International Christian media ministry SAT-7 has announced that hit series The Chosen is set to be broadcast on their platforms, enabling viewers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to watch its powerful portrayal of the life of Jesus. For the next three years, SAT-7 has secured the rights to broadcast The Chosen’s first three series on their satellite channels – ARABIC, PARS, and TÜRK – as well as on their online streaming platform SAT-7 PLUS. Once the episodes are fully dubbed into Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish, viewers will be able to encounter Jesus through The Chosen on their TVs ..read more

Deniz Carey, a Turkish pastor and SAT-7 UK Ambassador, recently sat down with us to share her powerful faith journey and the challenges and persecution she experienced in Türkiye for her beliefs.  As introductions to Jesus go, Deniz Carey’s may be one of the most dramatic. Soon after finishing university in her native Türkiye, Deniz was kidnapped for ransom and taken to a remote holiday village. She asked her captors for some reading material to fill the time – and they dug out a book about Christianity! There and then, in the midst of captivity, Deniz learnt about Jesus and was able to f ..read more

“They put me in a 90×90 cm cell. Out of six months in prison, I spent 55 days in solitary confinement. I regard them as the best days of my life because in this place I was comforted and knew the Lord.” Pastor Nihad Hassan, a Kurdish man from Syria, had a long journey of coming to faith in Christ, which culminated in his experiencing God’s presence and healing while in jail as a political prisoner. He shared his powerful story on SAT-7 ARABIC programme My Life Journey, in an episode that attracted 26,000 views and over 900 comments on Facebook alone. Pastor Nihad Hassan Nihad came from a non-C ..read more

As the world marks Earth Day (22 April), children and young people from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are sharing their hopes for the planet through song and prayer. SAT-7 filmed a beautiful music video, This is Our Land, with young people in Syria as part of its Youth for an Enabling Society (YES) project. The song calls on people to “be the change” in caring for the environment, its creatures, and all of humanity with a powerful refrain: “Don’t think that what you are doing is little and it has no importance. The impact of the small butterfly is huge.”  The video is one of 41 yout ..read more

While conflict in the Holy Land and the fresh involvement of Iran dominates headlines, a war between generals continues to ravage Sudan, and Türkiye expresses an appetite for change in political leadership. Pilgrims carry the cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, 29 March 2024 (Alamy) The Middle East found itself on a knife-edge last weekend after Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel – the Islamic Republic’s first direct assault on Israel from its own soil rather than its proxies. The attack was a retaliation for a suspected Israeli attack (1 April) on Iran’s Syrian ..read more

As the conflict in Sudan reaches its first anniversary, a Christian family have shared their heartrending story of having to flee two wars in the region, displaying remarkable faith and courage in the face of repeated danger and loss.   George Bitar, originally from Sudan, is married to Alice, from Syria, and they have two sons, Naim (22) and Jan (15). “Everyone around us is surprised by our strength,” George says candidly as he speaks to camera, telling the family’s story to SAT-7 ARABIC’s social media program War Phobia. George first left Sudan in 1994 and moved to Syria, where he marri ..read more

This Easter, six months after the outbreak of war in the Holy Land, SAT-7 has been broadcasting the voices of its hard-pressed Christians. In the midst of this devastating conflict, they are finding hope and peace in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Life in the war zone A recent episode of SAT-7’s current affairs programme You Are Not Alone featured an interview with a Christian who lives in the heart of the conflict zone. He vividly described the traumatic experience of the local Christian community, who number around 900 people. “I live in a building that was occupied by Christians mostly ..read more

There is a story that has matchless power to touch hearts and change lives. When Leyla, a woman from Iran, first encountered the cross of Christ at the age of 15, it was a deeply emotional experience that altered the trajectory of her whole life. She shared her powerful testimony on popular SAT-7 PARS programme Signal. Surprisingly, Leyla first heard the story of Jesus’ crucifixion at her school in Iran when her Quran teacher showed the class the Jesus film. “One day at school we were being noisy, so they took us to the school’s prayer hall and the Quran teacher put on a film for us,” said Ley ..read more

Live services from a church in Bethlehem and the Istanbul church where a shooting took place earlier this year will highlight the power and hope of Easter to viewers in challenging circumstances across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Good Friday and Easter Sunday services will be broadcast live on SAT-7 ARABIC from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. This church featured in SAT-7’s Christmas coverage and attracted worldwide attention with its Nativity scene of the baby Jesus placed among rubble, representing the devastation of the war in the Holy Land. SAT-7 ARABIC will also ..read more

The civil war in Syria rarely makes the headlines now, but the people there are still suffering immensely as a result of the conflict that started 13 years ago this week (15 March). Through its programming and Viewer Support team, SAT-7 continues to connect with Syrian viewers and remind them they are not forgotten. The outlook in Syria is extremely bleak: 16.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance – up 1.4 million last year – and active conflict, including artillery shelling and airstrikes, continues to wreak destruction. Throughout the country, hundreds of civilians are still ..read more