Religious Registration Laws in the Middle East October 16, 2025 — By Joseph Daniel, ICC Fellow I remember years ago when I filled out my first visa form in the Middle East, I paused at a line that startled me: “What...
Strength Amid Chaos in the Middle EastOctober 3, 2024 — 10/3/2024 Middle East (International Christian Concern) — As the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel approaches, Christians across the Middle East find themselves caught in a...
ICC Perspectives: Christians are Leaving the Middle East. So Why is Persecution Increasing?May 24, 2024 — 5/24/2024 Middle East (International Christian Concern) — Every month, International Christian Concern (ICC) sources in the Middle East witness Christians leaving the region. The rates are especially alarming in countries...
Lebanese Christian Political Leader Found Dead in SyriaMay 1, 2024 — 4/30/2024 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) — Pascal Suleiman, a Lebanese Christian leader, was reported missing on April 7 and later found dead in neighboring Syria. Suleiman was a leader of...
Middle East War Escalates, Fighting Spreads to YemenJanuary 12, 2024 — 01/12/2024 Middle East (International Christian Concern) – As the Israeli-Gaza war reaches its 100th day, conflict threatens to escalate in other parts of the region. Nearly three months of daily...
The Death and Resurrection of the Church in the Middle EastJuly 13, 2023 — 07/13/2023 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – The headlines coming from the Middle East in the past few decades have seemed anything but comforting and hopeful: war, terrorism, social upheaval, natural...
Christians in the Middle East Face Extreme Hardships Due to Economic ChallengesJune 19, 2023 — 06/19/2023 Lebanon and Syria (International Christian Concern) —Christians are suffering alongside their communities from a prolonged economic crisis in Lebanon and Syria as currency devaluation, high unemployment, and deadlocked political...
Lebanese Opposition Coalition Nominates IMF Official for President June 6, 2023 — 06/06/2023 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) – The Lebanese opposition coalition nominated Jihad Azour as a candidate in the presidential upcoming election. Azour is the current director of the Middle East...
Bishops Unite, Condemn Murder of Peacekeeper in LebanonDecember 27, 2022 — 12/28/2022 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) – Bishops in Lebanon and Ireland have united in condemning the murder of an Irish United Nations peacekeeper whose vehicle was attacked by gunfire on...
Christians are Abandoning Their Land and Losing “Cultural Identity”December 2, 2022 — 12/02/2022 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – During November 28th-29th, at the Monastery of Notre Dame du Putis in Bkennaya, Lebanon, the Executive Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) appealed...
Lebanese Christians Concerned Over Political FutureJuly 31, 2022 — 07/30/2022 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) – As Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s six-year term approaches its October 31 close, Christians in Lebanon are concerned for their nation’s future. Lebanon’s historically Christian...
Lebanese Archbishop Detained and InterrogatedJuly 27, 2022 — 07/27/2022 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) - Lebanese Maronite Archbishop Musa Al-Hajj was detained and interrogated upon his return from a trip to Israel on July 19. Al-Hajj, who was returning...
Lebanese Christian Community Dwindling Amidst CrisisNovember 1, 2021 — 11/01/2021 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) – As Christians in Lebanon face increasingly dire situations, Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Younan warned that the minority community could soon be nonexistent in...
Division Following Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Condemnation Of Hezbollah AttacksAugust 14, 2021 — 08/14/2021 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) – After Hezbollah launched 19 rockets into Israel from a civilian village in southern Lebanon on August 6, Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai condemned the...
Christians in Lebanon May Have No Place Left to GoApril 27, 2021 — 04/27/2021 Lebanon (International Christian Concern) – Government corruption, currency destabilization, and recent events such as the Beirut blasts are pushing Lebanon further into financial uncertainty and potential for collapse and state...
Civilian War Hostage Released, Many Remain in AzerbaijanMarch 13, 2021 — 03/13/2021 Armenia (International Christian Concern) – After four long months, Lebanese-Armenian Maral Najarian finally returned home to Beruit following her captivity in Azerbaijan as a civilian war hostage. Several countries including...
