30 Days of Prayer - China Uyghur

30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World                     Ramadan 2007 / 1428:  September 13 - October 12

Strategic Silk Road in China

For Sunday, 23 September, Ramadan 2007. "Loving Muslims Through Prayer"

A key staging post on the ancient Silk Road, the city of Kashgar sits on the westernmost end of the Taklamakan Desert and is arguably the cultural and religious centre of Uyghur culture.

Kashgar is known for being a hotbed for conservative Islam and Uyghur nationalist and separatist sentiment. There is considerable tension between the Chinese rulers and the Uyghur population.

With a population of around 1 million (70% Uyghurs, 30% Chinese and growing), the Kashgar district is a microcosm for the rest of Xinjiang with conservative Muslim and ‘modern’ atheist values clashing head-on.

Kashgar is a strategic city. It boasts one of the largest weekly bazaars in Central Asia with tens of thousands of people – almost entirely Muslims – coming to trade from the surrounding countryside, and neighbouring Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan & Tadjikistan.

[Full Text] (available on Saturday)

Prayer Points

* May God break down the demonic principalities and powers. Fear and death reign unchecked; Please ask God to breakdown these ancient strongholds and release the Uyghur people into the freedom only Christ can bring.

* Lift up the city of Kashgar before the Lord.

* Pray for the completion of the Uyghur Scriptures, and their accessibility; The New Testament translation has recently been completed, but much of the Old Testament is yet to be translated and published. The Uyghur Bible is illegal in Xinjiang.

* More intercessors are needed; The spiritual barriers to this people hearing and responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ are immense. Please pray that God would raise an army of intercessors to stand in the gap for the Uyghur people of Xinjiang.

+ Google Map Link: Xinjiang, China

--- Interesting Facts ---
* We featured material about the Uyghurs two years ago in "30 Days".
* Uyghur is a Turkic language with an Arabic script (Uyghurs in the Central Asian countries use a Cyrillic script).

Our Interactive Flash Site: 30daysfire.net

Gospel Recording: 5 Audio recordings available in Uyghur