Christians in Tunisia are sharing the hope they have in Christ through a new SAT-7 programme as their homeland – once energised by the potential for change – faces political crisis and an uncertain future. The Gathering launches at a moment of heightened tension in Tunisia. On 14 January, the eleventh anniversary of Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution” uprising, hundreds of demonstrators defied a […]
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 […]
The results of two recent elections – in Iran and Israel – are set to have a major impact on the future of the region. In Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the country’s judiciary, will become the next president in August. Presidential elections on 18 June saw the lowest turnout since the founding of the Republic in 1979. But […]
For once, this month global media attention was drawn to the region for positive reasons. The visit of Pope Francis to Iraq shone a light on a community hoping for healing and reconciliation and on the historic presence of Christians in the Middle East. In Iraq, this month saw the first ever visit of a Vatican Pope. Despite security and […]
The people of the Middle East often seem to have more than their share of the world’s tragedies. Some make it to the news, others barely, but all leave deep scars and questions of whether their lives have value, or whether they and their families have a safe and prosperous future. Last weekend, a fuel tanker explosion at an Iran–Afghanistan […]
In the same month that Tunisia began to mark the tenth anniversary of its “Jasmine Revolution”, SAT-7 aired its first TV programme made by a new Tunisian production company. Christmas in Tunisia was the first production made by Perpetua, a new Christian TV team in Tunis that SAT-7 has equipped and supported. Ten years after anger over unemployment, poverty, corruption […]
The spirit behind the 2011 Arab protests that saw the ousting of old rulers was alive and kicking again this month. When the ailing president of Algeria announced he was going to run for a fifth term in office, nationwide strikes and protests erupted. Since a stroke in 2013, President Bouteflika, a veteran of Algeria’s war of independence, has made […]
While 2017 saw military power finally overwhelm the territorial ambitions of so-called Islamic State, the lasting effects of conflict, continuing struggles between regional powers, and increasingly forceful policies being pursued by some mean that this is set to be another challenging year for the region. Iran made headlines at the turn of the year in a way that no-one had […]
“War-war” continued apace in Syria as “jaw-jaw” in Geneva was put on hold. Meanwhile, excitement in Tehran contrasted with a sombre mood in Cairo on the fifth anniversary of Egypt’s revolution. News from the region A new series of meetings in Geneva that had brought most parties fighting in Syria to the negotiating table was suspended on Wednesday (3 February) […]
What is driving the growing tensions between these two major Gulf powers and what part does religion play? Simon Mabon brings some clarity. The execution by Saudi Arabia of the prominent Shi’a cleric Nimr al-Nimr on the 2nd January, along with the 46 others found guilty of terrorism by a Saudi court, has seen the already tense relationship between the […]
