It has been a month of high pressure for two major players in the region – with Saudi Arabia facing diplomatic censure and Iran experiencing a new economic squeeze. The Christians of Egypt, meanwhile, were grieving after another terror attack that security forces were unable to prevent. The fallout from the brutal murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi continues. […]
The Briefing – November 2018
SAT-7 LEADS PRAYERS FOR PILGRIMAGE SHOOTING VICTIMS
As Egypt’s Christians mourn a deadly gun attack on Coptic pilgrims, SAT-7’s Arabic channels have been leading believers across the Middle East in prayer. Several shows lifted up grieving families, injured survivors, and vulnerable Egyptian Christians, allowing viewers to pour out their pain and grief to God. At least seven people were killed on 2 November when gunmen targeted buses […]
Turkish couple rescued by God’s love
SAT-7 viewers Sedat and Gülay are among the comparatively tiny number of Christians in Turkey, a country of almost 80 million people. At a time of great hardship, they turned to Jesus – and since then, He has done miracles in their lives. Here they share their remarkable story and their love for SAT-7 TÜRK. “I was so scared. I […]
Setting a healthy family example
Hamid and Aya, a Moroccan father and daughter, show what a healthy parent-daughter relationship looks like through their SAT-7 KIDS programme Me and My Daughter. By re-enacting their real-life everyday ups and downs, they encourage viewers of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to strive for healthy family relationships. In a patriarchal society, where fathers are authority figures to […]
The Briefing – October 2018
Some of the tensions of the region found a focus this month in the stories of two individuals – a prominent journalist who vanished without trace and a Christian pastor, released after two years of detention. The disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, at his country’s consulate in Istanbul, set alarm bells ringing among Saudi allies over the direction […]
Comparing your children: a recipe for disaster says ACADEMY parenting show
Have you ever compared your child with other children to get them to behave better or study harder? It’s a question that SAT-7 ACADEMY parenting programme The Coach posed to parents on a busy Cairo high street and to its studio guests. “It didn’t work with me; it won’t work with any child!” one young woman laughed. “Comparing children is […]
New believers fill Syrian Churches
A SAT-7 children’s show visiting Syria found churches full of displaced people learning about Jesus for the first time. Almost a thousand children – including hundreds from non-Christian backgrounds – gathered in the Syrian cities of Tartus, Bloudan, and As-Suwayda to meet presenter Mina Awny and the SAT-7 production team of Family of Jesus. The popular children’s show mixes music, […]
MIDDLE EAST MINISTER: GOVERNMENT HAS “UPPED ITS GAME” IN SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Amid a rise in religious intolerance “sensitivity” is key, Alistair Burt told delegates at a Conservative Party fringe event on Wednesday 3 October. “Incidents of religious intolerance and religious discrimination are on the rise across the globe,” Rt Hon Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Middle East, said on Wednesday. He was speaking at a prayer breakfast on religious […]
Labour fringe hears Christian voices on the UK’s response to refugees
“Complex, powerful questions” were asked by a panel of MPs and NGO leaders on the UK’s treatment and integration of refugees at a Labour Party conference fringe event organised by SAT-7 and Christians on the Left. Heather Staff, of the Resettlement, Asylum & Migration Policy (RAMP) group, who acted as chair, was summing up the discussion involving MPs David Lammy, […]
Shattering the social media beauty illusion
Women around the world are bombarded with media images of physical “perfection”, leaving many feeling inadequate. Two SAT-7 women’s programmes are tackling the sources of this pressure. By exposing the illusion of perfection, the shows are helping Middle Eastern women feel beautiful as they are. Studies have shown that excessive social media use can lead to lower self-esteem and higher body dissatisfaction. […]