Protests in Iran have entered a fourth week. The country is still raging over the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was detained for incorrectly wearing the hijab. Since then, young women who courageously removed and set fire to their headscarves have inspired protests in many parts of the country, uniting people of diverse religious, ethnic and cultural […]
11 October 2022 “We want to target the ‘everywoman’ – those who are somehow entrapped and confined,” says Maggie Morgan, producer and director of SAT-7’s new live programme Today not Tomorrow, which will be broadcast on SAT-7 ARABIC this month. “Whether confinement is literal, for those living in small villages, in their families’ homes, who have limited freedom of movement, […]
The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll led the news in many Middle East states last weekend and prompted messages of condolence from national leaders. Jordan and Lebanon respectively declared seven and three days of mourning. The patriarch of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians, Pope Tawadros ll, led Christian tributes when he said he was “personally thankful for the interaction […]
Tensions with Iran are producing unlikely alliances in the Middle East, while the importance of religious freedom was highlighted this month at a major international conference in London. Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) was a major focus this month when nearly 700 politicians, faith leaders and activists from over 100 countries gathered in London for the fourth International Ministerial […]
This Easter, three Abrahamic faiths overlapped in celebrations of Ramadan, Passover and Easter. Different religious calendars aligned, and shared roots, lands and heritages became clear. Yet, the same week saw a fresh cycle of violence on the Temple Mount and Al-Azhar compound in Jerusalem. Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli police clashed in scenes that saw rocks thrown at Jewish worshippers from […]
A special series of Easter worship songs and Bible readings, filmed on location in Jordan, is part of a slate of Arabic content on SAT-7 across the Western and Eastern Easter festival period. A SAT-7 Egypt production team visited the Jordanian capital, Amman, and nearby Fuhais to film Hymns We Cherish in churches, on a hillside and in the pretty […]
From 1 January, the year 2022 has looked very different in contrasting corners of the Middle East and North Africa – from wealthy Gulf nations to countries in crisis like Afghanistan and Yemen. As we look ahead, our Middle East analyst sees some hopeful signs of nations beating swords into ploughshares (Isaiah 2:4), but too few leaders using their power, […]
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 […]
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 a 20-year war led by US forces against the Taliban draws to an end in Afghanistan, concerns grow for the safety of the civilian population in the light of Taliban advances. Meanwhile, basic needs for water, food and fuel are uppermost in minds in Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. Two decades ago, in response to the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda, […]
