English cardinal calls for legislation tackling 'extremism'
- Feb 24, 2021
A Jordan native and expert on Islamic affairs has said the changing faith dynamics of the Middle East has provided an opportunity to reflect on the underlying causes.
Amid suffering and despair, further darkened by the coronavirus pandemic, Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East urged their faithful at Christmastime to hold on to hope.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit thousands of foreign workers hard in the glitzy Gulf emirate of Dubai, leaving them jobless and starving. But one of the largest Catholic congregations in the world, found in Dubai, has stepped up as “Good Samaritans” ministering to the needy, and now it hopes to bless even more during this Christmas season.
More than 100,000 Christians driven out from Iraq’s Ninevah Plain by the Islamic State in the summer of 2014 are living as refugees in Lebanon.
The worsening coronavirus pandemic and economic conditions in Syria are further deepening poverty and hardship for Christians, who find themselves trapped in a political stalemate, religious freedom advocates say.
Religious minorities are highly vulnerable during conflicts, often exposed to grave violence, and require active protection and assistance, religious freedom advocates said during the 2020 Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief, sponsored by the U.S. State Department and hosted by Poland.