Trade wars and new political tensions this month added to the challenges already faced by a region still blighted by warfare in Yemen and Syria. The nosedive of the Turkish lira that began in April accelerated this month as the US announced 50 per cent and 20 per cent taxes respectively on Turkish steel and aluminium products. Since the start […]
As this year’s World Refugee Day arrives (20 June), the Middle East retains the unenviable record of being both source and host of the largest number of displaced people in the world. But amidst their hardships, large numbers of refugees who have been shown practical love by Christians are finding a new relationship with God. In Greater Amman, Jordan, SAT-7 […]
Children affected by conflict in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) can feel miserably lonely and vulnerable. With Family of Jesus, a new live prayer and worship show, SAT-7 KIDS shows these and other isolated young people that with Christ, they never have to be alone. Across the MENA, childhoods are in crisis. Conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq […]
Syria again took centre-stage in the Middle East after a suspected chemical attack threatened to spark a wider international confrontation. On 7 April, a suspected chemical attack on Douma, the last rebel-held area in Eastern Ghouta, triggered the latest crisis in the conflict in Syria. After an intensified bombing campaign by Syrian and Russian forces, rebel groups had already […]
SAT-7 and partner organisation LFAN were the first to film in the Syrian city of Raqqa after its liberation from so-called Islamic State (IS). Here, some of Raqqa’s residents share their stories of hope after destruction. “Ninety percent of this place is filled with landmines. It’s not safe here.” Khalil is speaking to Maysaa Saloum, part of a Christian film […]
Spring is around the corner! On 21 March many Middle Eastern communities will mark the Norouz new year festival, an ancient day shared by many as the start of the Spring and a time of hope and renewal. Yet the region feels further from renewal than it was even a year ago. By the end of last year, we thought […]
New complications in the region’s conflicts are threatening to divide powerful allies. At the end of last year, there was an emerging view that the Syrian war had reached its peak and was starting to de-escalate. The last few weeks, however, have pointed in the opposite direction, with some of the fiercest aerial bombing campaigns by forces loyal to Assad […]
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 […]
I first met Abou Younes* when he came along to the Life Center Beirut looking for help with food. His journey to Beirut had begun with a harrowing escape from Daesh/Islamic State and involved selling the last of his possessions to pay a smuggler to take his large family across the Syrian border into Lebanon. They just had the […]
SAT-7 airs prayers for peace in city that became synonymous with cruelty and death In early December, Middle East Christian broadcaster SAT-7 and associate ministry Light for All Nations (LFAN) Ministries filmed the first on-the-ground footage in Raqqa, Syria since so-called Islamic State militants left. The two networks co-produced the documentary, Al Raqqa: between Yesterday and Today, presenting a message […]