The Rise of Christian Television in the Middle East

FAIN: FT-228336-15

Febe Armanios
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT 05753-6004)

Summer research and writing on Media Studies and Middle Eastern History.

This project explores the rise, expansion, and influence of Christian television in the Middle East, from the early 1980s to the present. Christian broadcasting was initially established by American televangelists who sought to spread their charismatic brand of Christianity. The development of American-sponsored channels, however, challenged Middle Eastern Christians to defend their own voices and pioneer their own religious channels, which captured a local perspective on spirituality, theology, culture, and politics. On the whole, even though some broadcasts have continued to promote American evangelical agendas, television has simultaneously created a new forum for indigenous Christians long excluded from public religious expression in their home countries. For this project, the author has consulted several documentary sources, including memoirs, station annual reports, and pamphlets, and has conducted over 65 field interviews in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Cyprus, and the United States.