The Doms (also known as the Doom, Dum or Dumar) have many different stories of their origin but most center around their becoming an outcast group because of a celebrated slaughtering of a sacred cow. The Dom is a scheduled caste in India. One can find them in over 500 of the districts of India and Nepal.
The Doms are a colorful community of South Asia. There are so many clans and sub-groupings that it is hard to generalize about their lives. They have been traditionally defined by the low occupations of alms collecting, grave digging, cremating, drum-beating, singing, dancing, as well as the making of bamboo baskets and mats. The Muslim Dom in India usually speak Urdu. Some have entered into other labor jobs such as plantation workers, rickshaw-pullers and construction.
The people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering, and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.
The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.
Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.
In most of the Muslim world, people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.
The ministry of Jesus among the poor and outcast is a clear call to reach out to the Muslim Dom of India. There are no known workers among the Muslim Dom. The Dom of India can benefit from the education programs.
Pray the Muslim Dom community would enjoy abundant life by putting their trust in Jesus Christ.
Pray for the Lord to intervene in their families, calling people to his side and blessing them in every way.
Pray for loving workers.
Pray for their hearts to be drawn to the Lord of lords.
Pray for a church planting movement to thrive in Dom communities.
Scripture Prayers for the Dom (Muslim traditions) in India.
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
