THE BRIEFING – OCTOBER 2021
October 2021Sunday 10 October marked the tenth anniversary of the martyrdom of 24 Coptic Christians in Egypt in 2011. They were killed during a demonstration by hundreds of Copts against increasing attacks on churches and the lack of any measures by the state to halt them. The peaceful protest outside the Maspero television building was confronted by armoured vehicles that rammed […]
From rock bottom, to singing his praise
Maged Shafik’s life was once so full of danger and darkness that he was the target of attempted murder three times. Today, he is a well-known worship leader in Egypt, a man of peace and faith. To encourage the many SAT-7 ARABIC viewers, from Lebanon to Yemen, who feel they are at rock bottom, Maged shared his testimony on the […]
BREAKING DOWN LEBANON’S “TRANSPARENT WALLS”
October 2021“One activity after another broke down our transparent walls,” says Marie-Belle Milan, a 19-year-old participant in the project Lebanon: Our Story. As crisis-hit Lebanon waits on a knife-edge to see if its newly confirmed government can offer hope, this project has begun its first Storytelling Clubs, bringing together youth from different backgrounds to create change from the ground up. Here is Marie-Belle’s experience in […]
FREEDOM DENIED: THE IMPACT OF TALIBAN CONTROL ON GIRLS AND WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN
October 2021SAT-7 women’s show Insiders spoke to an Iranian journalist and social activist who recently travelled to Afghanistan. Zahra M updated viewers on the stark new realities facing women and girls under Taliban rule in the country. “The reason the Taliban is afraid of women is that when women become informed, the world becomes well-informed,” Zahra M said. She explained that […]
Detox for the Persian soul: Christian counselling series for Iran and Afghanistan
October 2021Many people in Persian countries live with trauma, says Revd Annahita Parsan, a refugee and survivor of domestic abuse and the presenter of a new biblical counselling series on SAT-7 PARS. But the liberating message of her series, Detox for the Soul, is that no-one with these emotional and mental scars is a lost cause: they can be set free. Although […]
The centrality of religious freedom highlighted at party political conferences
October 2021SAT-7-sponsored panels on the fringes of the Labour and Conservative Party conferences have highlighted both the centrality of the right to freedom of religion or belief and the continued need for collective action to defend it. Fiona Bruce, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), spoke in an online panel during the Conservative Conference (4 […]
Holding out hope for Afghanistan
September 2021“The Taliban have completely taken over everything and our hope is cut off,” says Tahmsab* a viewer in Afghanistan, speaking to the SAT-7 PARS Audience Relations team. Through programs and the Audience Relations teams, SAT-7 PARS continues to hold out an unbreakable hope to viewers in Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse. Women and girls […]
From Belfast to Beirut: in search of peace
September 2021As people around the world mark the International Day of Peace on 21 September, SAT-7 Development Officer Phil Hilditch reflects on what his unusual life journey has taught him about peace – and how a new project by SAT-7 and partners in Lebanon is an opportunity to partner in God’s work to promote the ideals of peace. “They must turn […]