BEIRUT (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Lebanon on Friday for a high-risk trip aimed at emboldening the Middle East’s beleaguered Christian minority, just as anti-Western protests spread through much of the Muslim world. By Alessandro Speciale.

(RNS) The man who circulated the trailer of an obscure anti-Islam film, promoted it on his website and posted it on social media was a little known Egyptian-American Coptic Christian activist who lives near Washington and proudly touts his ties to Quran-burner Terry Jones. By Daniel Burke. 

VATICAN CITY (RNS)  Pope Benedict XVI embarks Friday (Sept. 14) on a high-risk trip to Lebanon, as the country's stability is threatened by spillover from the conflict in neighboring Syria. By Alessandro Speciale.

LOS ANGELES (RNS) Abdel is an Egyptian Christian, so fearful of retribution that he asked that only his first name be used. Fellow Coptic Christians, he says, can't get jobs in Egypt, and he was jailed for nine days for handling out Christian pamphlets.  By Lilly Fowler.

(RNS) Saying "I'm not anti-Semitic, I'm just telling the truth," Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan told followers that Jews control the media and entertainment industries, and said President Obama could be assassinated in an inside plot that could be blamed on Muslims. By Omar Sacirbey

CAIRO (RNS) The Arab Spring uprisings that toppled secular dictatorships have unleashed long-suppressed freedoms that have allowed Islamic parties to gain a share of political power. But their rise is creating near-panic among ancient Christian communities that dot the Muslim world and predate Islam by centuries. By Oren Dorell and Sarah Lynch.