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        <title>Christian Daily International | Middle East</title>
        <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/middle-east</link>
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            <title>Christian Daily International | Middle East</title>
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        <copyright>Christian Daily International © 2026</copyright>
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        <lastBuildDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:41:57 -0400</lastBuildDate>
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                <title><![CDATA[‘Discipled by the persecuted church’: Faith Without Frontiers explores resilience and identity in the Middle East]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/discipled-by-the-persecuted-church-faith-without-frontiers-explores-resilience-and-identity-in-the-middle-east</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/discipled-by-the-persecuted-church-faith-without-frontiers-explores-resilience-and-identity-in-the-middle-east</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[FWF Episode 3]]></media:title>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 28 Apr 2026 09:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The third Episode of Christian Daily International’s podcast Faith Without Frontiers featured a wide-ranging conversation with Carla Miller, who serves churches across the Middle East from her base in Lebanon, helping young people build resilience in the face of pressure and persecution.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The third Episode of Christian Daily International’s podcast Faith Without Frontiers featured a wide-ranging conversation with Carla Miller, who serves churches across the Middle East from her base in Lebanon, helping young people build resilience in the face of pressure and persecution.
Hosted by Gordon Showell-Rogers, the episode traces Miller’s journey from a multicultural upbringing in the United Kingdom to life in Beirut, where she and her husband have lived for the past six years. Born to a British father raised in Brazil and a mother of Caribbean heritage, Miller reflects on growing up as part of a visible minority — and as a pastor’s daughter — in a predominantly white English community. The experience, she says, brought a strong sense of pressure to “be perfect” and to counter assumptions placed on her family.
That tension continued into her teenage years, when she describes living a “double life” — involved in church while also exploring the freedoms and risks typical of adolescence. A turning point came at age 16, when she began reading the Bible for herself. What followed was a transformative period in which, as she recalls, the message of Scripture suddenly made sense in a new and personal way. “There was no coming back from that,” she says, describing a faith that shifted from inherited to deeply owned.
From there, Miller’s story becomes increasingly shaped by a growing awareness of Christians facing persecution globally. Through stories, prayer, and later work with a UK-based organization, she says she was “discipled by the persecuted church,” learning from believers who remained steadfast under pressure. That experience would eventually lead her toward the Middle East — a calling she says remained constant for nearly a decade before becoming reality.
Now based in Beirut, Miller works with local churches and organizations across the region, focusing on how to support young people whose faith is tested in complex cultural and social environments. She explains that while persecution is often understood in terms of violence against church leaders, its impact on youth is different and often overlooked. Many young people, she notes, experience pressure before they have fully formed their own convictions, making resilience both more difficult and more essential.
Drawing on the biblical example of Daniel, Miller describes how identity, belonging and faith are often contested in subtle but powerful ways. Her work, she says, involves helping churches become places of safety and restoration — environments where young people can wrestle honestly with their faith without fear of shame or rejection. “If the church was the safest place for young people,” she reflects, “can you imagine what that would do?”
The episode also offers a sobering glimpse into life in Lebanon over recent years. Since arriving in 2019, Miller and her husband have lived through political upheaval, economic collapse, the Beirut port explosion and ongoing regional tensions. She recounts moments of real danger and uncertainty, alongside what she sees as repeated experiences of God’s protection and provision.
Despite these challenges, Miller speaks with deep affection for Lebanon and the wider region. She describes a strong sense of connection with local communities and a profound respect for the long-standing Christian presence in the Middle East. “It feels like such an honor,” she says, “to be part of what God is doing here.”
Listen to the conversation to hear how Miller reflects on faith, identity and perseverance, and how her work among young people is shaped by both the challenges and the hope she encounters in the Middle East.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Algeria shuts protestant churches as Christians are pushed underground]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/algeria-shuts-protestant-churches-as-christians-are-pushed-underground</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/algeria-shuts-protestant-churches-as-christians-are-pushed-underground</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Vincent Matinde]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/45/4500.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Algerian Pastor Youssef Ourahmane pastor arrested]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ ADF International ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Pastor Youssef Ourahmane, a Christian convert and pastor in the Protestant Church of Algeria, was arrested in 2024 and sentenced to heavy fines and a prison sentence for the so-called crime of “illegal worship” for leading his church. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 03:45:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Nearly all Protestant churches in Algeria have been forced to close, pushing thousands of Christians into private homes and informal gatherings as authorities tighten control over non-Muslim worship.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Nearly all Protestant churches in Algeria have been forced to close, pushing thousands of Christians into private homes and informal gatherings as authorities tighten control over non-Muslim worship.
The closures, which have been systematic from 2017, are not isolated incidents but part of what a 2026 report by the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) describes as “a restrictive legal and administrative system incompatible with international standards on freedom of religion.” 
The report documents what it calls a widening gap between Algeria’s constitutional guarantees and the lived reality of its Christian minority.
Since 2006, at least 58 Protestant churches have been shut down by authorities, including nearly all those affiliated with the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA). By January 2025, the last remaining evangelical churches had effectively ceased operations. 
The result is a quiet but sweeping transformation of Christian life. Prayer meetings now take place in private homes, improvised spaces or outdoors. Some believers gather in what the report describes as “house churches,” while others meet in remote areas, “churches under olive trees.” 
“We try to live our fellowship as best we can; the most important thing is to be together,” an EPA representative said in testimony cited by the report. 
Algerian law requires non-Muslim worship to be authorized by the state, but Christians say such approvals are rarely granted.
Under a 2006 ordinance, any religious activity must take place in officially approved buildings, while a 2012 law requires religious associations to register with authorities, a process critics say has been effectively blocked.
“In practice, the Algerian authorities have refused all applications for the opening of new places of worship,” the report states. 
Without legal recognition, even small gatherings can be treated as violations.
Pastors and worshippers have faced prosecution for holding services without authorization, while police raids on prayer meetings have led to detentions and interrogations.
In one recent case, a group of Christians was detained for hours following a religious gathering, underscoring the risks associated with communal worship. 
Beyond restrictions on worship, the report highlights laws that criminalize certain forms of religious expression.
Algerian legislation makes it an offense to “undermine the faith of a Muslim” or attempt to convert Muslims, with penalties including prison sentences and fines. The scope of these provisions is broad.
“Any expression of Christian faith may be regarded as an attempt to ‘undermine the faith of a Muslim’… and may result in prosecution,” the report notes. 
Authorities have used these laws to pursue cases involving social media posts, distribution of religious materials and public discussion of Christianity.
Christians often avoid displaying religious symbols or speaking openly about their beliefs, fearing legal consequences or social backlash.
Growing underground Christian community
Despite mounting restrictions, Algeria’s Christian population has grown in recent decades, particularly among evangelical Protestants.
The community now numbers an estimated 156,000 people, or about 0.3 percent of the population, according to figures cited in the report. 
Much of this growth has occurred in Kabylia, a region with a distinct cultural identity and a history of religious diversity.
“The social fabric was damaged during the civil war, making the ground fertile for religious change,” historian Karima Dirèche is quoted as saying in the report. 
Yet that growth has taken place largely outside official structures, as churches lose legal status and public visibility.
Converts from Islam to Christianity face particular challenges. While conversion is not explicitly outlawed, it is widely perceived as a challenge to Algeria’s religious and social order. The report notes that converts may face pressure from both authorities and their communities. Christians often encounter discrimination within legal and social systems that assume all citizens are Muslim.
Across North Africa, governments generally guarantee freedom of worship while maintaining strong oversight of religious life.
In Tunisia, the constitution protects freedom of belief, but proselytism remains sensitive and converts can face social pressure. In Morocco, the state permits limited Christian activity but restricts efforts to convert Muslims and closely monitors religious groups.
Algeria, however, stands out for the scale of enforcement. The widespread closure of Protestant churches and the consistent use of legal provisions against unregistered worship have created one of the most restrictive environments for Christians in the region.
Algeria has ratified international agreements protecting religious freedom, but the report says these commitments are not fully implemented.
Reactions from international bodies have been “largely symbolic and non-binding,” allowing the situation to persist. 
The issue has drawn renewed global attention in recent weeks following a historic papal visit to the country, which highlighted Algeria’s Christian heritage and emphasized interfaith dialogue.
But on the ground, little has changed.
For many Christians in Algeria, religious life now unfolds beyond public view. Without access to recognized places of worship and under the risk of legal consequences, believers have adapted by forming decentralized, often discreet communities.
The report concludes that the pressures facing Christians are not incidental but systemic.
“The oppression of Christians in Algeria cannot be understood as a series of isolated incidents,” it states, “but rather as the result of a restrictive legal and administrative system.” 
As international attention grows, the future of religious freedom in Algeria remains uncertain and for many believers, increasingly private.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Palestinian Christian prisoner allowed Bible but denied visit from priest]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/palestinian-christian-prisoner-allowed-bible-but-denied-visit-from-priest</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/palestinian-christian-prisoner-allowed-bible-but-denied-visit-from-priest</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Daoud Kuttab]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Rami Rizq Fadayel has been imprisoned in the Negev without charges for more than two years.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Daily International courtesy of family ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Rami Rizq Fadayel has been imprisoned in the Negev without charges for more than two years. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:20:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Two years after a Palestinian Christian prisoner in the Negev desert requested a Bible and a visit from his priest, Israeli prison officials have agreed to provide Scripture but not the clergy visit, sources said.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Two years after a Palestinian Christian prisoner in the Negev desert requested a Bible and a visit from his priest, Israeli prison officials have agreed to provide Scripture but not the clergy visit, sources said.
Rami Saleh, director of Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC), told Christian Daily International that the family of detainee Rami Rizq Fadayel, of Ramallah, asked his office to help him. After months of intervention, JLAC has finally received approval to make a Bible available to Fadayel, Saleh said.
“We began our legal intervention back in December 2025, making two requests: access to the Holy Bible and access to a priest,” Saleh said. “According to the Catholic faith, a Christian is to be administered the sacrament by an ordained priest and is to be allowed a confession to a priest at least once a year.”
Saleh said that Nafha Prison, a high-security Israeli prison also known as Bir al-Saba Prison in the Negev about 200 kilometers from Jerusalem, had refused both requests. The JLAC approached prison authorities, who stated on Monday (April 20) that they would allow the Bible but not the priest’s visit.
“All prisoners have had access to their religious books, but since October 7th, 2023, all were confiscated,” Saleh said. “The Islamic Quran was returned to prisoners after some time, but not the Bible.”
Saleh noted that National Prison Services made many requirements, including a signed request by the prisoner.
“We had to get his family to give a power of attorney for a lawyer to visit him and obtain his signature on the request for the Bible,” Saleh said.
JLAC is preparing to appeal the decision banning a visit by a priest.
Mona Fadayel, the inmate’s mother, told Christian Daily International that she is happy that he will be able to get the Bible, although it has been more than two years since he has been asking for one.
“He is sitting with nothing to do; the Bible would help him closer to God,” she said. “He is alone, no one is allowed to visit except his lawyer once every 40 days, and I pay the lawyer NIS [New Israeli Shekels] 700 [$250]. I have not been allowed to visit him since his arrest or even talk on the phone to him. Nor has anyone else, including his priest, been allowed to visit.”
Her son has requested she hire an attorney from Israel who is able to appeal to the Israeli High Court, which would require payment of 6,000 New Israeli Shekels ($2,000) to represent him, she said.
Mona Fadayel noted that he has been detained administratively without charge or trial.
“Usually, this is a six-month detention, and it is renewed once or twice,” she said. “He has been held for two years and four months without any charge or trial.”
She said that another Palestinian who was arrested along with him was released, but they extended her son’s detention for another four months.
“Maybe it is because he [Rami] was sent to solitary confinement after discovering he had a pen with him,” Fadayel said.
It is not clear if permission to have a Bible will be granted to other Christians, Saleh said.
“It is not clear if we will have to make a special legal appeal for every case, or if the decision of the National Prison Services will apply to all Palestinian Christian prisoners.”
Two other Palestinian Christian prisoners, Samer Arabid and Johnny Qaqish, have also requested Bibles, he said.
Since June of 2024, the prison administration had stalled the delivery of a Bible to Rami Fadayel, who was taken captive in December 2023, wrote Hind Shraydeh, a Jerusalem journalist specializing in issues related to Palestinian Christians, in Milhilard.org in April 2025.
Rami Fayadel spent “over two years in arbitrary imprisonment, most of it under administrative detention – a detention without charge or trial,” Shraydeh reported. “Since his most recent arrest, the occupation has renewed Rami’s administrative detention order five consecutive times – including on the eve of Christmas 2024. Just two days after that detention renewal, death struck a cruel blow: Rami’s father passed away.”
Bishop William Shomali of the Jerusalem Latin Patriarchate affirmed to CDI that getting a Bible to a prisoner and visiting him is part of Christian belief.
“The Lord Jesus specifically talked about the need to visit prisoners,” Bishop Shomali said. “In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus emphasizes that visiting prisoners is a direct act of service to Him. He identifies with the ‘least of these,’ stating that helping – or neglecting – those in prison is equivalent to doing so to Him.’]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Trial opens in Egypt for Christian charged with ‘challenging Islam’]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/trial-opens-in-egypt-for-christian-charged-with-challenging-islam</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/trial-opens-in-egypt-for-christian-charged-with-challenging-islam</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Edward Ross]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/44/4483.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Said Abdelrazek faces charges in Egypt related to his Christian faith.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Solidarity Worldwide ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Said Abdelrazek faces charges in Egypt related to his Christian faith. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:22:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The trial of an Egyptian imprisoned on charges related to his conversion from Islam and his attempt to change his religious designation on identity papers opened on Tuesday (April 21) in Cairo.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The trial of an Egyptian Christian imprisoned on charges related to his conversion from Islam and his attempt to change his religious designation on identity papers opened on Tuesday (April 21) in Cairo.
Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek was arrested in July under “terrorism” related charges. Apostasy is not illegal in Egypt, but changing the religious designation on official identity documents is practically impossible and leaves converts open to prosecution as a “national security threat.”
Prosecutors brought multiple charges against Abdelrazek, according to advocacy group Coptic Solidarity, including establishing and leading a group in violation of the law; joining a group that was allegedly founded unlawfully; financing the group; promoting ideas and beliefs deemed “harmful to national unity and social peace”; showing contempt for Islam and challenging its fundamental principles.
Abdelrazek’s legal team on Tuesday (April 21) submitted several key motions, including requests to adjourn the proceedings in order to prepare a full defense, according to Coptic Solidarity. The court granted the adjournment and scheduled the next hearing for June 15.
Abdelrazek has been held in Cairo’s 10th of Ramadan Prison, where he has reportedly been deprived of basic necessities including adequate food, clothing and medical care and hung in a “crucifixion” position.
The hearing took place at Egypt’s First Criminal Terrorism Circuit in Badr, in the eastern area of Cairo. International human rights groups have long criticized the Badr courts for opaqueness, lack of due process depriving defendants of basic legal protections. Prolonged pretrial detention and limited access to attorneys are common.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has designated Abdelrazek a religious prisoner of conscience, asserting that he was detained for his religious conversion and activity. On July 22, Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution charged him with “contempt for Islam,” joining a banned terrorist organization, inciting unrest and disseminating false information, according to USCIRF.
“During detention, authorities and inmates physically and psychologically abused Abdelrazek for his conversion,” the commission noted.
The defendant was represented by a legal defense team including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, as well the office of Cassation lawyer Saeed Fayez. 
Conversion and Asylum
Legal, social and civil difficulties resulting from Abdelrazek’s prior conversion to Christianity led him to flee to Russia in 2019, according to USCIRF.
He sought asylum on religious grounds, but in 2023 Russian authorities arrested him for his connection to a privately filmed video that was purportedly offensive to Islam. His online posts about Islam reportedly had upset Muslims in Russia.
In 2024 Russia deported him to Egypt, which rights advocates said violated the principle of non-refoulement as he held documentation from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees confirming that he qualified for international protection. The principle of non-refoulement is intended to protect refugees and asylum seekers from forced return to a country where they face threat of persecution.
Egyptian authorities arrested him, holding him incommunicado for about 10 days.
“When communication resumed, Egyptian authorities interrogated him about his religious beliefs and pressured him to reconsider his faith, monitor other converts, and asked him to delete his social media accounts,” USCIRF states on its website. “Authorities ultimately released him with instructions not to speak publicly or proselytize.”
In July 2025, Egyptian officials again detained Abdelrazek without a warrant and charged him after he resumed posting his religious beliefs online and asked an attorney to help him change the religion designation on his identification documents. Abdelrazek has reportedly said that that during that time he was coerced into undergoing painful removal of a Christian tattoo and was suspended for hours in a “crucifixion” position.
Abdelrazek is still awaiting a decision on an application he filed in May 2024 for a humanitarian visa to Australia.
“His fiancée is an Australian citizen and has appealed for urgent intervention, criticizing what she described as Australia’s lack of meaningful diplomatic engagement,” aid group Church in Chains stated.
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies on Jan. 26 wrote an “urgent appeal” letter on behalf of an international coalition of human rights organizations, religious freedom advocates and independent experts, “to respectfully urge the Australian Government to take immediate humanitarian and diplomatic action on behalf of Mr Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek, an Egyptian national and Christian convert who has been arbitrarily detained in Cairo since 15 July 2025 for exercising his fundamental right to freedom of belief,” Church in Chains reported.
The letter states that Abdelrazek’s imprisonment reflects a persistent and alarming pattern of religious persecution in Egypt, particularly against individuals who convert from Islam.
“Mr. Abdelrazek converted to Christianity in 2016 after years of personal reflection. Since that time, he has endured severe and sustained persecution by Egyptian authorities, including repeated arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment, forced divorce, separation from his young son, and continuous surveillance,” the letter states, according to Church in Chains. “His experience starkly contradicts Article 64 of Egypt’s Constitution, which states that ‘freedom of belief is absolute,’ yet in practice denies that right to those who leave Islam.”
The letter urges the Australian Government to grant Abdelrazek humanitarian or protection status, enabling his safe relocation and reunification with his fiancée in Australia; press Egyptian authorities, through bilateral diplomatic channels, to immediately and unconditionally release him, and raise his case at relevant international forums, including the United Nations, emphasizing Egypt’s obligations under international human rights law.
Egypt ranked 42nd on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Israel and Lebanon agree to 10-day ceasefire, raising hope for 'historic peace agreement']]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/israel-and-lebanon-agree-to-10-day-ceasefire-raising-hope-for-historic-peace-agreement</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/israel-and-lebanon-agree-to-10-day-ceasefire-raising-hope-for-historic-peace-agreement</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Firefighters search a building for survivors shortly after an Israeli airstrike on April 13, 2026 in Nabatieh, Lebanon.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Chris McGrath/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ NABATIEH, LEBANON - APRIL 13: Firefighters search a building for survivors shortly after an Israeli airstrike on April 13, 2026 in Nabatieh, Lebanon. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:15:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is set to take effect late Thursday, pausing hostilities between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah after weeks of escalating violence that has killed thousands and displaced large numbers of civilians.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is set to take effect late Thursday, pausing hostilities between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah after weeks of escalating violence that has killed thousands and displaced large numbers of civilians.
The truce, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Eastern Time (22:00 BST), with an initial duration of 10 days and the possibility of extension, according to U.S. officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the agreement would halt attacks targeting Hezbollah but confirmed that Israeli troops would remain in a 10-kilometer-deep security zone inside southern Lebanon. He described the ceasefire as an opportunity to pursue what he called a potential “historic peace agreement” with Lebanon.
The U.S. State Department said the agreement followed face-to-face talks between Israeli and Lebanese representatives in Washington this week, with both sides affirming that they “are not at war” and committing to engage in good-faith negotiations facilitated by the United States. 
The ceasefire was described as a “gesture of goodwill” by Israel and may be extended by mutual agreement if progress is made. While the truce is in effect, the United States reiterated Israel’s right to act in self-defense against imminent or ongoing threats. The agreement also calls on the Lebanese government to take steps to prevent Hezbollah and other armed groups from launching attacks, while affirming that Lebanon’s security forces bear exclusive responsibility for the country’s sovereignty and national defense. Both parties have requested continued U.S. mediation to resolve remaining issues.
Hezbollah signaled conditional acceptance of the deal, calling for a comprehensive halt to Israeli attacks across all Lebanese territory and rejecting any continued Israeli military presence. In a statement, the group said its actions would depend on how the situation develops. 
Fighting continued in the hours leading up to the ceasefire’s implementation, with Israeli strikes reported in southern Lebanon and rocket fire launched into northern Israel.
The agreement follows an intensive diplomatic push by the United States and comes amid broader efforts to stabilize the region, including a separate, fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
More than 2,100 people have been killed in Lebanon during the latest round of fighting, according to Lebanese authorities, and over one million residents have been displaced. Israeli officials report that at least 13 soldiers and two civilians have been killed.
Trump said he has invited the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House for potential follow-up talks, though no meetings have been confirmed.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Unified Easter observed across Jordan, parts of Israel and the West Bank]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/unified-easter-observed-across-jordan-parts-of-israel-and-the-west-bank</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/unified-easter-observed-across-jordan-parts-of-israel-and-the-west-bank</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Daoud Kuttab]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Worshipers gather for an Easter service at Amman Baptist Church on April 12, 2026, as congregations across Jordan mark the resurrection with unified celebrations.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Daoud Kuttab for Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Worshipers gather for an Easter service at Amman Baptist Church on April 12, 2026, as congregations across Jordan mark the resurrection with unified celebrations. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 08:48:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Christians in Jordan were joined by churches in parts of Israel and the West Bank in celebrating Easter together across denominational lines on April 12, an unusual occurrence globally as Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches typically observe the holiday on different dates.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Christians in Jordan were joined by churches in parts of Israel and the West Bank in celebrating Easter together across denominational lines on April 12, an unusual occurrence globally as Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches typically observe the holiday on different dates.
The divergence in Easter observance dates back centuries, rooted in differences between the Western Gregorian calendar, adopted by the Roman Catholic Church in 1582 and later by most Protestant traditions, and the Eastern Julian calendar, which continues to be used by many Orthodox churches. As a result, Easter is often celebrated on different Sundays across Christian traditions.
In Jordan, however, Catholics, Protestants and evangelicals have marked Easter on the same day, alongside Orthodox Christians for decades. Churches in several Israeli and Palestinian cities including Nazareth and Ramallah also aligned their observances this year, celebrating Good Friday, Holy Fire Saturday and Easter Sunday according to the same calendar.
Rev. Botrus Mansour, Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance, who attended today's Easter service at his local Baptist church in Nazareth, commented to Christian Daily International that he supported joint Christian holidays, especially regions with fewer Christians. “I think it reflects a positive stance that expresses Christian unity towards the whole world. Our numbers are already small in the East, and the division during holidays makes us vulnerable to ridicule,” Mansour said.
However, celebrations in Jerusalem and Bethlehem remained divided, as churches there are required to follow the strict religious calendar arrangements codified under the 19th-century Ottoman-era Status Quo agreement governing holy sites, which formalized longstanding arrangements among Christian denominations regarding worship times and control of shared sacred spaces.
1973 agreement established unified Christian holidays in Jordan
The move to unify holidays in Jordan follows an agreement worked out in 1973 and signed by Christian laypersons, organizations and churches. The agreement, established by the Committee for Unifying Christian Holidays in Jordan and Palestine, stipulates that all Christian denominations celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25 each year according to the Gregorian calendar, and Easter according to the Eastern Julian calendar.
The signatories justified their decision by stating that the continued practice of different churches and denominations in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the West Bank celebrating Christian holidays on separate dates harms the reputation of Christians, weakens their image, and undermines the splendor of the holidays and celebrations.
The 1973 agreement has been followed continuously in Jordan, with the government recognizing Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and New Year’s Day (Jan. 1) as national holidays. Jordanian Christians are granted paid leave on Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, and public and private universities are instructed not to schedule exams on those days in respect of Christian observance.
Former Jordanian MP Omar Anton Al-Naber told Milhilard.org, a local Christian website, that his family’s charitable organization, the Al-Naber Family Association, helped organize meetings bringing together Christian families from northern and southern Jordan, as well as from the West Bank, to advance the unification of holiday observances. Committees were established to coordinate with Palestinian Christians and church leaders.
He said that popular support and sustained pressure throughout 1972 and 1973 were crucial to achieving unification. “With all due respect to the heads of the churches at that time, the lay committee followed the popular will; they did not lead it. Those who led it were individuals who agreed that unity among all denominations was in the best interest of Christians.”
In his interview, Al-Naber said the unification was driven by the view that differences in the timing of religious holidays were due to non-essential factors rather than core Christian doctrine. He added that differing celebrations harmed the unity, interests and public image of Christians. The document was signed by more than 500 prominent Christian figures, with families affixing their seals at the Al-Naber Association.
Jordanian engineer Nidal Qaqish, a member of the administrative board and central council of the Orthodox Society, told Christian Daily International that the unification reflected leaders committed to the message of Jesus Christ, including love, generosity and respect for all people. “Jordan remains the only country where Christians celebrate their holidays together, a practice that continues to this day despite attempts by some to reverse this important decision,” he said.
Early grassroots efforts paved the way for unification
The genesis of the unification idea began years earlier, according to Rev. David Rihani, head of the Assemblies of God Church of Jordan. Rihani told Christian Daily International that the Rihani family from the town of Al-Husn in the Irbid Governorate played a key role in initiating the unification of holidays.
“The Rihani clan was the first to privately implement the unification of Christian holiday celebrations within the family in the mid-1950s,” he said.
This private initiative by the extended Rihani family took place despite initial ecclesiastical and sectarian reservations. “Despite opposition from the churches, the effort was well received and proved its social and humanitarian success over time, gradually spreading to other families in Al-Husn, and then to various regions of Jordan, until it became a widely accepted and prevalent practice,” Rihani said.
A document outlining the initial bylaws of the Al-Rihani Cooperative Society for Mutual Benefit, detailing this commitment, was written by engineer Amjad Ta’meh Al-Rihani and sent to the Vatican’s documentation department in 1958, informing them of what Rihani described as a pioneering social experiment.
Global efforts toward a unified Easter
A 2025 report by Vatican News stated that the Vatican—under Pope Francis and continuing under Pope Leo XIV—is actively pursuing a unified date for Easter with the Orthodox Church. Church leaders are seeking “a permanent solution to celebrate the Resurrection together,” viewing it as a crucial step toward greater Christian unity, the Vatican publication said.
No comparable formal discussions are currently taking place within the global evangelical movement, where the emphasis has traditionally been placed more on the meaning of the Resurrection than on the timing of its observance.
In many Orthodox-majority countries, evangelical churches often align their Easter celebrations with the Orthodox calendar for practical and social reasons, even in the absence of formal agreements. Catholic communities in such contexts may also adopt the Orthodox date for pastoral reasons, while Orthodox churches themselves typically maintain their traditional Easter observance even in Western-majority countries where the wider society follows a different calendar.
Yet while the global landscape may be more complex and fluid, the longstanding practice in Jordan stands out as a structured compromise, where churches across traditions have agreed to celebrate Christmas on the Western date and Easter according to the Orthodox calendar, offering a unified Christian witness in society.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[World Evangelical Alliance welcomes US-Iran ceasefire, calls for lasting peace and religious freedom]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/world-evangelical-alliance-welcomes-us-iran-ceasefire-calls-for-lasting-peace-and-religious-freedom</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/world-evangelical-alliance-welcomes-us-iran-ceasefire-calls-for-lasting-peace-and-religious-freedom</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[KARAJ, IRAN - APRIL 3: A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026 west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Majid Saeedi/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ KARAJ, IRAN - APRIL 3: A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026 west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:53:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The World Evangelical Alliance on Wednesday welcomed the newly announced two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, expressing hope that the temporary pause in hostilities could lead to a permanent peace agreement.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The World Evangelical Alliance on Wednesday welcomed the newly announced two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, expressing hope that the temporary pause in hostilities could lead to a permanent peace agreement.
In a statement issued April 8, Rev. Botrus Mansour, secretary general of the WEA, said the alliance is praying for those affected by the six-week conflict, including communities in Iran, Israel and across the Arab region.
“We pray that it may become a permanent peace deal,” Mansour who lives in Nazareth said, adding that Christians are called to pursue peace and reject war. He also highlighted the need for freedom of religion for all people in the affected regions, including evangelical Christians.
The WEA’s response follows the ceasefire that took effect Tuesday evening (April 7), temporarily halting weeks of escalating violence between U.S. and Iranian forces, with Israel backing the pause under certain conditions. The agreement is intended to create space for further negotiations, though uncertainty remains over its scope and enforcement.
In its statement, the WEA emphasized that peaceful agreements between nations should be reached through dialogue and in accordance with international law, while also affirming that all people should be able to live according to the human rights principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The alliance also drew attention to ongoing concerns in Lebanon, urging that the ceasefire extend protection to civilians there, particularly in the country’s southern regions where hostilities have continued despite the broader agreement.
Referencing the biblical call to peacemaking, Mansour cited Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew, underscoring the Christian commitment to reconciliation amid conflict.
Read our earlier reporting: US, Iran agree to two-week ceasefire as Israel backs pause; uncertainty remains over scope and enforcement]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[US, Iran agree to two-week ceasefire as Israel backs pause; uncertainty remains over scope and enforcement]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/us-iran-agree-to-two-week-ceasefire-as-israel-backs-pause</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/us-iran-agree-to-two-week-ceasefire-as-israel-backs-pause</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[KARAJ, IRAN - APRIL 3: A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026 west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Majid Saeedi/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ KARAJ, IRAN - APRIL 3: A view of the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026 west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Apr 2026 03:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran took effect Tuesday evening, with Israel expressing support for a temporary halt in hostilities, though questions remain over whether the agreement applies across all fronts and whether it will hold on the ground.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran took effect Tuesday evening (April 7), with Israel expressing support for a temporary halt in hostilities, though questions remain over whether the agreement applies across all fronts and whether it will hold on the ground.
The truce, mediated by Shehbaz Sharif, is intended to pause more than five weeks of escalating conflict and create space for negotiations toward a broader peace agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire would allow time to finalize a deal with Iran, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated Tehran would halt what it described as “defensive operations” during the period.
Despite the announcement, reports of missile and drone attacks continued early Wednesday across parts of the Persian Gulf, including alerts in Israel and incidents in Gulf states, raising doubts about whether the agreement had been fully communicated to Iranian field commanders operating under a decentralized command structure.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel supported the U.S.-brokered pause on the condition that Iran cease attacks and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route. However, he stated the ceasefire did not extend to ongoing fighting in Lebanon involving the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, contradicting earlier remarks by Pakistani officials that the agreement applied “everywhere.”
The ceasefire announcement followed heightened tensions over Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. warnings of severe consequences if shipping lanes were not reopened. While global oil prices dropped sharply after the deal was announced, uncertainty persisted over whether commercial vessels would consider the waterway safe for transit.
Sharif, who has sought to position Pakistan as a mediator, praised both sides for showing “remarkable wisdom and understanding” and invited U.S. and Iranian delegations to Islamabad for talks aimed at reaching a more durable settlement. Iranian officials signaled willingness to attend, while U.S. officials said discussions were ongoing but not yet finalized.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Archaeologists unearth 1,500-year-old monastic complex in Egypt]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/archaeologists-unearth-1-500-year-old-monastic-complex-in-egypt</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/archaeologists-unearth-1-500-year-old-monastic-complex-in-egypt</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[The Christian Post]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[1,500-year-old monastic complex]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Egypt Ministry of Tourism and Archives ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Egyptian archaeologists unearthed a 1,500-year-old monastic complex in the Nile Delta, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:05:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a 1,500-year-old monastic complex in the Nile Delta, including a fifth-century building believed to have served as a reception facility for pilgrims, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Egyptian archaeologists have unearthed a 1,500-year-old monastic complex in the Nile Delta, including a fifth-century building believed to have served as a reception facility for pilgrims, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced.
The discovery was made at the Al-Qalāyā site in Beheira Governorate, where an Egyptian mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities has been excavating since 2023, according to the announcement.
Officials called the find significant for understanding the origins of organized monastic life.
The newly uncovered structure contains 13 rooms that served multiple functions, including individual and communal monastic cells, spaces for hospitality and education, a kitchen, and storerooms.
Architectural elements added during later historical periods were also identified, indicating the building was modified and repurposed across subsequent phases of use.
A large hall in the northern section of the building features stone benches decorated with botanical motifs and was likely used to receive visitors, including senior monastic figures and those seeking to study monastic life. The building extends along a north-south axis, with a prayer room oriented to face east. A limestone-carved cross is set within the eastern wall.
Hisham El-Leithy, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, identified Al-Qalāyā as the second-largest known monastic gathering site in the history of Christian monasticism. He said its architectural style reflects “the earliest nucleus of monastery establishment.”
El-Leithy said the decorative motifs and illustrations found at the site are among the most significant sources for the study of early Coptic art, offering historical and archaeological evidence about the nature of monastic life and artistic development in its earliest stages.
The discovery also shows the evolution of monastic architecture from solitary dwelling to communal housing and, ultimately, to facilities designed to receive visitors, he added.
Wall paintings recovered from the site depict monks, identifiable by their clothing, alongside geometric and plant-based decorations. These include braided ornaments in red, white, and black, as well as an eight-petaled flower. Officials said the works point to the richness of symbolic expression in early Coptic art.
One prominent mural shows two gazelles surrounded by vegetal motifs within a double circular frame, which is believed to carry symbolic meaning, Basilica News Agency reported.
The site offers evidence of a transition from eremitic life, in which monks lived in isolation, to communal monastic organization. The development occurred in a region distinct from the desert areas of southern Egypt, which have long been regarded as the cradle of early monasticism.
A complete marble column measuring 2 meters in length was also recovered, along with column capitals and bases. Pottery fragments bearing vegetal and geometric motifs, ceramic pieces inscribed with Coptic letters, bone remains of birds and animals, and a collection of oyster shells were found across the site. The bone remains and shells are consistent with food preparation and daily activities at the complex, according to officials.
Samir Razaq Abdul-Hafiz, head of the excavation mission, said researchers found a rectangular limestone piece at the entrance of one chamber bearing a Coptic inscription. An initial translation suggests the text is a funerary stele. The inscription refers to the death of an individual identified as “Apa Kyr, son of Shenouda,” confirming continued human presence at the site during a period of flourishing monastic development in the region.
Since excavations began in 2023, the mission has also uncovered multiple clusters of monastic cells known as manshubiyyat, groupings of pottery vessels associated with monks’ living quarters. Auxiliary service buildings were also found, indicating the presence of a large and organized monastic center.
Research at the site is ongoing.
Originally published by The Christian Post]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Jordanian animation video brings practical help to families facing war anxiety]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/jordanian-animation-video-brings-practical-help-to-families-facing-war-anxiety</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/jordanian-animation-video-brings-practical-help-to-families-facing-war-anxiety</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Daoud Kuttab]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[A scene from an animated video by Jordan’s Digitales Media shows a family using breathing exercises to manage stress during a missile alert.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Courtesy of Digitales Media ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ A scene from an animated video by Jordan’s Digitales Media shows a family using breathing exercises to manage stress during a missile alert. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 03:09:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[As sirens warning of possible missile strikes echo across parts of the Middle East, a Jordanian animation company has released a short video aimed at helping families cope with the emotional strain of the ongoing conflict involving Iran.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
As sirens warning of possible missile strikes echo across parts of the Middle East, a Jordanian animation company has released a short video aimed at helping families cope with the emotional strain of the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
Digitales Media, based in Amman, developed the five-minute animated episode to offer practical ways—especially for children—to deal with tension and anxiety linked to war conditions. The initiative comes as the conflict’s impact extends beyond physical destruction and travel disruptions, affecting daily life and mental well-being across the region.
The episode opens with the now-familiar sound of the siren blasting through an apartment neighborhood in Amman while the streets are deserted. The production is part of a long-running YouTube series, Our Family Life, that has captured the imagination of families around the region.
Cynthia Madanat-Sharaiha, creative director and co-owner of Digitales Media, explains that her team was looking for ways to help families during the war. “We wanted to find a practical way for people in general, and children in particular, to deal with tensions emanating from the war,” she told Christian Daily International.
Shadi Sharaiha, the program’s executive producer, told CDI that this particular episode of “Our Family Life” was a deliberate attempt to translate evidence-based coping techniques into something families can actually use at home—in moments of tension and after the sirens fade.
“The entire Middle East region has been overwhelmed with flying missiles and 24-hour war news that has engulfed everyone. Our creative team worked around the clock to find practical solutions that can help families deal with trauma, not only during war but at any other time,” he said.
In the YouTube video, after hearing the siren, Abu Sanad’s family meets and reflects on their concerns. The mother presents breathing exercises and encourages her family to follow them. The company says they were careful to present evidence-based treatments in a visually attractive manner, with additional downloadable exercises provided at the end.
Issam Smeir, a Chicago-based trauma counselor and advisor to the content of the Digitales products, told CDI that the “Our Family Life” series is not merely entertaining but a creative show that helps parents teach their children how to engage with life’s challenges.
He said that “the dealing-with-stress episode” aims to help families regulate their nervous systems when war anxiety spills into daily life. “The wisdom comes from the mother, whose on-screen breathing exercises are not gimmicks but a gateway to resilience that can be learned without prior therapy and without leaving the living room,” he explained.
Smeir said that stress is a natural response to an unnatural situation. According to the mental health specialist, the breathing exercise helps “reset the nervous system back to normal.”
Digitales Media adopted a real-time approach, pairing a short film with downloadable exercises and a digital toolkit offering science-based methods to manage stress and trauma. The approach combines accessibility with methods commonly used in clinical trauma care, including breathing exercises and routines designed to create a sense of safety.
Yet in many Arab countries, where access to mental health services can be uneven, stigmatized, or disrupted by displacement—these tools risk remaining abstract unless they are rendered tangible and culturally resonant.
Digitales, the producer of the award-winning feature film “Saleem,” is a leading media organization that creates content addressing emotional issues. It tells the story of a curious and adventurous nine-year-old who moves to a new town with his family after losing his father.
The company’s co-directors, Shadi and Cynthia Sharaiha, received the King Abdullah II Award of Excellence for the film and the production team was also visited by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa during production.
Digitales also produces a creative digital mental health and psychosocial support tool, “Amal for Children,” that combines animation and storytelling with evidence-based therapy modalities to help reduce the intensity and frequency of PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms in children navigating trauma. Their video content has been used by refugee groups in Egypt and has been translated for use in other regions of the world.Church leaders have said the production enables them to better support children in difficult situations as they cope with stress and trauma.
When content is crafted in local dialects and framed within familiar family dynamics, it becomes less intimidating and more credible, producers say. The Jordanian film’s setting in Amman, its emphasis on family participation and its clear, actionable guidance exemplify how healing tools can be culturally anchored and practically useful.
With the conflict reaching countries unaccustomed to such threats, the sound of sirens and the need to seek shelter have contributed to rising stress levels among families.
The video presents a practical sequence from awareness to action, equipping families with tools they can use in daily life, whether at home, in school or during emergencies.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Prison conditions in Iran worsen for Christians, other inmates]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/prison-conditions-in-iran-worsen-for-christians-other-inmates</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/prison-conditions-in-iran-worsen-for-christians-other-inmates</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Morning Star News]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Ehsan Iran Creative Commons ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:06:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Conditions in Iran for Christians imprisoned for their faith and other inmates have deteriorated dramatically since the U.S. and Israeli bombing of the Islamic regime in the past month, according to human rights groups.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Conditions in Iran for Christians imprisoned for their faith and other inmates have deteriorated dramatically since the U.S. and Israeli bombing of the Islamic regime in the past month, according to human rights groups.
Guards and some prison officials across the country have largely abandoned their posts, leaving hardliners from the paramilitary group known as the “Counter-Terrorism Special Force” (Nīrū-yi Vizhe-yi Pād Vahshat, or NOPO) in charge, rights groups say.
In a statement on X, the wife of a political prisoner at Evin Prison in Tehran, Mostafa Mohammadhasan, confirmed that NOPO has taken control of that prison.
“The situation at Evin Prison is very bad,” she posted. “The prison is now in the hands of NOPO forces. They have completely closed the gates, and all prison officials have left. Obtaining food has become very difficult and there is no (prison) shop anymore.”
Prison officials have cancelled family visits and denied medical care to prisoners, and they are now “being fed just one small, low-quality meal a day,” according to Article 18, which advocates on behalf of persecuted Christians in Iran.
Even under normal circumstances, Iranian prisons are known for serious human rights violations, including torture of Christians held for their faith and other prisoners of conscience.
NOPO control of prisons is cause for serious concern among rights activists and advocates for religious freedom, as the counter-terrorism force group is responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in Iran. Those include the deaths of hundreds of Iranians protesting against high gas prices or the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman brutalized in custody after Iran’s morality police arrested her by for failing to wear a government mandated head-covering in public.
The leadership of NOPO has been sanctioned by both the U.S. government and the European Union. According to a statement issued in 2021 by the U.S. Treasury Department, NOPO “used excessive and lethal force [at protests], firing upon unarmed protestors, including women and children, with automatic weapons. NOPO forces blocked main streets with armed vehicles and fired randomly at crowds with heavy machine guns.”
Another advocacy group, Middle East Concern (MEC), reported that the Iranian government is “also subjecting prisoners to enforced disappearance.”
“Some prisoners have been transferred to unidentified locations or areas near potential military objectives, intensifying concerns for their safety,” a MEC press statement reads. “Family members of Christians held in Evin Prison have expressed their concerns at the lack of news as calls from prison have become very rare.”
When the U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign began, there were at least 48 Christians in prisons scattered across Iran serving sentences on charges related to their religious beliefs or activities, including at least 16 in Evin Prison.
One convert at Evin Prison who was set to be released prior to the war to serve her sentence under house arrest has been held incommunicado since the bombing began. Her family has expressed concern for her safety.
Simin Soheilinia, 48, sentenced in October 2020 for “acting against national security by establishing and leading an illegal Christian house church,” was recently allowed to serve her prison term at home with an electronic monitoring device after her original 10-year sentence was reduced on retrial, first to six years and then to three years and six months. She has yet to be released.
Soheilinia has been held in prison since September. She was arrested on her return to Iran from Canada, where she had sought asylum after her sentencing. Soheilinia returned to Iran following the death of her father and after receiving bad news on her mother’s terminal illness, according to Article 18.
Soheilinia was first arrested in January 2019 with three other converts during coordinated raids by intelligence officers on their homes in Tehran. In October 2020, the Christians were sentenced to a combined 35 years in prison. Later, their sentences were reduced and they were released from prison.
Soheilinia’s arrest upon return to Iran was part of a trend of Iranian Christians being arrested and imprisoned upon returning from another country. This trend was highlighted in Article 18’s 2026 annual report, in which the group argued that “the possibility of arrest and prosecution for Christian activities overseas needs to be seriously taken into consideration by immigration authorities assessing the asylum claims.”
Iran ranked 10th on Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List (WWL) of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Baptist seminary provides refuge to people displaced in Lebanon]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/baptist-seminary-provides-refuge-to-people-displaced-in-lebanon</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/baptist-seminary-provides-refuge-to-people-displaced-in-lebanon</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[The Christian Post]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Beirut, Lebanon]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Photo by Adri Salido/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Two neighbors check the destruction on the building hit by the IDF in Bachoura on March 14, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon. Israel has continued its aerial and ground assault in Lebanon after Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, launched missiles at Israel in what it said was retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2026 07:49:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary near Beirut is sheltering displaced people who fled their homes as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forces hundreds of thousands of civilians across Lebanon to seek refuge.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary near Beirut is sheltering displaced people who fled their homes as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forces hundreds of thousands of civilians across Lebanon to seek refuge.
About 170 internally displaced people are staying on the seminary’s campus while the institution continues its educational work online for roughly 250 students, the Southern Baptist Convention's news service, Baptist Press reports, quoting the seminary's president, Wissam Nasrallah.
Israel’s military campaign against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has forced large-scale civilian movement across the country.
The seminary, located on the eastern outskirts of Beirut in an area considered relatively safe, is providing food, housing and other basic necessities while staff attempts to balance emergency relief with the school’s long-term mission of training Christian leaders from across the Middle East.
The displaced people staying at the campus come from southern Lebanon, the Bekaa region and suburbs of Beirut, and about a quarter of them are children, according to Evangelical Focus.
Residents gathered at the campus help kitchen workers prepare meals and attend daily community chapel services organized during the crisis, while the sounds of drones and bombing can still be heard across the region.
The Arab Baptist Theological Seminary trains Christian leaders from across the Arab world. The institution was founded in the late 1950s by Southern Baptist missionaries and now operates under THIMAR, the Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development. Baptist partners in the United States continue to support its work.
The conflict escalated after Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on March 2, saying it was responding to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, triggering an extensive Israeli bombing campaign against the Lebanese armed group and a new wave of displacement across the country, according to Reuters.
Over 700 people have been killed and 1,774 others injured in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since the fighting began, and at least 26 medics and first responders are among the dead, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, while Hezbollah has launched hundreds of rockets across the border into Israel.
Israel has warned that it may target ambulances and medical facilities if they are used for military purposes by Hezbollah, a claim the group denies, in a development that has raised concerns because hospitals and medical infrastructure are protected under international law unless they lose protected status through military use.
The fighting has forced about 800,000 people to flee southern Lebanon in roughly 10 days, and about one-fifth of the country’s population of around 4 million is now displaced by the violence.
Israel has also expanded its military posture along the northern frontier and signaled it is preparing for a prolonged campaign against Hezbollah, while Israeli aircraft dropped warning leaflets over Beirut, threatening damage similar to the devastation seen in Gaza during Israel’s war with Hamas.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called for a ceasefire agreement and Israeli support for the Lebanese army to disarm Hezbollah, accusing the armed group of risking the destruction of villages and threatening the stability of the Lebanese state.
Christians make up about 30% of Lebanon’s population, roughly 1.2 million people. Evangelical believers account for about 1% of the population, around 40,000 people.
Among those displaced are members of the Baptist Church in Deir Mimas, a congregation located near the Lebanon Israel border whose members fled north as bombardment intensified in the south.Originally published by The Christian Post]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Meekness over autocracy: Henri Aoun advocates transparent servant leadership in the MENA Church]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/meekness-over-autocracy-henri-aoun-advocates-transparent-servant-leadership-in-the-mena-church</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/meekness-over-autocracy-henri-aoun-advocates-transparent-servant-leadership-in-the-mena-church</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Daoud Kuttab]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Henri Aoun, an evangelical leader from Beirut who has helped guide ministry networks across North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, speaks about servant leadership, transparency and governance in the church during an interview with Christian Daily]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Daoud Kuttab for Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Henri Aoun, an evangelical leader from Beirut who has helped guide ministry networks across North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, speaks about servant leadership, transparency and governance in the church during an interview with Christian Daily International in February. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 14 Mar 2026 20:10:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[“In the Middle East, the image of a leader is autocratic and authoritative; otherwise, people think he doesn’t know what he’s doing,” says Henri Aoun, a leading evangelical leader in the region.]]></description>
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“In the Middle East, the image of a leader is autocratic and authoritative; otherwise, people think he doesn’t know what he’s doing,” says Henri Aoun, a leading evangelical leader in the region.
Aoun, who was born in Beirut, spoke to Christian Daily International with a calm certainty about leadership that reflects service more than status. The evangelical figure—one who has guided networks across North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia—frames his calling not as a throne to occupy but as a task to fulfill. 
“Meekness is so close to graciousness,” he says, tracing the line from personal humility to public governance. Being a gracious leader is not a sentimental ideal, he argues, but a strategic posture in a region where power is often equated with distance and control.
Aoun contrasts this vision with the dominant archetype he sees in the Middle East: leadership that is autocratic, inaccessible, and invested in power for its own sake. Leaders are too proud, he says. He anchors his argument in Scripture, pointing to Moses as “the most meek person in the world” and to Jesus’ own exhortation to be “meek and lowly in heart.” The message is not nostalgic piety but a practical invitation: leadership that is approachable, transparent, and accountable.
Meekness, for Aoun, is inseparable from service. He frankly acknowledges a deficit in the evangelical and broader Christian communities: “definitely we are not service-oriented,” he says.
The leadership he envisions resists the temptation to perform high-profile acts for appearance’s sake and instead fixes its eyes, hands, and hours on the humblest tasks. The moment that crystallizes this ethos for him—long a touchstone for his public persona—happened on a floor, scrubbing tiles in the course of his own ascent. The memory returns as a clear instruction: “This is the way I want to serve. No service is too good for me to do.” It’s not a sermon; it’s a protocol for leadership, a rule written into muscle memory.
Asked about challenges of transparency and governance in the churches in the Middle East, Aoun has no restraint in his critique. “That’s why nobody publishes their budgets online. There’s no transparency in the churches,” he laments. 
The absence of clear financial disclosures, elections, and formal accountability, isn’t simply a stylistic gap; it’s a structural weakness that he believes corrodes trust and muffles genuine servant leadership. He frames accountability not as punitive discipline but as stewardship: a church that treats money as a shared trust, not as a private reserve.
In his telling, true leadership is egalitarian, born of a shared sense that all believers are gifted for service. “We’re all equal,” he asserts, invoking the church’s theology of the body—different gifts, different roles, but one Head.
He envisions governance as a round-table enterprise rather than a throne-and-scepter model: “We were leading as a team, not leading with a team.” The idea is democratic in spirit and ecclesial in practice, though he remains attentive to the realities of power and influence in any organization.
Aoun does not romanticize a world free of hard questions. The Middle East’s political and religious terrain presents enduring challenges to leadership, perhaps most acutely in the question of converts from Islam to Christianity.
“The church itself has a hard time accepting 'Pastor Muhammad'… it's a one-way street: they welcome the opposite but not converts.” He adds that state authorities, security concerns, and legal barriers complicate sanctuary and legitimacy for converts, including marriage rights and parental status. 
Yet he remains hopeful, invoking the Arab Spring and hoping for a “convert spring” that might, in time, loosen the shackles of repression and fear. It is a controversial, even dangerous, hope, but it is framed as ethical imagination rather than naïve optimism.
On gender, his position is nuanced and situational: women can lead in many areas where they possess gifts, yet he stops short of endorsing ordination to the senior pastorate. He recounts how his wife’s discernment and partnership have sharpened his own decisions, noting that in some contexts women contribute insights and leadership that are indispensable. He draws on secular evidence as well, citing management literature that supports the value of consulting with one’s partner to strengthen leadership outcomes.
Youth, too, is central to his vision. He argues that young leaders today bring a prodigious store of knowledge—“an average 25-year-old today has more knowledge than a 25-year-old leader 50 years ago”—but cautions that experience remains essential. “Young leaders do well to consult with the older ones because older ones have more experience,” he says.
The antidote to a talent gap, in his view, is a deliberate platform for youth: place them at the helm of media outreach, digital ministries, and other contemporary ministries where the younger generation already lives and breathes. He sketches a career path he himself lived: at 17, he led the youth group; at 20, he directed a broader cohort of young leaders. Those early chances didn’t merely train him; they set him on a trajectory toward full-time leadership.
On theology, education, and mission, Aoun offers a robust assessment. He believes the theological training available in seminaries and universities in the MENA region is strong, especially with modern programs that blend leadership, psychology, and counseling. Still, he pushes for deeper, more widespread theological learning across local churches. The aim is not “over-educating” clergy but equipping the entire body so that laypeople understand the faith with greater clarity and confidence. 
He seamlessly threads justice into the church’s vocation: biblical issues require unity; non-biblical political matters invite respectful, principled disagreement. Justice, he says, is non-negotiable; leaders must raise their voices against injustice—whether in Lebanon’s governance or in the humanitarian crises in Gaza—while recognizing that few issues in the region are uncontentious.
Aoun’s posture is not one of triage for crisis but a blueprint for resilience. The Church, he argues, must be brave enough to lead on justice, transparent enough to steward money well, humble enough to serve first, and inclusive enough to recognize gifts across generations and genders. The path ahead is complicated, and the stakes are high, yet he remains convinced that meek leadership can reframe the church’s public witness in a region where all eyes are watching.
“The day is going to come,” he says, half hopeful, half prophetic, “when converts are welcomed openly and churches are free to exercise their rights. A convert spring.” In that aspiration lies not naïveté but a call to faithful, hopeful, and accountable leadership that refuses to surrender to fear.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Missionary in Iraq urges Western church to leave its comfort zone]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/missionary-in-iraq-urges-western-church-to-leave-its-comfort-zone</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/missionary-in-iraq-urges-western-church-to-leave-its-comfort-zone</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Javier Bolaños]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[A fighter shows piece of Iranian missile]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ (Photo by Sedat Suna/Getty Images) ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ A fighter shows piece of Iranian missile in front of the destroyed house used by the families of Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) members, which was damaged after an Iranian missile attack on March 9, 2026 in Erbil, Iraq. Iran’s war with Israel and the US could provide Kurdish groups with the opportunity to increase their political influence and control inside the Kurdish provinces in western Iran. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:40:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Northern Iraq, specifically the city of Erbil, has experienced constant military operations amid the current escalation in the region. A member of the leadership of an Ibero-American missionary movement serving in Iraq spoke with Diario Cristiano, the Spanish edition of Christian Daily International, about the situation on the ground. His name is being withheld for security reasons.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Northern Iraq, specifically the city of Erbil, has experienced constant military operations amid the current escalation in the region. A member of the leadership of an Ibero-American missionary movement serving in Iraq spoke with Diario Cristiano, the Spanish edition of Christian Daily International, about the situation on the ground. His name is being withheld for security reasons.
“We’ve had around 100 attacks in the city where we are right now in the north, in Erbil,” he said.
The offensives have hit civilian infrastructure in areas inhabited by minority communities. “An apartment complex in Ankawa, the Christian district, was struck by a drone and sustained significant damage.” In addition to residential areas, incidents have also been reported near the international airport. “In just the last 48 hours, more than 50 attacks have been intercepted.”
Given the level of risk in the area, diplomatic missions have issued alerts to their citizens. The Spanish Embassy advised them to evacuate the area immediately. However, the missionary chose to remain with the local community. He said the decision was based on a simple question: “What weight would our service carry when we say, ‘God protects, God keeps you, God is our refuge,’ if in the end we are the first to leave?”
The security situation is compounded by a crisis in basic services caused by the suspension of gas exports from the Khormor field. “There has been a critical reduction of up to 3,000 megawatts in electricity generation.” As a result, electricity supply is extremely limited. “We only have two or three hours of power a day, sometimes up to five.”
The war and memories of recent conflicts with the Islamic State influence religious communities in the Kurdish autonomous region, including Assyrians, Chaldeans and Turkmen.
“Fear is growing — people are increasingly afraid to gather or meet.” There is concern that the attacks may no longer be limited to U.S. military targets but could also affect civilian groups and consulates.
The missionary also addressed how the evangelical church is perceived in a Muslim-majority region, noting the need for caution regarding geopolitics.
“We see evangelical churches displaying the Israeli flag … sometimes Christianity gives the impression that it means loving — and perhaps supporting — what the Israeli government is doing, and that’s something we need to be careful about.”
Regarding the impact of the situation in Iran, the leader mentioned expectations about the Iranian underground church in the event of possible regime change. “The hope is that if the regime falls, there will be a wave … from this church that is growing rapidly.”
However, he said operating in secrecy brings its own challenges. “The Church, at least in northern Iraq, wants to be more visible, more institutional, and to hold a recognized place in society, because when everything is done in secrecy … they are often subject to immediate persecution.”
Comparing this reality with the perspective of believers in other parts of the world, the interviewee challenged some modern theological practices.
“The church in the West — whether in Hispanic America or Latin America — needs to embody the gospel and truly live it in a way that pushes them out of their comfort zone.”
The current operational needs of Christian ministry groups in northern Iraq include funding for local initiatives and hiring local staff, he says, since “I don’t see people coming here in the short term.”
The missionary said prayer requests to the international community focus on the safety of families and local minorities, handling the situation with “wisdom and discernment” in order to be “gentle as a dove and shrewd as a serpent,” and paying attention to neighboring countries affected by the escalation, such as Jordan and Lebanon.
Originally published by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.]]></content:encoded>
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