Source: Barnabas Fund, February 5, 2019
An event held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 5 was attended by [more than] 130,000 Christians; a startling occurrence in a region where Christian worship is tightly restricted and Christian converts from Islam risk imprisonment for apostasy.
The UAE has one of the fastest growing Christian populations in the world, mainly due to the inward migration of Christian workers. The country has recently gained a new cathedral, 16 new churches and has around 700 Christian congregations.
The 48-hour papal visit to the UAE this month is unprecedented for the Arabian Peninsula and may signal a softening of the government towards the Christian community, estimated to number over one million.
» Full story (and links) also describe the current state of religious freedom in this country.
» See also what the Secretary General of the Evangelical Alliance, Efraim Tendero, shared at the Global Conference on Human Fraternity in Abu Dhabi or watch his two-minute video greeting (World Evangelical Alliance) or read some comments from missiologist Todd Johnson, who points out that good Christian-Muslim relations are critical for the future of our planet.