Freedom and security seem ever more elusive in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). This month, we bring you various reports on religious freedom, women’s rights and press freedom, as well as more hopeful news from Syria.
Freedom of religion and of belief is “being challenged more and more” around the world, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) declared as it launched its annual report. Among the countries it added to a list of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPCs) were Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. Other MENA states already designated as CPCs are Iran, Saudi Arabia and Tajikistan. Designation allows the US to impose economic penalties if religious freedom does not improve. The report also recommended redesignating the Houthi movement which currently controls North Yemen as a non-state Entity of Particular Concern (EPC). It noted its persecution of religious minorities including Christians, its anti-Semitic propaganda and undermining of women’s rights.
Violence in Egypt
Examples of the threats to religious freedom came from rural Egypt last month. Two outbreaks of anti-Christian violence were sparked by the granting of government permission for the building of new churches. In Al-Fawakher village, Minya governorate, (23 April) Islamic extremists set fire to seven homes owned by Coptic Orthodox Christians and tried to stop residents leaving them. Thankfully, neither the Bishop of Minya nor the police reported any fatalities. The village is home to 3,000 Christian families. Three days later in Al-Koum Al-Ahmar in Minya a crowd threw stones at Christian homes and at police who arrived to protect them. The hostilities were prompted by the construction of an Evangelical church intended to serve 2,000 worshippers from three local villages. Despite incidents like this, it’s encouraging that authorities are working through the backlog of 3,700 requested churches and affiliated buildings that existed ten years ago. Another 187 premises were authorised this January, bringing the total to 3,160.
The cautious freedom awarded to the Association of Protestant Churches (EPA) in by its legal recognition in 2011, however, has gone into reverse. Since 2017 most of its 45 church buildings have been forcibly closed. The association’s vice president, Pastor Youssef Ourahmane, has been sentenced in absentia to a year in prison. He is charged with conducting an unauthorised meeting in premises not registered for worship. At a second appeal hearing on 5 May, his one year sentence was upheld and another six months suspended sentence added. Algeria’s Evangelical community has been one of the world’s fastest growing in recent decades, but first generation believers are said to be struggling without the freedom to be taught and worship together.
Crackdowns on women
We move on to look at women’s freedoms some 18 months since the death in custody of Mahsa Amini for improper wearing of the hijab. Her death sparked a mass wave of protests in Iran with the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom”. Although shaken, Iran’s rulers used their security forces to crush the public demonstrations, reportedly killing as many as 551 and detaining 20,000. Some courageous women continue to go bare-headed in public, however, prompting Ayatollah Khamenei last month to order new measures. Leading these is a division of thousands of newly recruited female morality police who patrol public spaces and seize women judged to be breaking the dress code.
The story is not so different in Saudi Arabia. News emerged this month that Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old blogger and fitness instructor, had been secretly sentenced to 11 years in prison for social media posts showing her head uncovered and supporting women’s rights. Manahel was convicted under the state’s anti-terror laws that impose severe restrictions on views expressed on websites. Amnesty International said that dozens of individuals have been arrested in the past two years for their expression on social media.
The suppression of women’s rights is linked to the increased pressures on press freedom and journalists globally (see the World Press Freedom Index). But SAT-7 channels continue to broadcast powerful programmes that we know strengthen women in the many different contexts of the region, especially Christians, as they seek to navigate the challenges of how to live out their faith. Wakeela, a young woman from Egypt, reached out to SAT-7 feeling worthless because of her gender. After a gentle conversation with SAT-7’s viewer support team, Wakeela shared, “Your words comforted me a lot and made me think of many good things about myself and good things in my life. Thank you for your time and trust, and thank you for your prayers.”
On the go or short on time? We’re excited to offer our 7-minute audio version of our monthly Briefing. Listen now and subscribe for the latest news from the region, read aloud for you – perfect for your commute or coffee break.
Gaza conflict
To the Holy Land, where recent weeks saw increasingly desperate hopes for a ceasefire, both from Gazan civilians who have been displaced multiple times, and from many Israelis who long to see the return of hostages and who fear for the safety of children serving in the military. A series of negotiations mediated by Egypt and Qatar and with US participation raised hopes, only to be dashed when it appeared that Hamas had accepted proposals that Israel had not agreed. In the absence of a ceasefire, Israel intensified its operations, renewing bombardments in the north and beginning a ground invasion of Rafah.
At the time of writing, some 300,000 people have fled as Israeli troops pushed on. Medical staff at Al Najar, the city’s largest partially functioning hospital, and at a primary health clinic run by the Near East Council of Churches both had to evacuate. Remaining hospitals are struggling with the surge of injuries. On a wider front, International Christian Concern reported that up to three quarters of Gaza’s Christian community of a thousand believers have left or are planning to leave the enclave. Please continue to pray urgently for all caught up in this war.
In the wake of Israel and Iran’s drone attack exchanges last month, church leaders in the UK and around the world have called on the two nations to exercise restraint. Writing on social media, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “I pray for the peace and security of Israel’s people at this time and I appeal to all parties both for restraint and to act for peace and mutual security.” Furthermore, the World Council of Churches (WCC) appealed for an immediate ceasefire and the release of detainees and hostages, and called on Israel and Iran to “serve the interests of peace, people, and planet instead of pride and retaliation”.
Atrocities in Sudan
While the world’s eyes are elsewhere, the picture in Sudan equally deserves our prayers. The army-held city of El Fasher in Northern Darfur is bracing itself for mass casualties after the opposition Rapid Support Forces (RSF) encircled what has been a shelter for hundreds of thousands who have fled from elsewhere. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report documenting some of the worst atrocities committed during the year-long war that were carried out by the RSF and allied Arab militias. HRW compiled over 200 witness statements to the June 2023 killing of thousands of non-Arab Masalit people in El Geneina, West Darfur. Now, El Fasher, already stretched to capacity with an acute water shortage and food supplies running out, fears what awaits it.
Médecins Sans Frontières reported that 30 per cent of the 46,000 children its staff screened in a nearby displacement camp are suffering from acute malnutrition. The World Food Programme told CNN, “If assistance doesn’t reach [communities] soon, we risk witnessing widespread starvation and death in Darfur and across other conflict-affected areas in Sudan.”
You can give to our recent appeal on the situation in Sudan here.
Church bells ring out in Syria
On a happier note, Open Doors reports that church bells will ring out again in Raqqa, Syria. The church buildings, once captured by so-called Islamic State, were handed back to the Christian community on 16 April. George Makeen, SAT-7’s Ministry Content Adviser, celebrated the development, saying: “The fact that people can once again rebuild their churches and ring their bells is a sign of hope to a place that has suffered so much, and is still in a difficult transitional period. SAT-7 is aware of the good work churches are doing in Syria; the spirit of unity is growing, and different dominations are working together to support Christian families. Churches are providing education services so that the few remaining younger people can find hope and build their future. At SAT-7, we cover these developments and pray for the country.”
Finally, in further good news for the Church in the region, the Middle East Council of Churches is celebrating 50 years of working to represent and unite many of the churches that represent diverse ethnicities and traditions in the region. The anniversary began in January with a concert in Beirut, Lebanon, attended by thousands and broadcast by SAT-7. Coming months will see themed seminars in different countries that focus on events in biblical and Church history that occurred there. For example, in Syria the focus will be St Paul’s conversion and in Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, it will be Jesus’ baptism. Please pray that the celebrations will encourage and strengthen the Church’s witness in the region.
