It’s not every night that a small church in a Worthing side street is filled with Middle Eastern melodies. But this was the night when Maher Fayez, Egypt’s best-known Christian musician and worship leader and a sometime presenter on SAT-7 ARABIC, was in town. SAT-7 UK Communications Officer Lindsay Shaw seized the opportunity to hear him and chat about his […]
The news cycle has moved on, but in Lebanon over a million Syrian refugees remain. Some 350,000 are camped in the Zahle region of the Bekaa Valley alone. In a recent visit to two families there, Katerina Parpa, a Communications Officer in SAT-7’s International Office, saw the possibility of change amongst their very real struggles. Imagine you have spent a […]
Bold initiatives are taking place in Lebanon to build peace between Christians and Muslims in a society where religious identity often defines where you live and go to school, as well as where you worship. Dr Martin Accad, a specialist in Christian-Muslim relations, spoke on SAT-7 ARABIC’s On the Go programme about the initiative “Bread and Salt”, an exciting project that promotes respect […]
Tensions between powerful Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran were catapulted to new levels when drones set two Saudi Arabian oil refineries ablaze (14 September). The resulting damage halved the Gulf kingdom’s oil output and reportedly cut world crude oil supplies by over five per cent. Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility, but the US blamed Iran for the […]
A religious feast brought a temporary reprieve to conflict-ridden Libya, while political changes and protests dominated its North African neighbours. The region marked one of the two main Islamic holidays this month. Eid al-Adha marks Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, and Muslims celebrate either by slaughtering a lamb and distributing its meat to those in need or by donating […]
Amidst heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf and political standoffs and transitions from Turkey to North Africa, the cause of persecuted Christians was remembered in Iraq and in a UK Foreign Office report. Sudan remained in the headlines as the first mass demonstrations were held since the massacre at a sit-in protest last month. Protesters again took to the streets […]
Events in Sudan and the Gulf of Oman dominated headlines this month as the Middle East seemed set for a dangerous summer. Violence overtook months of peaceful protest in Sudan on 3 June. So-called Rapid Support Forces used live ammunition, severe beatings and rape to disperse a sit-in outside army headquarters in Khartoum. Two months before, pro-democracy demonstrators had succeeded […]
New developments are taking us into some uncharted territories in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Yet the familiar cycles of violence and patterns of control prevail. The plight of Middle Eastern Christians has been highlighted this month by an interim report commissioned by the UK government, which warned that they face being “wiped out” from parts of […]
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 […]
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. […]
