This Easter, three Abrahamic faiths overlapped in celebrations of Ramadan, Passover and Easter. Different religious calendars aligned, and shared roots, lands and heritages became clear. Yet, the same week saw a fresh cycle of violence on the Temple Mount and Al-Azhar compound in Jerusalem. Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police clashed in scenes that saw rocks thrown at Jewish worshippers from […]
The Middle East Briefing – April 2022
Beaming joy to the Middle East this Easter
A special series of Easter worship songs and Bible readings, filmed on location in Jordan, is part of a slate of Arabic content on SAT-7 across the Western and Eastern Easter festival period. A SAT-7 Egypt production team visited the Jordanian capital, Amman, and nearby Fuhais to film Hymns We Cherish in churches, on a hillside and in the pretty […]
Supporting MENA survivors of the Russia-Ukraine war
“Today we want to pray for Ukraine and ask for the Lord’s peace. We want to say to all those oppressed and hurt that you are not alone,” said Sirene Semerdjian, presenter of SAT-7 ARABIC current affairs programme You are Not Alone, as she opened an episode dedicated to survivors of the Ukraine war. Sister and brother Amira (19) and […]
THE BRIEFING – MARCH 2022
The images of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine have shocked us all. Footage of indiscriminate bombings of apartment blocks, hospitals and critical infrastructure, such as water and electricity hubs, assail us like flashbacks of recent events in the Middle East. What we are witnessing in Ukraine is a continuation of the devastating attacks Russia made on civilian areas of Syria […]
Refugee stories open viewers’ hearts
Home for Sudan-born Ashwaq is a tiny, one-bedroom flat she shares with her baby son in Cairo. It’s a lonely and precarious existence. A long way from the one she dreamed of when she graduated in psychology and pre-school education, and came to Egypt in search of work. Tears flow as this young woman talks to the makers of SAT-7 […]
Standing with the suffering in Ukraine
“Our eyes are on the suffering Ukrainian church. We are suffering with them.” These words by SAT-7 TÜRK presenter Volkan Er opened discussion of the crisis enveloping Ukraine and its European neighbours in last Wednesday’s episode of Worldview (2 March). This weekly current affairs programme on SAT-7’s Turkish language channel, along with the daily SAT-7 TÜRK news programme, is a […]
HONOURING MARGINALISED WOMEN IN IRAN, AFGHANISTAN, AND TAJIKISTAN
SAT-7 PARS’ live women’s programme Insiders is challenging culturally accepted actions and behaviour that restrict women’s rights and lives in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, and reinforce the notion of women as second-class citizens. A special episode of Insiders broadcast on Women’s Day, 8 March, will highlight the role of women as heads of households and as breadwinners. Women in Persian […]
Amplifying women’s voices in the Middle East and North Africa
On International Women’s Day, SAT-7 programmes across the Middle East and North Africa celebrate women’s power to change society for the better, while calling for faster progress towards recognising their God-given, equal value in families, communities, and societies. On SAT-7’s Persian channel, SAT-7 PARS, women’s programme Insiders will focus its International Women’s Day episode on the needs of female-headed households. […]
The Middle East Briefing – February 2022
The month has been marked both by diplomacy and power struggles on an international level. Away from the headlines, Middle East churches continued to work and pray for peace and freedom. Hopeful diplomatic moves continue across the region. President Erdogan of Turkey has been warmly welcomed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a marked change from the tensions that have […]
Modelling inclusion of children with disabilities
“When I watch City of Stars, I pray for the children with disabilities. If they were at my school, I would welcome them,” says a young Egyptian girl who watches the SAT-7 KIDS programme that models disability inclusion. As the programme produces its third season, viewer comments demonstrate its impact in a generally non-inclusive region. Openness, love, and advocacy were […]