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.
By RIMA AL-MUKHTAR, RIMA.ALMUKHTAR@ARABNEWS.COM Mesaharati is a 30-day job created especially for Ramadan that requires a man with a special drum to go around his neighborhood early in the morning to wake up people to eat suhoor (starting of the fast meal) before Fajr prayer, signifying the start of the […]
Editorial: ARABNEWS How in the real world can anyone sell something that they do not already own? The decision by France, Italy, Spain and Belgium to impose a ban on the short selling of shares will be approved by many well beyond the confines of those particular four countries. Indeed, […]
By DAREEN GALAL | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: Islamic songs of late have been gaining popularity among various sections of society in the Arab world. This is more evident by the tremendous response to video clips of songs by some prominent Arab singers aired by satellite channels. These singers can also […]
By HAMZA HENDAWI | AP, ARABNEWS CAIRO: The USAID director in Egypt has abruptly flown back to Washington after less than a year on the job, the first major casualty of a row between the two longtime allies over American funding for pro-democracy groups. Jim Bever left his post Thursday, […]
TAGESANZEIGER, Zurich. Muslim parents, who did not send their daughters to swimming lessons, have to pay a fine of 1400 Swiss Francs. According to the Basel court swimming lessons are in the public interest. Parents who refuse participation of their children in the mandatory swimming lessons at school have been […]
LONDON — Ever since Lehman Brothers collapsed nearly three years ago, Europe’s leaders have repeatedly vowed to prevent any major European bank from failing. But as bank shares plummeted this week, the question on investors’ minds was not whether governments would rescue their banks if necessary. It was how much […]
The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) said in a hadith: According to Abu Hurara (RA), the prophet (saw) said “there are three types of dreams: a righteous dream which is glad tidings from Allah, the dream which cause sadness is from satan, and the dreams from […]
The Taliban in Pakistan have clearly demonstrated they are currently detaining two Swiss citizens kidnapped in July, say specialists. According to the Geneva Center for Training and Analysis of Terrorism, pictures taken of the hostages’ passports and broadcast by the Al Arabyia television network earlier this week are formal proof. […]
By REUTERS, ARABNEWS BAGHDAD: Iraq’s fiercely anti-US preacher Moqtada Sadr has warned that US military trainers will be targets if they stay in the country beyond a year-end deadline for American troops to leave. The statement from Sadr, whose Mehdi Army militia fought US troops until 2008, follows a deal […]
By ARAB NEWS Published: Aug 12, 2011 02:04 Updated: Aug 12, 2011 02:04 JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will lay the foundation stone to the Makkah Haram expansion works in a few days. The project is called the King Abdullah Expansion of the Makkah Haram. The […]
By ABDUL HANNAN TAGO | ARAB NEWS RIYADH: Delaying payment of salaries to workers is a clear human rights violation that Islam does not tolerate, according to a member of the Saudi Jurisprudence Assembly. Abdulrahman Abdul Aziz Al-Muhrij, who was participating in a four-day symposium organized by the Princess Al-Anood […]
By Muath Freij AMMAN – The passion for making juice has been passed on from generation to generation in the Khalili family, which is well-known for preparing different flavours of juice. Ramadan Khalili, owner of the Ramadan Khalili shop in downtown Amman, said his family never abandoned the juice-making profession […]
RAMALLAH/OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (Agencies) – Jordan Times. A delegation of Arab foreign ministers will urge permanent members of the Security Council next week to vote for Palestinian UN membership, a top Palestinian official said Thursday. Negotiator Saeb Erekat told Agence France-Presse the group would talk with representatives from the veto-wielding Britain, […]
Source: Physics World NASA has launched a mission to Jupiter that will shed light on the origin and inner structure of the largest planet in our solar system. The $1.1bn Juno probe was launched today from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 12.25 p.m. local time and will now begin a five-year […]
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: August 8: Two Katusha rockets fell on west Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone on Wednesday, but losses were not known, a security source reported. “Two Katusha rockets fell on the Green Zone, but losses were not known,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He said […]
Courtesy: CNN By Jim Kavanagh, CNN People tend to become less religious as they become more educated, right? Not necessarily, according to a new study. After analyzing data from a large national survey, University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist Philip Schwadel found that people actually tend to become more religious – by […]
France24: AFP – Italy and France called Friday for emergency G7 talks and the EU said it is working “night and day” to ready new rescue funding as eurozone lending costs soared and stocks plunged on alarm over renewed global recession. As Europe scrambled to head off pressure on the single […]
france24: AFP – France on Monday said it had given Libyan rebels 259 million dollars (181 million euros) in frozen funds that used to belong to the regime of strongman leader Moamer Kadhafi. “The NTC (National Transitional Council) will now be able to use these funds for purchases of a […]
LONDON: At least 2,200 people, including women and children, have been reported killed in CIA drone strikes in Pakistan, according to a new study by the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism in conjunction with The Express Tribune. The dead include up to 21 alleged militants that were killed in North Waziristan on Wednesday. The […]
The first Humanity First convoy left Nairobi very early on Friday 29th July. 70 HF Kenya volunteers including 20 women and 50 men had sourced food items in bulk in Nairobi as sourcing in Garissa was proving difficult. These were then packaged into parcels consisting of a range of items […]