Middle East leaders and peoples have been as interested in the outcome of the US presidential elections as have those in the West. Although it is too early to see what a Biden policy towards the Middle East will be, the goals and policies of US administrations for the region affect the lives of millions. It is expected that Biden […]
A long-contested enclave on the fringe of the Middle East hit the headlines this month as a new upsurge of fighting claimed at least 300 lives in Nagorno–Karabakh. This mountainous enclave (known as Artsakh by Armenians) neighbours Iran, is near neighbour to Turkey, Russia and Georgia, and sits between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Despite its majority Armenian population, it was made an autonomous zone within Azerbaijan when both states came under Russian control in the 1920s. There have been cycles of clashes since the collapse of the Soviet Union and a 1988 decision by the enclave to become as an independent republic. Full-scale fighting between 1992 and 1994 killed tens of […]
A young Syrian woman who grew up with SAT-7 KIDS is living proof of the channel’s lasting positive impact. Sarah, who devotes her time to serving children, credits the Christian broadcaster with helping her develop her faith and strong values – even as she spent her entire adolescence in a warzone. Everything I do today, I learned from SAT-7 KIDS.” […]
Syria desperately needs its Christian community, but they must be active in witness and service wherever they have opportunity. In a one-hour interview for SAT-7, Revd Joseph Kassab, President of the Supreme Council of Evangelical Churches of Syria and Lebanon, appealed to Syrian believers to remain in their homeland as a “sign of hope” despite their falling numbers. Revd Kassab was speaking as Syria, already ravaged by nine years of war, is now battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2011 Syria’s estimated Christian population […]
Like a house built on sand that barely survives a storm, those lacking stability have been most badly shaken by 2020’s global pandemic. Refugees, people with mental health problems, domestic violence victims, and millions of daily-wage workers are among those worst affected. Several SAT-7 programmes have been raising the profile of these groups and trying to assist them where possible. […]
With war coming ever closer to their home in Syria, Revd Wael Haddad and his wife, Maram Nafe Tahhan, turned to God for guidance and began seeking to migrate to the Gulf. But every door they tried suddenly closed, until God intervened at the eleventh hour. Wael and Maram told their story on a special edition of the SAT-7 […]
Nine years of ongoing war have in Syria have led to the biggest refugee crisis of modern times. The country is reeling, and no area of daily life has escaped unscathed. Mina Awny, Presenter of Family of Jesus on SAT-7 KIDS, travelled to Syria in an attempt to bring some hope to children still living there. Mina (pictured, left), along […]
Public attention at home and in the Middle East and North Africa understandably turned inward in recent months as we faced the COVID-19 pandemic. But for others the pandemic has been a cover for more menacing activities. Since January 2020 there has been a surge in attacks by so-called Islamic State (IS) groups in Syria and Iraq. Eastern areas of […]
Passover, Easter and soon Ramadan will be marked in isolation in the Middle East this year. We look at how alarm over a string of man-made conflicts in the region has been overtaken by fear of a new enemy and how countries are responding. You could be forgiven for forgetting the fear that circled the globe following the US strike […]
The new decade may be young, but major difficulties have already arisen in the MENA. Hope in some communities is as valuable and as rare as gold. Rita El-Mounayer (pictured), SAT-7’s CEO, has been speaking hope into the situation with a series of video blogs (vlogs). One of her recent vlogs began with the startling truth that “the Middle East […]
