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Christians in Saudi Arabia observe Christmas in new season of religious tolerance
Author: Rashid Hassan & Haifa Ak-Belahid
Publication Date: 24/12/2020
Source: Arab News
Christmas in Saudi Arabia this year feels different in a very remarkable way. Christmas trees and decorations are for sale at a gift shop in Riyadh. Scenes of people buying Santa Claus outfits, tinsel, baubles and other ornaments from the shop in the Saudi capital are an unmistakable sign of greater tolerance towards other religions and faiths.
‘All you can do is survive’: A bleak midwinter for Christians in the Middle East
Author: Bel Trew
Publication Date: 25/12/2020
Source: The Independent
From a deserted Bethlehem to a broken Beirut, Christmas is rounding off a particularly painful year in the region.
Christians in Gaza celebrate gloomy Christmas this year
Author: Hana Salah
Publication Date: 22/12/2020
Source: Al-Monitor
Christians in the Gaza Strip will be celebrating Christmas at home this year in light of the lockdown and travel restrictions imposed to stem the skyrocketing number of coronavirus cases.
How much longer will the Middle East celebrate Christmas?
Author: Knox Thames
Publication Date: 23/12/2020
Source: Religion News Service
Days before the start of Advent, mobs in a city 200 miles south along the Nile from Cairo burned Coptic Orthodox Christian homes and ransacked Christian businesses before attacking a church with stones and Molotov cocktails. Why? Because of a Facebook post that allegedly mentioned the Prophet Muhammad and the attackers found offensive.
Covid-19 fails to dampen Yuletide spirit of Christians in Dubai
Author: James Jose
Publication Date: 24/12/2020
Source: Khaleej Times
For the large Christian community which calls the UAE, a ‘home’ away from home, it will be a strange Christmas this year due to Covid-19 pandemic. And while it is what it is, they are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, with hope and a prayer on their lips, for better days ahead.
Christians in Holy Land face bleak Christmas season due to COVID-19
Author: Michele Chabin
Publication Date: 18/12/2010
Source: Religion News Service
A usually festive and economically important time for the Holy Land's tiny Christian minority has been changed with an absence of pilgrims.
Bahrain church project cements Gulf region’s reputation for religious tolerance
Author: Rawaa Talass
Publication Date: 23/12/2020
Source: Arab News
It all started when the monarch of Bahrain donated a plot of land to the kingdom’s Catholic community seven years ago. Officially taking matters a step further, in 2014 King Hamad Al-Khalifa met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, reassuring him of Bahrain’s commitment to coexistence and presenting him with a detailed three-foot-long model of a proposed cathedral and its surroundings.
Conservative Christians remain silent about suffering Bethlehem
Author: James Zogby
Publication Date: 20/12/2020
Source: Ahram Online
As we enter the final week before Christmas, my thoughts turn to Bethlehem, its struggling people, and the shocking disregard for them displayed by many Christians in the West. This is not to say that that these same Christians don’t love Bethlehem. But the city they love is the one of the story that’s two thousand years old.
Former Jerusalem archbishop: How long will Catholics keep ignoring the suffering of Palestinians?
Author: Michel Sabbah
Publication Date: 22/12/2020
Source: American The Jesuit Review
Israel’s military occupation of Palestine continues in its 53rd year. In particular, Palestinians in Gaza are suffering under a callous siege. The U.S. administration has withdrawn aid for Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem and for the United Nations’ humanitarian work in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric urges politicians to form government
Publication Date: 26/12/2020
Source: Egypt Independent
Lebanon’s top Christian cleric urged politicians on Friday to rid themselves of external pressure and form a government to end political deadlock and help resolve a severe financial crisis.
