“I was a racist. I disliked Arabs, detested and hated them.” Abdel-Nour, a pastor in the Kabyle region of Algeria, is opening up to Free Souls presenter Samia Kessai about the hatred that once consumed him. Until 2016, his own language, the Kabyle version of Tamazight, was not even an official language in his country. As a young Berber, or […]
Praying for peace in the Holy Land
As violence in the Holy Land escalates, SAT-7 calls for Christians around the world to unite in prayers for peace, justice, and God’s mercy for all those caught up in the violence. Earlier this week, SAT-7’s ARABIC channel set up a crawl message on screen to encourage prayer among its millions of viewers, saying, “Innocent people in the Holy Land […]
The Briefing – April 2021
The Middle Eastern Christian communities that follow the western calendar came together this Easter to remind themselves of Christ’s victory over death and the coming of God’s kingdom in a broken world. Continuing conflicts and rivalries showed it’s a message that is much needed in the region. Thousands of Christians in Jerusalem processed down the Mount of Olives in the […]
Iranian “servant of Christ” witnesses spiritual revival
Iranian Christian Shoaib* first contacted us in August 2020, describing himself as a “slave of Jesus Christ”. As the months went on and we received further messages, we realised how total his service for Jesus is. And we are thrilled to learn of hundreds in his province who are finding new life in Christ. These edited versions of his messages […]
Turning to the Cross in a second pandemic Easter
As many countries face a new surge of COVID-19, SAT-7’s special Easter programming in Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish helps viewers find new hope and life at the foot of the Cross. “This Easter, when so many churches remain unable to meet – whether we are praying at home or connecting to worship services on our televisions or online – Iet […]
THE MIDDLE EAST BRIEFING – MARCH 2021
For once, this month global media attention was drawn to the region for positive reasons. The visit of Pope Francis to Iraq shone a light on a community hoping for healing and reconciliation and on the historic presence of Christians in the Middle East. In Iraq, this month saw the first ever visit of a Vatican Pope. Despite security and […]
POPE’S HISTORIC VISIT TO IRAQ
Over the weekend of 5-8 March, SAT-7 aired live the first ever visit by a Roman Catholic Pope to Iraq. Described by the Pope as “a pilgrimage of peace”, the historic visit aimed to bring hope and consolation to the peoples of post-war Iraq and recognition to Christians across the region. Parthians and Mesopotamians (from what is now Iraq) were […]
SAT-7 PROGRAMME SAVES BABY’S LIFE
A mercy mission and last-minute surgery arranged by the SAT-7 programme You Are Not Alone was recently able to save the life of a young Syrian refugee baby. A follow-up visit to the family reminded SAT-7 viewers that the lives of Syrians affected by a ten-year civil war remain precarious and the most vulnerable continue to suffer the most. Baby […]
“My School” innovations will address education emergency
A decade into the Syrian civil war, a humanitarian crisis continues to beleaguer Syrians and refugee host countries. Tenuous infrastructures and economies are buckling further under the pressure of pandemic shutdowns. The educational brand SAT-7 ACADEMY has adapted to this emergency, mobilising cutting-edge teaching models to support children. The threatening mantra uttered by Assad loyalists at the beginning of the […]
THE BRIEFING – FEBRUARY 2021
The people of the Middle East often seem to have more than their share of the world’s tragedies. Some make it to the news, others barely, but all leave deep scars and questions of whether their lives have value, or whether they and their families have a safe and prosperous future. Last weekend, a fuel tanker explosion at an Iran–Afghanistan […]