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.
Mea culpa: Nuns admit to past mistakes in children’s homes
by Clare O’Dea in Brunnen, swissinfo.ch An independent investigation into allegations of abuse at children’s homes run by the Swiss Ingenbohl Sisters of Mercy has found serious failings by the […]
Top Pak court to probe official’s death
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE ARABBEWS Thursday 24 January 2013 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top judge ordered yesterday the Supreme Court to investigate the death of an official probing a corruption scandal involving the […]
Muslim Brotherhood Boycotts Jordan Elections
Elizabeth Arrott VOICE OF AMERICA January 23, 2013 CAIRO — Jordanians are voting for a new parliament Wednesday at a time of growing calls for reform in the kingdom. However, the influential Muslim Brotherhood is boycotting the vote, casting doubt on how influential the body will be. The brotherhood’s political […]
Obama’s CIA Pick and His Romancing with Islam: Jewish Press
Obama’s CIA Pick and His Romance with Islam Brennan is 100 percent on board with the Obama policy that our enemies consist only of ‘al-Qaeda and its extremist allies.’ By: Vic Rosenthal Published: January 22nd, 2013 John O. Brennan One of the first things Barack Obama did after taking the […]
Cameron Promises Britons a Referendum on E.U. Membership
LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron promised Britons a decisive referendum within five years on membership in the European Union — provided he wins the next election — in a long-awaited speech on Wednesday whose implications have alarmed the Obama administration and are likely to set the markers for an […]
startling revelations. Finally the Indian RAW/Israeli MOSSAD and the US CIA’ collusion gets uncovered.
Source: Datukik Clcik HERE for details. Regrettably only in Urdu.
Leaders without followers
Source: The Economist: AS THE movers and shakers head to the Swiss mountain resort of Davos this week for the annual World Economic Forum, their credentials as global leaders look anything but resilient. Their official theme will be “resilient dynamism”, whatever that means, but what they ought to be talking […]
Forced into extinction
Source: The Economist: LIKE much that moves in Twitter-mad Saudi Arabia these days, it started with a single message. A lady in Dammam, the hub of the oil industry on the kingdom’s Gulf coast, tweeted a complaint from a local shopping mall. Agents of the Committee for the Promotion of […]
Prince Harry has ‘mental problem’,Taliban says
Source: TOI KABUL: Britain’s Prince Harry, who compared shooting insurgents in Afghanistan to playing video games, has probably developed a mental problem, the Taliban said on Tuesday. “There are 49 countries with their powerful military failing in the fight against the mujahideen, and now this prince comes and compares this […]
Obama’s secret weapon in re-election: Pakistani scientist Rayid Ghani
Source: Dawn.Com Visiting his young campaign staffers the morning after his re-election at his campaign headquarters in Chicago, a tearful Obama told the staffers that they had been part of the best campaign team in history. Pakistani scientist Rayid Ghani was among the leaders of his technology team. – File […]
Surah Al-Asr warns mankind of fleeting time
“If people deliberate this Surah (Al-Asr), it suffices them.” — Imam Ash-Shafii The importance of holy Surah like Al-Asr lies in the fact that it delineates the perfect all-embracing system […]
Food for Thought: Swiss given poor marks for diet
Jan 22, 2013 – 20:42 The Swiss eat too much fatty food, too few vegetables and don’t move enough. These are the conclusions of the government’s sixth Swiss Nutrition Report, published on Tuesday. People aren’t adequately aware of the importance of a balanced diet, according to the report, which is […]
Mountain Summit: Inertia reigns as elite return to Davos
by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch Some of the world’s most influential leaders will be faced with a familiar set of unsolved problems during the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in […]
Sectarian violence: Shia doctor gunned down in Peshawar
The Muslim Times’ Editor for Pakistan Credit: Xpress Tribune By Riaz Ahmad Published: January 22, 2013 PESHAWAR: In an apparent incident of sectarian violence, a Shia doctor was gunned down in Peshawar […]
Refuge in Switzerland – Asylum applications and rejections rise in 2012
January 22, 2013 – 13:38 The number of overall asylum applications increased in 2012, reaching the highest number since 1999. At the same time, Switzerland rejected more requests as the country tries to speed up the evaluation process. In 2012, 28,631 applications were filed, most of them from Eritrea, followed […]
ICC lawyers slam Libya over Qadhafi son’s ‘Kafka-esque’ trial
AFP | Jan 21, 2013 | 22:46 Updated: Jan 21, 2013 | 22:46 THE HAGUE — Lawyers defending Muammar Qadhafi’s son Seif Al Islam at the International Criminal Court on Monday accused Libyan authorities of conducting a “Kafka-esque show trial” after he appeared in a court in his homeland for […]
Saudi reform may be slow, but it can be meaningful
Story Summary A week ago, Saudi Arabia saw something that people in the kingdom often talk about but rarely witness – a potentially important political reform. Saudi King Abdullah announced on Jan. 11 that 30 women would join the kingdom’s Shura Council, a 150-person consultative body, and that women henceforth […]
Syrians struggle with shortages as economy buckles
by Bassem Mroue, Daily Star, Lebanon Story Summary Already grappling with severe fuel shortages and winter temperatures that drop below freezing, Syrians now must spend hours in line every day for gasoline or a few loaves of bread at soaring prices as President Bashar Assad’s regime faces mounting difficulties in […]
Mali Conflict Opens New Front in War on Terror
Source: Spiegel By Paul Hyacinthe Mben and Jan Puhl French soldiers in Mali. France has found early success in its fight against Islamist extremists in northern Mali. But Saharan terrorist groups have close ties and are prepared for a prolonged battle. The hostage crisis in Algeria shows that the new […]