The Briefing – November 2015
November 2015Another eventful month saw Russia and Iran join the Syria talks table, a shock election result in Turkey, and a thumbs down for ideas of an autonomous Christian region in Iraq News from the region It has been a year of surprises in Turkey and last week brought the latest. No one, including the ruling AK Party itself, expected a […]
Bridge building through art in Alexandria
Wazala profiles a pioneering cultural project that is bridging religious and social divisions in Egypt What does it take to unify a country? Five years ago it was a national hunger for political change that brought Egyptians of diverse creeds and backgrounds together. At that time they were calling for the end of the rule of President Hosni Mubarak. But […]
Priest's remarkable escape from IS
October 2015Assyrian 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. […]
Televised Conference In the Desert Energises Faith In Egypt
October 2015A 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 […]
With the Christian exiles from ISIS – October 2015
October 2015Grace discovers faith, pain and a shared understanding when she meets Iraqi Christians sheltering in Jordan It is interesting how God often speaks to us, beautifully and inspirationally, when we least expect it. Returning last month from a short visit to the USA, I had to go through Jordan, as Palestinians are not allowed to travel through the Israeli airport. […]
Practical support for asylum seekers
How to fulfil Matthew 25. The UK government has agree to accept 20,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees over the next five years. A Middle East writer living in the UK offers some practical suggestions to help us care for these new arrivals and other refugees already living among us. “Then the King will say to those on his […]
Sadegh – Musician finds new song
“I think SAT-7 was part of God’s plan for my life. Even when we don’t know God, He knows us,” says Sadegh, an Iranian believer, now living in the UK. In the last five years, Sadegh’s life has undergone a revolution. Today he is on fire for God; five years ago – in his early twenties – socialising and playing […]
The Briefing – October 2015
A British intelligence officer has reportedly said he stopped counting the complex layers that form current Middle East tensions after he got to seven. A further combustible layer was added this month by Russia’s military intervention in Syria. News from the Region Russia’s entrance into the ever-thickening complexity of the Syria war has put everyone on edge. President Putin has […]