Eyewitness to the Iranian “Great Awakening”
March 2020Five months after the 1979 revolution that a Shia Islamic government, Tat Stewart arrived to pastor a community church in Tehran. What he had never expected to see was the remarkable move of God’s Spirit among Iranian people that began in those days of turmoil and continues still today in a Church that is largely underground. In 1978, over 55,000 […]
Behind the scenes at the SAT-7 PARS studio
September 2019Behind an unremarkable door on a nondescript industrial estate in North London, something amazing is taking place. This is where SAT-7’s Persian-language channel, SAT-7 PARS, films and broadcasts live TV shows, which are making God’s love visible in Iran and beyond. Alison Bird (below, seated centre), a SAT-7 supporter from Maidenhead, recently visited the SAT-7 PARS studio with a group […]
A new heart for Iranian believers
April 2019It is not long since we celebrated the birth of Jesus and now we are fast approaching Easter. I don’t know about you, but I find that unless I take the time to deliberate on Christ’s work on the cross it is possible that the celebration of Easter may become a mere tradition. It is amazing to dwell on […]
Hearing women’s stories
March 2019When I think of women in my country and in the Arab world, and when I examine myself in hindsight, I feel ashamed at how smug and arrogant I have been. I always felt that discrimination against women was something that happened to other people, not to me, and not to “us.” Belonging to a Coptic Christian family, I […]
The Magi: kings, priests or enemy agents?
December 2018Omeed Jouyandé explains why Herod and “all Jerusalem” had good reason to be alarmed by the arrival of a group of Magi from Parthia. But their mission was not as Herod feared – and their faith and identity remains an inspiration for Iranian Christians today. Danial from Iran describes how believers celebrate Christmas in his homeland: “Christmas is very […]
Crossing borders, joining hearts
November 2018When George Makeen found himself in a sticky situation during an Egypt-Algeria football match, it revealed to him the power of Jesus to bring people together. In his latest blog post, the SAT-7 ARABIC Programming Director shares his joy over how SAT-7’s North African programmes are doing the same for lonely believers. Having grown up in Egypt, I knew little about North […]
THE IRANIAN ART OF CONVERSATION
September 2018When Iranians meet, the time we spend greeting and exchanging polite pleasantries can seem excessive – especially to someone from a European culture. Then when we are saying goodbye on the doorstep the whole process repeats itself and whole new conversations on brand new topics are enjoyed well into the night. I write as one born in the “old country” […]
A year after Palm Sunday attacks, joy returns to Egypt
April 2018Lindsay Shaw reflects on a visit to Egypt over Eastern Palm Sunday Last Saturday I stood on the spot where 18 people lost their lives to a suicide bomb just one year ago. I was in the gateway of St Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in Alexandria, with local SAT-7 colleagues and three UK journalists. We had come to see SAT-7’s work […]