What is driving the growing tensions between these two major Gulf powers and what part does religion play? Simon Mabon brings some clarity. The execution by Saudi Arabia of the prominent Shi’a cleric Nimr al-Nimr on the 2nd January, along with the 46 others found guilty of terrorism by a Saudi court, has seen the already tense relationship between the […]
Iraqi Refugee Child’s Startling Message to World Leaders An 11-year-old Iraqi refugee whose video message of forgiveness for Islamic State (IS) went viral worldwide has given startling advice on how world leaders should respond to a Middle East in crisis: “Walk with love and mercy in your hearts.” A year ago, Christian satellite television channel SAT-7 KIDS first filmed and […]
In a month when suicide bombers killed 43 civilians on the streets of Beirut, residents of the Lebanese capital also had the opportunity to hear far better news in a ground-breaking Gospel media campaign. The Power to Change united volunteers from some 57 cooperating churches for the first time. It also combined city-wide advertising using roadside and overhead billboards with […]
A Palestinian musician who played on the soundtrack of the film The Passion of the Christ joined SAT-7’s weekly We Will Sing hymns programme recently. Playing the oud and singing a number of songs he had composed, Naser Musa added a new flavour of Arabic worship to the popular worship show – the Arab Gulf tune. Among his songs was […]
Egypt Church leaders join hundreds in prayer for victims of Middle East conflict at American University in Cairo Around 800 young people and families of many Middle East denominations joined to pray for this war-torn region and its refugees at the American University in Cairo on 31st of October. The concert, called “I Love My Country”, was the brainchild of […]
Assyrian Christian leader tells how his humanitarian aid inspired a friend to plot his escape, on a motorbike, disguised as a jihadist fighter FATHER Jacques Mourad has told how he escaped the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Syria with the help of a friend whose family had been helped by the priest’s programme of aid to the poor and disadvantaged. […]
A Christian youth festival in Egypt was so packed that people were “squashed in the aisles”, but that did not deter the spiritually hungry crowd! The sixth annual OneThing festival in Wadi el Natroun took place from 1-3 October with around 7,000 people attending each day. One of the main speakers, Rev. Sameh Maurice (below right), said that the packed […]
SAT-7 ARABIC women’s magazine Needle and Thread ventured into new grounds last month when it dedicated an episode to discuss the problems facing Sudanese refugees in Egypt, especially discrimination, exploitation and racism. “The topic of this episode has been tugging at my heart for years—every time I see a Sudanese woman or child in Egypt. I have been imagining and […]
Team inspired by youngsters’ faith and joy Meeting people who have suffered gravely but who continue to praise God generously is always humbling – and especially so when they are children. In war-ravaged and poverty-stricken South Sudan, a crew from SAT-7 KIDS was surprised to find joy and thankfulness among orphans who have lost their families to conflict. A team […]
Only the intervention of government figures, faith and human rights organisations made it possible for five Egyptian Christian families to return to their homes after mob violence drove them from their village. SAT-7 Egypt journalist Mary Joseph describes how religious extremism and Egypt’s informal legal process of “reconciliation sessions” can result in Christians being expelled from their communities. Ayman, an […]
