The 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous for Christians in 2026
Pastor Edward Awabdeh had just finished serving Communion at the Evangelical Christian Alliance Church when he noticed members fiddling with their phones and whispering nervously to their neighbors. Many in the Damascus, Syria, church had received notifications of a suicide bombing at the Mar Elias Greek Orthodox church, located only 15 minutes away. Syrian security…
The 94-Year-Old Hong Kong Cardinal Fighting for Chinese Freedom
Three years ago in a Hong Kong courtroom, 90-year-old cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun leaned heavily on his cane. Wearing his black clerical robe and white collar, the white-haired bishop emeritus faced charges of failing to register a legal support fund to help arrested activists during the 2019 pro-democracy protest movement. Despite his advanced age, Zen…
Who Writes History When There Is No Winner?
Eight somber Muslims sat around white plastic tables on the gold-tinged red carpet of Sayyida Aisha Mosque in Sidon, Lebanon. Arabic sweets beckoned, but few partook. The seriousness of the occasion—reviewing their memories of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war that ended in 1990—seemed to make several uneasy. They did sip their tea. Four were Lebanese native…
The Priest and Social Worker Deradicalizing Jihadists in Prison
Maya Yamout stared at the hardened jihadist sitting across from her over a plastic desk in the unkempt library prison. Books littered the floor. The man, a veteran al-Qaeda militant in the notorious Block B of Lebanon’s Roumieh jail pushed forward a glass of tea. “Where’s the sugar?” Yamout asked. The curt question fit their…
Grassroots Efforts Bring Together Diverse Sects in Iraq
Three years ago in Iraqi Kurdistan, an adherent of the Kakai faith posted on social media that he had been called an infidel by a Sunni Muslim sheikh. Kakai is a synthesis of Zoroastrianism and Shiite Islam, with between 110,000 and 200,000 followers in Iraq. Persecuted throughout their history, some Kakai consider themselves an independent…
What Would a Liberal Democracy in Lebanon Look Like?
In September 2024, when Israel escalated its bombing campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Shiite sheikh Rabih Koubayssi was one of the few clerics, Muslim or Christian, to stay in the targeted southern region. He was needed to bury the dead. His first Islamic duty was to wash the bodies, which were often charred or missing…
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Jayson Casper 