Article 1 in a new series: The Ethics of Global Engagement A Middle East contributor highlights some of the issues we need to be mindful of as we engage with the church in the Middle East and North Africa. The Body of Christ is not simply a local church that meets on Sundays, but a global body of all those […]
An arduous journey and close surveillance faced the wise men who came seeking the birth of Jesus. Traditionally thought to be Persians, their challenges are echoed in the monitoring and risks faced by Iranians who celebrate Christ’s birth today. Everyone who has ever watched or taken part in a Nativity play knows that some of the first people to recognise […]
After two lengthy civil wars, Sudan’s Christian and animist southern states finally parted company with Khartoum’s Arab-Islamist government in July 2011. But the consequences for Christian witness in Sudan itself have been severe. Wissam al-Saliby, Development and Partner Relations Manager at Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS), Lebanon, unpacks these and explains why it remains vital to support Christian ministry there. […]
Women are playing a crucial role in what is one of the most unexpected stories of our generation: the growth of the Church in Iran. Dr Mojdeh Shirvanian from Elam Ministries has served the Church in Iran for over thirty years. Here she identifies three ways in which this is happening. Before the Iranian revolution in 1979 there were a […]
In a global news-saturated age, each of us can fall into the trap of rushing to find simple explanations for complex and distressing events. In the process, we too easily dehumanise those of different faiths and mistakenly link events to religious causes and innocent individuals. A Middle East writer who has seen Christians and Muslims make the same mistake, warns […]
In little more than 50 years, Abu Dhabi – capital of the United Arab Emirates – has become a glittering, cosmopolitan metropolis of commerce, government and culture. Tens of thousands of expatriate Christians from all over the globe have also come to live, work and worship here, as Canon Andrew Thompson explains. St Andrew’s Anglican Church began because of the discovery […]
SAT-7 CEO explains why Egyptians see events differently Recent political events in Egypt, especially security force conflicts with the Muslim Brotherhood, have highlighted both deep divisions within Egypt and between how the situation has been viewed in Egypt and abroad. All people with a concern for human life have been deeply distressed by the violence and numbers of deaths in […]
In a month when a forest fire of protest swept around the globe, the frailty of healthy political debate – especially in the Middle East’s emerging democracies – was plain to see. Christians who long avoided political engagement are finding their voice too. But what should distinguish it? Our contributor offers some answers. June 2013 has been a month of […]
The growth and resilience of an indigenous Iranian church has been one of the most remarkable signs of God at work in the Middle East in recent decades. An online seminary and a partnership with SAT-7 are playing an essential part in discipling these emerging churches. Wazala spoke to one of the pioneers of this programme. Despite increasing restrictions upon […]
Every generation has to stop and ask basic questions all over again if it wants to remain faithful to the Gospel. What does it mean to believe in and follow Christ in this century? What does the Cross mean for this generation? The answers we give to these questions shape not only how we live as individual Christians but also […]