The first ever visit by a Catholic Pope to the Arabian Peninsula gave an important boost to religious coexistence in the region this month. During a three-day trip to Abu Dhabi (UAE), Pope Francis met with the Crown Prince, took part in a two-day “Conference on Human Fraternity” attended by 600 religious leaders and opinion shapers, and led a mass […]
‘This is Love’ Lent campaign links East and West
Christian broadcaster SAT-7 is offering UK Christians the chance to bring a Middle Eastern perspective to their journey through Lent this year. Better known in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) than in the UK, SAT-7 is a network of four satellite TV channels produced by Christians in the MENA region and watched by over 25 million Arabic, Persian […]
Faith shines through pain in viewers’ messages
Many SAT-7 viewers in Iran live with fears of arrest and betrayal in addition to the economic pressures faced by all Iranians. Yet their testimonies to God’s grace and goodness are an inspiration, says Hephzibah, who has translated many of their messages. Seeing the messages sent by SAT-7 PARS viewers is both “heartbreaking” and “inspiring”. So says Hephzibah, a US-based […]
NEW YEAR PRAISE OVERFLOWS IN CAIRO
In Cairo this New Year’s Eve, so many believers gathered to begin 2019 in an atmosphere of praise and prayer that the 3,000-capacity Kasr el Dobara Evangelical Church (KDEC) had to expand into the street. SAT-7 live-streamed the second of two New Year’s Eve celebrations from the church. Together they drew some 8,000 worshippers. As 3,000 participated in the main […]
THE BRIEFING – DECEMBER 2018
As we approach the end of 2018, we take our annual look back over the last twelve months. Two themes stand out: each year since the 2011 Middle East uprisings has seen new shifts of power and a crumbling of the old order, and every year the faithfulness of the region’s Church continued to inspire. One of the most striking […]
SAT-7 LEADS PRAYERS FOR PILGRIMAGE SHOOTING VICTIMS
As Egypt’s Christians mourn a deadly gun attack on Coptic pilgrims, SAT-7’s Arabic channels have been leading believers across the Middle East in prayer. Several shows lifted up grieving families, injured survivors, and vulnerable Egyptian Christians, allowing viewers to pour out their pain and grief to God. At least seven people were killed on 2 November when gunmen targeted buses […]
MIDDLE EAST MINISTER: GOVERNMENT HAS “UPPED ITS GAME” IN SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Amid a rise in religious intolerance “sensitivity” is key, Alistair Burt told delegates at a Conservative Party fringe event on Wednesday 3 October. “Incidents of religious intolerance and religious discrimination are on the rise across the globe,” Rt Hon Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Middle East, said on Wednesday. He was speaking at a prayer breakfast on religious […]
Labour fringe hears Christian voices on the UK’s response to refugees
“Complex, powerful questions” were asked by a panel of MPs and NGO leaders on the UK’s treatment and integration of refugees at a Labour Party conference fringe event organised by SAT-7 and Christians on the Left. Heather Staff, of the Resettlement, Asylum & Migration Policy (RAMP) group, who acted as chair, was summing up the discussion involving MPs David Lammy, […]
MIDDLE EAST TV MINISTRY GOES THROUGH ITS PACES AT RICHMOND RUNFEST
A team of 29 staff and supporters of Middle East satellite TV broadcaster SAT-7 took part in the Richmond RunFest in London’s Kew Gardens last weekend (15-16 September) – with star runner, Jonathan Cornish, coming fourth out of over three thousand runners. The SAT-7 team was composed of both supporters and staff of the ministry’s Chippenham-based UK office and of […]
THE BRIEFING – SEPTEMBER 2018
The United Nations has urged Syria, Russia and Iran to avoid a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Syria’s Idlib province as Syrian forces and allies are poised for an offensive on the country’s last remaining rebel stronghold. The latest stage in the Syrian war is about to start with an imminent military operation against the rebel held city of Idlib. Over 60 […]