For the Middle East, 2015 has been another year of head-spinning complexities. In the conflicts and humanitarian crises, Christians have sometimes been the first to be attacked, but have often given the lead in responding to need. This month’s Briefing recaps the year that was. In January we look to see what 2016 might bring. News from the region In […]
The Briefing – December 2015
'Passion Of The Christ' Musician Brings A Gulf Flavour To 'We Will Sing'
A Palestinian musician who played on the soundtrack of the film The Passion of the Christ joined SAT-7’s weekly We Will Sing hymns programme recently. Playing the oud and singing a number of songs he had composed, Naser Musa added a new flavour of Arabic worship to the popular worship show – the Arab Gulf tune. Among his songs was […]
55 years after closure Turkish protestant church reopens 50 kilometers from IS territory
Christians of all denominations have celebrated the reopening of a Protestant church only 50 kilometres from where churches have been bombed by so-called Islamic State (IS). Located just 30 kilometres from the Syrian border, the Protestant Church in Mardin, south-eastern Turkey, rang to the praises of a packed congregation some 55 years after persecution and migration forced its closure. Local […]
SAT-7 AND GOOD NEWS TEAM HOLD UNITED NIGHT OF PRAYER FOR MIDDLE EAST IN CAIRO
Egypt Church leaders join hundreds in prayer for victims of Middle East conflict at American University in Cairo Around 800 young people and families of many Middle East denominations joined to pray for this war-torn region and its refugees at the American University in Cairo on 31st of October. The concert, called “I Love My Country”, was the brainchild of […]
SAT-7 And Good News Team Hold United Night Of Prayer For Middle East In Cairo
Egypt Church leaders join hundreds in prayer for victims of Middle East conflict at American University in Cairo Around 800 young people and families of many Middle East denominations joined to pray for this war-torn region and its refugees at the American University in Cairo on 31st of October. The concert, called “I Love My Country”, was the brainchild of […]
Learning to forgive – November 2015
An accidental faux pas sometimes teaches you a lot about a culture. On this occasion it was a warning from a Lebanese friend that saved me – a Lebanese American living in Beirut – from breaking convention. What crime against custom had I been about to commit? Simply, I was planning to wear my very Californian flip flops in public. […]
Iranian songs of fellowship
Newly returned from a marathon recording session in Finland of 44 Iranian worship songs, London-based worship leader Hovan Hovsepian-Mehr spoke to Wazala about the importance and nature of worship in the Iranian diaspora Church. In many ways Christian worship is in Hovan’s blood. His father, Edward, is one of the most respected leaders of the Iranian church and was for […]
The Briefing – November 2015
Another 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
Assyrian 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. […]