Overseas Council's (www.overseas.org) region of the Middle East encompasses the Arabic-speaking nations of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Sudan, Turkey, Iran, Israel and Afghanistan. Despite the dominance of Islam, strong and ancient communities of Christians exist throughout the region. While these churches based in the ancient Christian population of the Middle East function openly in most parts of the Middle East, churches made up of converts from Islam face continual challenges. In most countries, legal penalties for religious conversion make public declaration of faith nearly impossible. Even in relatively open nations like Lebanon, social and family pressures make open conversion difficult or impossible. Even with these difficulties, it is estimated that the "Hidden" Christian population in the region is growing and now numbers nearly 200,000. (more)