Far-right leader makes TIME’s ‘most influential’ list
France24 The appearance of far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen on TIME magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people has taken the French by surprise.
Author Archives
Zia H Shah
He is a physician practicing in Upstate New York. He is the Chief Editor of the Muslim Times, which has more than 43,000 followers in Twitter. He is also Chair of Religion and Science for the Muslim Sunrise, the oldest Muslim publication in North America. He has authored more than 400 articles on Islam, Christianity, Secularism and Religion & Science. Follow in Twitter: @The_MuslimTimes
French economy grows by 1 percent in first quarter
France 24 France’s economy grew by 1.0 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to figures released Thursday by French Minister for Economy Christine Lagarde (pictured). It was the strongest growth the country has seen since the second quarter of 2006.
Switzerland: Women find no justice in law profession
by Laureline Duvillard, swissinfo.ch Although women in Switzerland are making progress as judges, there are still very few female court lawyers. Long hours, the lack of part-time work and expectations that women will take up family rather than business law help explain the gap and why women in general don’t […]
Saudi Arabia: Winners of Qur’an memorization contest to be announced
By YUSUF MAUHAMMAD | ARAB NEWS MADINAH: Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance Saleh Al-Asheikh will endorse on Saturday the final list of winners of the 13th session of the Prince Salman Local Contests for Qur’an Memorization, which concluded on Thursday. Forty-three of the 99 participants attended the […]
Strong Saudi support for NATO action in Libya: Poll
By ARAB NEWs JEDDAH: Fifty percent of Saudis support NATO’s military intervention in Libya while 33 percent oppose it and 17 percent have no comment, according to an online poll. The findings, part of an international survey conducted by Ipsos last month, but just published, also shows remarkable support in […]
Pakistan lawmakers slam US after session with army
By MUNIR AHMED | AP ISLAMABAD: Members of Pakistan’s Parliament slammed the United States on Saturday for the raid that killed Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden on their soil, but also demanded that an independent commission probe the debacle instead of one led by the country’s powerful armed forces. The […]
Rio families claim they are ‘forced from homes to make way for World Cup and Olympics’
Hundreds of families in Rio de Janeiro who say they are being forced from their homes because of construction related to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics have filed lawsuits against the city. Residents of the neighbourhoods west of the city said municipal officials offered them insufficient money to […]
Jesus Loves His Enemies…and Then Kills Them All
This article is part 5 of LoonWatch’s Understanding Jihad Series. Please read my “disclaimer”, which explains my intentions behind writing this article: The Understanding Jihad Series: Is Islam More Likely Than Other Religions to Encourage Violence? Anti-Muslim demagoguery relies on the demonization of the Prophet Muhammad, who is characterized as being especially violent […]
Brazilian court denies painting chimpanzee freedom from zoo
A Brazilian court has rejected a bid by academics, animal rights campaigners and environmentalists to have a chimpanzee who paints every day released from a zoo. Jimmy, nicknamed the Cezanne of the Simians, has lived for around 12 years on his own in a 61 square metre cage at Niteroi […]
BP gets green light to explore Brazil waters
BP has finally been given permission to start deepwater exploration off the coast of Brazil after having to wait more than a year for approval from the national regulator in the wake of the Macondo well tragedy The Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP) finally sanctioned BP’s purchase of Devon Energy’s […]
Why we celebrate Killing Bin Laden
A ?MAN is shot in the head, and joyous celebrations break out 7,000 miles away. Although Americans are in full agreement that the demise of Osama bin Laden is a […]
Guilt, Cooperation Linked by Neural Network: Why People Choose to Cooperate Rather Than Act Selfishly
A team of researchers at the University of Arizona has brought a high-tech tool to bear on the study of a familiar and age-old emotion — guilt. What makes the investigation unique is the use of fMRI scans to target the regions of the brain associated with guilt. It also […]
Grandpa dropped 58 pounds in Mississippi challenge
Larry Smith’s desire to make sure he’s alive to watch his grandchildren grow up was his light bulb moment. “I was on the path to not living old and this […]
Aqaba taking Jordan along for the ride
Marsa Zayed envisions a marina development with room for 300 yachts and a cruise ship terminal all surrounded by a mixture of hotel, resort and luxury apartment complexes. The entire project is slated for completion in several years time, when Jordan first signed the development deal with Al Mabaar, a […]
Syria’s Assad reported to have ordered no shooting
AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered troops not to fire on pro-democracy demonstrators, a rights campaigner said, ahead of Friday prayers that have become a rallying point for protesters in an eight-week uprising.Louay Hussein said Assad’s adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told him in a phone call on Thursday […]
Natural disasters a Divine Sign of the truthfulness of Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Head of the Worldwide Ahmadiyya Community, said: “Whenever any natural disaster occurs in the world, those who fear God are frightened lest any such future disaster puts them in difficulty. That any act of theirs may become a source of God’s displeasure. Such thinking is only of true […]
Democracy and Islam
IT is said by some that democracy has no place in the political system of Islam. Islam is not only a religion, rather it is a complete code of life. All aspects of Muslim society, individually or collectively, are covered by the social structure of Islam. Hence a political system, […]
Twin blasts kill more than 80 in Charsadda
SHABQADAR: The Tehrik-e-Taliban on Friday claimed their first major strike in revenge for Osama bin Laden’s death as more than 80 people were killed and at least 115 were wounded in a suicide and bomb attack on FC personnel. “This was the first revenge for Osama’s martyrdom. Wait for bigger […]
‘Pakistan is Certainly Not a Terrorist State:’ Interview with Christian Wagner
Since the targeted raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, a growing number of people in the US have been calling for a freeze on all financial aid for Pakistan. In this interview, Christian Wagner, an expert on South Asian affairs, speaks of the dangers of taking such a step There […]
Swiss reject UN request to take more refugees
Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga has rejected a request by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to take in refugees trapped on the Libyan-Tunisian border. At a meeting in Brussels focussing on the influx of North African asylum seekers, Sommaruga said Switzerland had no more “capacity” and that the government did […]