30 Days of Prayer - Kurds in Canada

Muslim Kurds in Canada

Ramadan 2007 / 1428 : Day 16 for September 28

Kurds have been coming to the United States and Canada from Turkey, Iraq and Iran for decades. Thousands of Kurds fled Iraq during and subsequent to Saddam Hussein’s mass killings of Kurds through chemical and conventional warfare. Those who have gone to North America as refugees are survivors. Some of them were Kurdish freedom fighters who were tortured under Saddam Hussein’s regime. Perhaps six thousand Kurds now live in Southern Ontario, Canada. Hamilton, Ontario, a city of half a million people, is home to about 2,000 Kurds. Most of the Kurds in Hamilton come from Northern Iraq and speak a Kurdish dialect called Sorani. All of them are weary of the violence, persecution and killing still continuing in Iraq today.

Identity Crisis

Over 90% of the Kurds in Hamilton are from a Muslim background (although some are communist or atheist and a few are Zoroastrian). Today, many of the Kurds in Canada have shed their identity as Muslims. A few have even become anti-Muslim. Although still believers in God, they tend to be suspicious of any religion.

Pizza Anyone?

In Hamilton, Kurds have specialised in the pizza business. They operate and work long hours in small pizza shops that are open seven days a week. The Kurdish refugees and immigrants love the freedom they have found in Canada to be Kurdish, to gather freely and to speak their language. However many are drying up spiritually and becoming materialistic. Kurdish children in Canada are growing up between two worlds. With English as their most familiar language, they’re more comfortable in Canada than back “home” in Kurdistan. In Hamilton the Kurdish community runs a Kurdish language school for their own children in order to maintain their cultural and language roots.

Reaching Out

In recent years some local Christians have made efforts to proclaim Christ among Ontario’s Kurds. These believers desire to establish a movement of Kurdish house churches. They really want to help Kurds discover Christ and to live their new found faith in a fully Kurdish manner. In 2006, two Kurdish brothers professed faith in Christ. The family of these brothers is open to the Gospel, but not ready to make a commitment. Unfortunately this seems to be a repeated pattern.

Prayer Requests:

* Pray that Canadian believers can show their Kurdish friends how to follow Christ. May the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified as Kurds, find the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

* Pray that God will send dreams and visions in order that the Kurdish community will see their spiritual need and God’s provision through Jesus.

* Pray that Kurds will want to understand more of God’s story through the Bible and Christian films.

Background information, map and statistics about Muslims in Canada are on our site here …>>

30 Days of Prayer - Mirpur in Great Britain

The Mirpuris in Britain

Ramadan 2007 / 1428 : Day 15 for September 27

Mirpuris (people originating from the Mirpur district in Pakistani Kashmir), form about 70% of the British Pakistani population of about 747,000. The percentage is even higher in northern cities and towns. For example, in Bradford, an industrial town in Northwest England, it is estimated that roughly three quarters of the population are from Mirpur.

Cultural Dislocation

The reasons for the large proportion of Mirpuris in the UK is historical. In the late 1950’s & early 1960’s, the Pakistani Government planned the Mangla Dam, which was to be built in the Mirpur area. They asked several thousand locals to leave the land. At that time, the British needed man-power mainly for their textile factories. Many of the Mirpuris moved to Britain and started working in factories, mostly in the so called “black country” and the area of Bradford, England. In some villages, more than half the village population moved to the UK to settle in the industrial towns. This rural, impoverished district provided cheap, unskilled labour for Britain in the 60’s and 70’s.

Most immigrants were from subsistence farming communities and had had little or no schooling. They made a huge cultural and geographical leap to settle in the UK. The profound cultural dislocation experienced by the Mirpuris is hard to imagine. Most Mirpuris speak Pothowari, a language related to Punjabi. The prominent clans among them include Rajputs (Janjua), Sudhans, Khokhars, Gakkhars, Awans, Jats, etc.

Imported Marginalisation

One of the things they brought with them was the perception of a long history of dispossession and marginalisation. The partition of India brought terrible bloodshed along with the division of Kashmir between Pakistan and India. (This was the issue cited until very recently as the most pressing political priority in the UK by the majority of British Muslims). Three of the suicide bombers of the London underground bombings in the summer of 2005 were originally from this region of Pakistan.

The Mirpuris are still a very unreached people group. There are only a handful of known believers among them in Britain. Some of them have experienced much persecution and suffering. The home of one believing family was even set on fire fairly recently.

Please Pray:

* Pray that more British Christians would see the need to reach out to the Mirpuris, and that many more would get involved in praying for them. Pray also that Christian workers from around the world would be willing to come and minister among them.

* Pray for the few cross-cultural workers that are ministering among them, that they would have wisdom to know how to effectively reach them. And, that they would see a spiritual breakthrough among them soon.

* Pray for the few Mirpuri believers, that they would be protected, and that they would be able and willing to share the Gospel with their family and friends with cultural sensitivity and insight. Pray also for the establishment of fellowships of Mirpuri Muslim background believers.

Background information, maps and statistics on the United Kingdom of Great Britain are on our site here …>>

30 Days of Prayer - Republic of Georgia

Ramadan 2007 / 1428 : Day 14 for September 26

Questions and Answers About Islam in Modern Georgia

While being Mediterranean-like along the Black Sea coast, the Republic of Georgia is actually mostly mountainous terrain. Peaks rising more than 5,200 meters (17,000ft.) separate it from the Caucasus and from Russia. Turkey, Armenian, and Azerbaijan border Georgia to the south. Grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts are plentiful and exported, but Georgia’s reliance on importing natural gas hampers further political and economic development. Absorbed into the Russian empire in the 19th century, Georgia proclaimed independence in 1991. Eduard Shevardnadze, who helped Russia draft new freedoms, presided Georgia for five years.

Q & A:

Q. The Republic of Georgia was one of the first countries to become Christian. How did it get to be 10% Muslim?

A. Georgia has been conquered by Muslim empires several times. Tbilisi (the capital) was conquered by Arabs in the 8th century and a Muslim community remained. From the 16th century, Ottoman Turks and Iranian Safavids (Persians) controlled much of Georgia. Migrants, later known as Tatars, also decided to make the region their home.

Q. What are the main Muslim ethnic groups in Republic Georgia?

A. There are three main Muslim populations: Ethnic Azeris (in rural areas and Tbilisi), ethnic Georgian Muslims of Ajara (in the southwest), and ethnic Chechen Kists in north-eastern Georgia. Each of these main peoples has quite a distinct history of their own.

Q. Didn’t the Soviet era abolish Islam?

A. No, For example, Islamic law (Shari’a) and administration were abolished in 1926 but by 1930 a compromise was reached allowing Muslims certain freedoms. During the Second World War the Soviets set up Muslim Religious Boards to manage Muslims throughout the region. Some Muslims were deported (depending on ethnicity) and the deportation actually continued into late in the 20th century. It is still a political issue.

Q. And what about Islam today in Georgia?

A. Islam is very much an influence in the region. Here is an example. There are several madrassahs (Muslim religious schools) in Georgia. Some are Shi’ite, financed by Iranian religious groups while others are Sunni financed by Turkish groups. Georgians are concerned Islamist ideology coupled with outside influences could cause internal violence. The Muslim Chechen Kists have also been a source of political tension between Georgia and Russia.

Q. How can we pray for the Republic of Georgia?

A. There are several things we Christians need to pray for today. These can include:

* Prayer for the Azeri: Ask the Lord to send native Azeri speaking Christian workers to them. The Bible and the Jesus film are available in the Azeri language but the Good News needs to be shared in culturally effective ways with an emphasis on discipleship.

*Prayer for the Kists and the Muslims of the Ajaria area : Pray for God to give wisdom, favour, and opportunities to Christians that are reaching out to them (1 Corithians 16:9).

* Prayer for Christians: Relations between the Georgian Orthodox Church and Protestant congregations have not always been positive. Love, mutual respect and greater comprehension are needed. May Christians be strengthened in their faith, work and witness (John 17:17-21).

Economy of Georgia

Georgia’s main economic activities include the cultivation of agricultural products such as grapes, citrus fruits, and hazelnuts; mining of manganese and copper; and output of a small industrial sector producing alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, metals, machinery, and chemicals. Georgia had suffered from a chronic failure to collect tax revenues and smuggling remains a drain on the economy. Georgia also suffers from energy shortages due to aging and badly maintained infrastructure, as well as poor management.The construction on the Baku-T’bilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-T’bilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline have brought much-needed investment and job opportunities.

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Share the Gospel Message in Azeri Chechen Georgean

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