Introduction / History

What is now Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and the Islamic prophet, Mohammed, who united Arabia under the banner of Islam and began to conquer lands as far west as Morocco and Spain and as far east as India. For hundreds of years, Arabia was inhabited by Bedouins who moved to wherever they could find food and water for their livestock. Little changed until the early 20th century.
In 1902, King Abdulaziz (aka, Ibn Saud) began to conquer the four regions of what is now Saudi Arabia. By 1932 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by that same king. Saudi Arabia is also known as the "House of Saud" since it is ruled by one family. Others call it the "land of the two holy mosques," in reference to the two holiest places in Islam. One is in Mecca and the other in Medina.
The Saudis discovered petroleum in 1938, and Saudi Arabia is now the world's second largest oil producer behind the US, and their oil wealth is one of the key means of spreading Islam throughout the world.
Gulf Arabic is the language of a fraction of Saudi Arabia's population, and most who speak this language live in the less inhabited and oil rich northeastern region. The various Arabic dialects are seldom mutually intelligible.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Commonly speakers of Gulf Arabic in Saudi Arabia work in the petroleum industry.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Saudi Arabia is committed to Sunni Islam, specifically the Wahhabi sect. Wahhabism arose out of the central region of Najd in the 18th century as a movement to purify Islam. The Saudi government supports Wahhabism and wishes to see it spread far and wide. They frown upon other Islamic sects such as Sufism and any Shia form of Islam. Due to Wahhabi teachings, Saudi Arabia is among the most conservative Muslim countries in the world.

What Are Their Needs?

Those who speak Gulf Arabic are usually not lacking in wealth, but they are completely closed to allowing Jesus Christ to transform their lives and give them life to the full.

Prayer Points

Pray for a Disciple Making Movement to flourish among these staunch Muslims.
Pray for open hearts and minds to the life-changing ways of Jesus.
Pray for believers to find success in getting the JESUS Film and other materials to Gulf speaking Saudis.

Scripture Prayers for the Arab, Arabic Gulf Spoken in Saudi Arabia.