As you listen to Fatma* tell the story of why she, her husband, Ibrahim* and their three girls became five of Lebanon’s one million Syrian refugees – you start to understand why so many have taken the ultimate step of leaving their home country. The chaos and violence have made life in their home country impossible and they feared especially […]
Fatma and Ibrahim – family finds refuge in Christ
The Briefing – May 2015
Increased interventions by Saudi Arabia impact Yemen and Syria, while descendants of Ottoman Armenians remember their “Great Catastrophe”. News from the region Changes in Saudi Arabia’s royal family structure are slowly but increasingly affecting the region. The appointments and foreign policy moves made by King Salman (crowned head of state in January) demonstrate a far more proactive Saudi Arabia in […]
Child Refugees Who Fled ISIS Reunited By SAT-7
Best friends Myriam (10) and Sandra (9), who were driven from their homes in Iraq by so-called Islamic State (IS) last year and ended up in different countries, were brought together on a live SAT-7 KIDS show. The youngsters were reunited over a video phone call during an episode of Let’s Sing Together marking eastern Easter on 12 April. They […]
Evangelical in Turkey
Turkish pastor Zekai Tanyar is a former chair of the Evangelical Alliance in his country. In the first half of a two-part interview he offers SAT-7 an update on the life of the Protestant Church in Turkey. How are current events affecting the Church in Turkey? The situation in Syria and Iraq hasn’t had negative effects on the Church apart from […]
SAT-7 Airs Foot Washing Service At Roumieh Prison
The whole of creation belongs to God and this Easter season SAT-7 ARABIC proves you don’t have to be inside a church building to worship. While SAT-7 will air Easter celebrations from churches around the Middle East, another filming location might surprise you. SAT-7 is airing a LIVE Maundy Thursday service at Roumieh Prison in Lebanon. It is the largest […]
Embracing the cross – April 2015
“The people of the cross.” Remember this statement? In the words of ISIS, it was the crime of which 21 ex-patriate Christians in Libya were found guilty and worthy of beheading by ISIS a few months ago. As we approach Easter, I cannot help but once again think of those brave 21 whose faith and final cries, “Lord… Jesus Christ!” […]
The legacy of Armenian suffering
On April 24 every year, Armenian Christians around the world solemnly remember the start of the tremendous suffering they faced in 1915 during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The date marks the day when some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were arrested and deported from Istanbul. Few survived. The event was only the beginning of mass deportations of […]
The beauty of Lebanon – April 2015
I have lived in Lebanon for almost three years yet I still feel I am discovering new things every day. This morning I took a different route to church suggested by my friend and we drove by an ancient Roman aqueduct, built into the cliffs rising above Beirut centuries upon centuries ago. Only five minutes from my apartment and I […]
Egypt goes to the movies
While the annual film festival season in the West comes to an end with the Hollywood Academy Awards (or “Oscars”), Egypt follows it with another important big screen event – The Catholic Center Film Festival. This year SAT-7 was at the Cairo event to film both the opening and closing ceremonies (27 February and 6 March) and highlight a selection […]
The Briefing – April 2015
The whirlwind that is the Middle East never ends. Taking centre stage in this month’s developments have been Yemen, Iran and Tunisia. News from the region The most promising development – albeit still unclear – has been a provisional agreement reached with Iran over its nuclear enrichment. While the details are yet to be made public or clearly outlined, a […]