Associated Press, Jordan Times. DADAAB, Kenya – As the holy month of Ramadan begins, Faduma Aden is fasting during the day even though she doesn’t have enough food to celebrate with a sundown feast. The Somali mother of three, who fled starvation in her homeland and […]
Palestinians set date for mass demonstrations
RAMALLAH/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies) – Jordan Times. Palestinian officials say they plan to begin mass marches against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank on September 20, the eve of a largely symbolic UN vote expected to recognise their independence, the Associated Press reported. Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo said leaders hope […]
‘Bureaucracy preventing domestic helpers from going home’
By Hani Hazaimeh, Jordan Times AMMAN – Although thousands of domestic helpers have been exempted from paying millions of dinars worth of accumulated work and residency permit fees under several government initiatives to streamline the sector, obstacles are still preventing hundreds from returning to their countries. Since the beginning of […]
Clerics urged to highlight Baptism Site authenticity
By Rand Dalgamouni, Jordan Times BAPTISM SITE – A senior official on Monday called on Christian leaders to help establish beyond doubt that the Kingdom hosts the holy site where Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist. “We request that your beatitudes help us in highlighting the historical facts […]
From Spending to Cuts, While the Economy Stalls
WASHINGTON — The nation’s political leaders agreed on Sunday to spend and invest less money in the American economy, a step that economists said risks the reversal of a faltering recovery, in the hope of improving the nation’s long-term prosperity. The emerging outlines of a deal to cut spending by […]
Abuse in the Church
source/credit: spiegel SPIEGEL Interview with Top Jesuit Priest ‘We Kept Quiet about Sexual Abuse for Too Long’ A bishop at a meeting of the German Bishops’ Conference in February 2010. Jesuit priest Klaus Mertes, the director of Berlin’s Canisius College, sent shock waves through the German Catholic Church in January 2010 […]
The moon and the maulvi
source/credit: Tribune The holy month is fast approaching and will no doubt approach in its usual fashion — in stages. That an Islamic Republic is so strife-ridden that it is unable to agree in unity on something as simple as the moon says much for the brand of religion it […]
The lethal son of Islamophobes
Source/Credit: Tribune If the 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik had not published his 1500-page ‘manifesto’ just before embarking upon the killing spree that left 76 dead in Oslo and a nearby island hosting a Labour Party youth camp, there would have been a tendency to dub him as a ‘lone wolf’. […]
There is no compulsion in religion
source/credit. dailytimes A thousand years before the age of enlightenment and before the idea of religious toleration took root in the west, the Holy Quran said, “There is no compulsion in religion” (2:256). It is often forgotten, when we speak of Islam, that Islam’s approach was reformist. For example, the […]
Workers recruited to hand out Ramadan meals in Grand Mosque
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: New workers have been recruited to hand out Ramadan meals at the courtyards of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. “Close to 500 new officials including supervisors are appointed to ensure the smooth free meal supply at the Grand Mosque in Ramadan,” Director […]
Syria army kills 80 activists on eve of Ramadan
By KHALED YACOUB OWEIS | REUTERS Arab News AMMAN: Syrian tanks firing shells and machineguns stormed the city of Hama on Sunday, killing at least 80 civilians in a move to crush demonstrations against President Bashar Al-Assad’s rule, rights activists and residents said. Assad’s forces began their assault on the […]
State universities to receive increased government funding
AMMAN (Jordan Times) – His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday directed the government to increase financial support for state universities, as recommended in a plan previously ordered by His Majesty to reform higher education. In a follow-up meeting with public university presidents, the King was briefed on the plan, which […]
Jordan: Ramadan thoughts
Editorial: Jordan Times The holy month of Ramadan starts today. It is a month of abstinence, spirituality and prayer, one in which fasting Muslims are called upon to refrain from eating, drinking and carnal pleasure between dawn and sunset. It is a time when Muslims should turn to meditation and […]