“Afghanistan has no visible church”, explains SAT-7 broadcaster and Pastor Shoaib Ebadi. But since the year 2,000 a church with less than 100 known indigenous believers has grown to five or eight thousand. With them in mind, his programme, Secret of Life, aims to model what church can be, beginning with an “impact spot” that addresses a current situation before […]
Sunday 10 October marked the tenth anniversary of the martyrdom of 24 Coptic Christians in Egypt in 2011. They were killed during a demonstration by hundreds of Copts against increasing attacks on churches and the lack of any measures by the state to halt them. The peaceful protest outside the Maspero television building was confronted by armoured vehicles that rammed […]
SAT-7 women’s show Insiders spoke to an Iranian journalist and social activist who recently travelled to Afghanistan. Zahra M updated viewers on the stark new realities facing women and girls under Taliban rule in the country. “The reason the Taliban is afraid of women is that when women become informed, the world becomes well-informed,” Zahra M said. She explained that […]
SAT-7-sponsored panels on the fringes of the Labour and Conservative Party conferences have highlighted both the centrality of the right to freedom of religion or belief and the continued need for collective action to defend it. Fiona Bruce, the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), spoke in an online panel during the Conservative Conference (4 […]
“The Taliban have completely taken over everything and our hope is cut off,” says Tahmsab* a viewer in Afghanistan, speaking to the SAT-7 PARS Audience Relations team. Through programs and the Audience Relations teams, SAT-7 PARS continues to hold out an unbreakable hope to viewers in Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan is going from bad to worse. Women and girls […]
As people around the world mark the International Day of Peace on 21 September, SAT-7 Development Officer Phil Hilditch reflects on what his unusual life journey has taught him about peace – and how a new project by SAT-7 and partners in Lebanon is an opportunity to partner in God’s work to promote the ideals of peace. “They must turn […]
Twenty years after 9/11, the shockwaves of the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan are being felt widely. Within the country, those who have benefitted most from increased freedoms, educational and work opportunities, along with those who cooperated with international companies and forces, have had most to fear from the swift Taliban takeover. This includes Afghanistan’s underground Christian community of an estimated […]
As the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan this August, the focus of international news highlighted vulnerable groups such as women and ethnic minorities, and fears that progress made over the last 20 years in human rights, education and democracy might be reversed. A less well-known area has been the growth of a small indigenous Church of mostly secret believers. […]
Christians in Afghanistan face an existential threat from the Taliban. Revd Tat Stewart, one of the founders of SAT-7 PARS, recalls when Iranian Christians also feared they would be wiped out, 40 years ago. And yet the years since have proven that “the gates of hell cannot prevail”. He shares how the story of the Iranian Church can give us […]
How should we pray for Afghanistan as its people face an uncertain future under Taliban rule alongside drought, poverty and a global pandemic? To help us, Afghan church leader Shoaib Ebadi turns to the prayer our Saviour taught us, the Lord’s Prayer. Please pray with us now for Afghanistan. “Our Heavenly Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. We praise You, Lord. You are a […]
