There was a time when Muslim Arab missionaries came to Tajikistan to spread the Islamic religion. Their ancestors were from the Banu Tamim tribe originating from what is now Iraq and Syria. Today their descendants live in the southern part of Tajikistan and in Afghanistan. Their language is a hybrid between Tajik and Arabic. These Tajik Arabs live mainly in Tajikistan's Shakhritus and Kabodiyon regions. A small number live in the two neighboring districts of Kabodiyansky and Nosiri Khusravsky. The Tajik Arabs are few in number, both in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Today most of Tajik Arabs are farmers like the people around them. The farmers raise cotton, barley, wheat, and various grains. They live in small villages that consist of flat roofed mud or stone houses. Some of the villagers follow a semi-nomadic way of life. In the winter they remain in the villages, whereas in the summer they take their herds to higher altitudes. A few Tajik Arabs live in the major cities and work as merchants or highly skilled craftsmen. Tajik Arabs have their own mosques, but sometimes they pray with the Tajiks. They get along well with the Tajik majority, but they don't intermarry with them.
Tajik Arabs are virtually all Sunni Muslim. Islam completely permeates their lives, governing what they eat, how they act, and how the women dress. They also observe Islamic rituals that are related to birth, puberty, marriage, and death. They faithfully repeat memorized prayers five times each day, facing Mecca, Islam's holy city. In addition to their Islamic beliefs, many practice spiritism, practices that make use of charms and amulets. Such practices are frowned upon by orthodox Sunni Muslims.
As far as we know, there are almost no Tajik Arabs who follow Jesus Christ. They rely upon what their imams teach them regarding obedience to the laws of Islam, believing this will provide them with enough good works to be saved on the Day of Judgment.
Pray for bold, loving believers to go to the Tajik Arabs in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Pray for the Tajik Arabs to crave true spiritual nourishment that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray for a Christ-ward movement to flourish among Tajik Arabs in the 2020s. Pray for Tajik Arabs to be blessed with peace, joy and spiritual prosperity as they follow Jesus Christ.
Scripture Prayers for the Arab, Tajiki in Afghanistan.
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
