The Briefing – January 2023
January 2023At the start of a new year, what countries and developments should we be watching? Where should we be focusing our prayers? High in our concerns this year must be the nation of Iran. “In the midst of all the bad news we are hearing there is only one piece of good news. It is that Christ is the Lord […]
Bringing freedom to women in the Arab world
January 2023Today Not Tomorrow is a new SAT-7 series that is not afraid to ask the hard questions. Questions especially that restrict the lives of women in the Arab world – including justifications for violence and coercion – and prevent them from enjoying the dignity and fulness of life that God wants for them. The Middle East and North Africa is […]
ENABLING YOUNG PEOPLE TO “SHINE AS STARS”
January 2023These are worrying times for young people in Türkiye. Inflation hit a peak of 85.5 per cent in October and at least one in five young adults have no work to go to. Many are unhappy and concerned about the future: how to get a place at university, how to find work and earn a reasonable living. Türkiye’s young people […]
Christmas schedules offer joy for young believers under pressure
December 2022Celebrating Christmas is difficult for many Christian children who live in the predominantly non-Christian countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Especially so in countries such as Iran, Afghanistan and Algeria, where believers are facing increased pressure at this time. For children and adults alike SAT-7’s Christmas schedules this month offer them the transforming message of “God with us” […]
INTERNATIONAL “SILENT NIGHT” RECORDING HIGHLIGHTS SILENCED CHRISTIANS OF THE MIDDLE EAST
December 2022UK Christians have joined believers from around the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in a Christmas carol music video to highlight how believers in the region are silenced and unable to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Musicians and singers from Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Türkiye, Cyprus and the UK collaborated in recording a multi-language version of “Silent Night” for an Advent […]
Middle East Briefing – November 2022
November 2022The world’s eyes are on the Middle East this month, drawn by the courageous protests in Iran, a bombing in the heart of Istanbul and world gatherings in Egypt and Qatar for COP27 and the World Cup respectively. Women-led protests in Iran calling for an end to repression have continued into a ninth week. This is despite the arrests of […]
With Jesus and the people of impoverished East Beirut
November 2022SAT-7 Grants Coordinator Phil Good lives in East Beirut. In this personal blog, he shares how Lebanon’s economic collapse has added an older generation of poorer Lebanese to a church that has already welcomed hundreds of Syrian refugees. What should a church look like? I guess a church is situated in a location and should be a reflection of the […]
Rethinking care for God’s world
November 2022The Middle East and North Africa is one of the regions that stand to gain most if world leaders agree to limit world temperature rises at COP27, the UN climate summit being held in Egypt from 6-18 November. Water scarcity and soaring temperatures are among the most severe in the world, yet, worryingly, the region is also one where populations […]