John Loeffler Steel on Steel: Behind the Middle East Drama

02/12/2011 Behind the Middle East Drama CLICK TO LISTEN If democracy is breaking out in the region, notably Egypt, why are the knees of Christians and Jews knocking? John's boralogue sets the stage for today's program with a backgrounder and small news stories about the attitudes of Jews and Christians from the Middle East towards the changes that are underway. We'll hear first from a Coptic Egyptian named Mike, whose name we'll withhold for security reasons, as to the minority Christian viewpoint of the changes in Egypt. Then we'll transition to an interview with Ken Timmerman about the new documentary, "Iranium" (www.iraniumthemovie.com), dealing with Iran's efforts to obtain nuclear weapons and its designs for countries in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. The focus remains on Iran as Faith McDonnell from the Institute for Religion and Democracy (www.theird.org) comes on board to detail four decades of Christian persecution in Iran since the fall of the Shah. We'll also address the recent referendum in the Sudan.