30 Days of Prayer - Muslim Universities

Muslim Universities


Ramadan 2007 / 1428 : Day 28 for October 10

The evolving world of Islamic universities has become a major challenge for Christians. The mission of Islamic education is to establish Quranic values and promote Islamic rule and influence worldwide through university community life and studies. The biographies of leading Muslim fundamentalist intellectuals have become essential reading for many students. Muslim academics are often persuaded that the West (which is often perceived as being Christian) is a major threat to Islam through secular democracy, globalisation, individualism, and liberalised morals.

God at work in Islamia University
The Jamia Millia Islamia has become the largest Muslim University in Delhi, India with 10,400 students and over 1,500 faculty and non-teaching staff. In the Urdu language, Jamia means University, and Millia means National. JMI offers bachelors, masters and PhDs in 32 specialised departments with twenty specialised research centres partnering with Universities around the world. Indian Muslims attend the University and international students come from 38 nations including the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia. JMI students and teachers are predominately strong Muslims yet God is at work!

One JMI student recently had an encounter with Christ through a dream, and today he is a committed believer sharing his faith with others. God continues to open several doors at this university for the Gospel. Making disciples of Muslim students and effectively training them to walk with God is vital to reaching Muslims worldwide for Christ.

Strengthening the Moral Character of Islam
The Jamia Markazu University near Calicut has recently become one of the major cultural and educational institutions in Kerala (Southwest India), attracting students from various parts of India. Ten thousand students study Qur’an, Hadith, Islamic law, Arts, Science and Technology. According to the university’s web site “Its influence reaches far beyond the walls of communal and social barriers. Its work strengthens the moral character of the Muslim society. By developing the leadership capacities of leaders and the Muslim community, Jamia Markaz directly affects the cities, towns and even the rural areas … Armed with renewed vigour and Islamic spirit, Markaz students return to the society with anew wholeness, a new sense of responsibility and practical skills to bring about a moral revolution.”

Many Indian Muslim students and university personnel are involved in or support the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) which is officially illegal. This group is actively seeking to orient Indian society toward Islamic values over against Hinduism and secularism. The movement encourages living on the basis of the Qur’an, the propagation of Islam and jihad for the cause of Islam. SIMI, and groups like them play a significant role in propagating fundamentalist Islam worldwide. The student led movement seeks to present Islam creatively through an intellectual and scientific approach (with some success).

Prayer points:
* Pray that Muslim students and staff will have many opportunities to meet Christians with godly life styles and servant attitudes.

* Pray for supernatural encounters with God through dreams and visions among the students and the staff.

* Pray for students to be open to the Gospel and become followers of Jesus. May they plant churches among their own people when they go back home after their studies.

* Pray for God’s wisdom for an effective approaches and partnerships among those witnessing to Muslim university students and staff.

Background information, map and statistics about India can be found on site here

30 Days of Prayer - India

The Forgotten City - Firozabad, India

Ramadan 2007 / 1428 : Day 27 for October 9 (We are posting these one day early to include all time zones.)

Firozabad is a significant city of approximately a half million people located 45 minutes east of Agra by car (the city where the Taj Mahal is located). Firozabad is still being researched for ministry purposes. No local congregation of Christians exists there at the present time. It appears that about half the population is Muslim. The remaining population is comprised of Hindus and Jains (believers in Jainism). A very large Jain temple is located on the outskirts of the city.

Breathing Glass in Firozabad

The glass industry is very well established at Firozabad. It has been called the glass capital of India. Local artisans and factories produce glass bangles (bracelets), drinking glasses and a wide variety of other glassware. Some people have observed that the people of Firozabad do not breath air but glass. Dozens of shops in the markets sell nothing but glass bangles. Thousands of children work in the glass industry around the 300 glass factories polishing and painting the glass bangles in very poor conditions. The city also suffers low literacy and there is significant pollution linked to the glass industry.

The tallest building in the city is the main mosque in the heart of downtown. During Friday prayers this mosque is full with several hundred Muslims present. Large numbers of young boys are attending the Qur’anic school linked to the mosque. It is still not certain if most of the Muslims in this city are truly religiously Muslim or simply culturally Muslim. The women wear traditional Muslim dress.

No Known Churches… Yet

There is no known believer in this city. Some Christians who recently visited Firozabad saw God open doors for the Gospel with four young Muslim men. They gave a copy of the Bible to one of the young Muslims who is also sharing it with the others. Through phone calls and e-mails it seems that they continue to read the Bible. Some of the visiting Christians were even invited to a wedding in the same family as the young man who has a copy of the Bible. The young Muslim men know that the Christians are followers of Jesus and that we pray for them daily. Hopefully Christians visiting the city will continue to find men and women of peace and good will.

Firozabad in some ways is what you would call a forgotten city. It is the closest large city to Agra, the tourist capital of India, and yet there are no tourists who visit this city. When a tourist does come to Firozabad, traffic literally stops on the streets.

Prayer Points for Firozabad:

* Pray for God to raise up workers to go to this city and share the Gospel message (both short term and long term workers are needed).

* Pray for discernment of those who go to work in this city as they do research and minister.

* Pray for God to speak to the city’s youth through His Word (including those mentioned above).

* May people become dissatisfied with Hinduism and Islam and long for more than they presently have.

* Pray for the many children used as cheap labour in the glass factories and for real solutions to the pollution problems.

Background information, map and statistics about India can be found on site here …>>