On the Pakistan side of Punjab, the Virk Jats are Muslim. Those on the Indian side are mostly Sikh. Virks still control the Pakistani city of Sheikhupura in Punjab Province politically and economically. They have a long history in that city.
Almost all the information about them found on the Internet has to do with their history. However, there are some interesting Virk Jats in modern times including Bollywood movie actresses and police chiefs.
Though Muslim Jats are Sunnis, they are known to have a strong tradition of worshiping many local saints. Jats observe many ceremonies, especially rites of passage such as circumcision and initiation into adulthood. Like many other South Asian communities of good standing, Muslim Jats have a negative view of Christianity, because it is associated with people of low status and caste. Sunni religious practices are 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.
In Pakistan there are relatively few opportunities for someone to hear the gospel from another person. With the intense persecution of religious minorities, few would dare to share Christ in this environment.
Outreach Ideas
The Virk Jats have the entire New Testament available to them in their main language, Western Punjabi. There are also gospel-oriented gospel recordings available for downloading in this language.
There are no known Virk Christian believers, but please pray for any secret believers. Pray for the Lord of the Harvest to send workers to this waiting harvest field.
Pray for mission agencies to train missionaries to share the gospel message with the Virk Jat in a culturally sensitive way.
Ask God to soften hearts and draw Virk Jat elders into a relationship with God through his son.
Scripture Prayers for the Jat Virk (Muslim traditions) in Pakistan.
https://www.jatland.com/home/Gotras
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jat_people
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jat
http://www.dawn.com/news/1077113
https://www.jatland.com/home/Jats
http://indianex
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
Global Prayer Digest: 2015-10-26 |
People Name General | Jat Virk (Muslim traditions) |
People Name in Country | Jat Virk (Muslim traditions) |
Population this Country | 577,000 |
Population all Countries | 577,000 |
Total Countries | 1 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 12 |
Alternate Names | जाट, विर्क (मुस्लिम ट्रेडिशन्स) |
People ID | 19914 |
ROP3 Code | 115902 |
Country | Pakistan | ||||||
Region | Asia, South | ||||||
Continent | Asia | ||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||||||
National Bible Society | Website | ||||||
Persecution Rank | 7 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||||||
Total States on file | 5 | ||||||
Largest States |
|
Country | Pakistan |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 7 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 5 |
Punjab 437,000 | |
Sindh 109,000 | |
Azad Kashmir 11,000 | |
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 3,700 | |
Balochistan 100 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.00 %) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
100.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest Pakistan census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Punjabi, Western (303,000 speakers) | ||||||||||||
Language Code | pnb Ethnologue Listing | ||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||||||||
Total Languages | 11 | ||||||||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Punjabi, Western (303,000 speakers) |
Language Code | pnb Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 11 |
Secondary Languages | |
Saraiki 133,000 | |
Sindhi 74,000 | |
Urdu 50,000 | |
Pahari-Potwari 8,600 | |
Marwari 6,200 | |
Dhatki 3,700 | |
Hindko, Northern 1,800 | |
Hindko, Southern 1,400 | |
Bagri 500 | |
Pashto, Northern 100 | |
People Groups | Speaking Punjabi, Western |
Primary Language: Punjabi, Western
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1885-1922) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1819-2021) |
Bible-Complete | No |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |