Most of the Iraqi Arabs who live in Turkey arrived as refugees either in the late 1980s during the war between Iraq and Iran, or in the early part of the Gulf War in 1991. There were a large number of Kurds who came as well as Arabs. Turkey was a preferred destination because it was close to Iraq. The Turkish government made sure there was not a new influx of Iraqis entering their country after Gulf War 2 in 2003. There are some newer refugees that arrived around 2014 because of ISIS attacks in Iraq. Some of these have returned to Iraq. Most Iraqi Arab refugees in Turkey are now settled in Istanbul.
Unfortunately, many of the Iraqi Arabs in Turkey are not yet established or settled into new lives in the new country. They sometimes face abuse from the Turks who are tired of having an increasing number of refugees in their country. These Iraqis have an ally in the charity Carita, which helps both Muslim and Christian refugees in Turkey. Over half of these Iraqis in Turkey are male, and they tend to be young. The Turkish government expects the Iraqi Arabs to eventually leave Turkey, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) helps them to resettle Iraqi Arabs in other countries. It seems unlikely that Iraqi Arabs will be able to settle in Turkey and begin new jobs.
While Islam and Christianity share many beliefs about God and historical figures, many Muslims view faith in Christ as a threat.
Though there is a slight majority of Shia Muslims among Iraqi Arabs, the Sunnis are more likely to be refugees in other countries like Turkey. Both Shia and Sunni Muslims believe that the One, 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. Like most other Arab Muslims, Iraqis 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. The often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces. There are also some traditional Christians among the Iraqi Arabs in Turkey.
Iraqi Arabs in Turkey need to find a permanent home where there is peace and they can do productive work. Most likely, they need to leave Turkey.
Pray for Iraqi Arabs in Turkey to know God as their provider and lean on him. Pray for the Lord to direct Iraqi Arabs in his ways and help them to put their identity in Christ. Pray for a movement to Christ that cannot be stopped. Pray for Iraqi Arab communities to become open to the influence of Jesus Christ in their lives.
Scripture Prayers for the Arab, North Iraqi in Türkiye (Turkey).
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Arab, North Iraqi |
People Name in Country | Arab, North Iraqi |
Natural Name | North Iraqi Arab |
Pronunciation |
ee-RAH-kee AE-rub
|
Alternate Names | |
Population this Country | 590,000 |
Population all Countries | 11,440,000 |
Total Countries | 5 |
Indigenous | No |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 12 |
People ID | 20327 |
ROP3 Code | 116046 |
ROP25 Code | 300404 |
ROP25 Name | Arab, Iraqi |
Country | Türkiye (Turkey) | ||
Region | Asia, Central | ||
Continent | Asia | ||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||
National Bible Society | Website | ||
Persecution Rank | 41 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||
Location in Country | Mardin, Sirnak, Batman, Siirt, and Sanliurfa provinces. Source: Ethnologue 2016 |
Country | Türkiye (Turkey) |
Region | Asia, Central |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 41 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Location in Country | Mardin, Sirnak, Batman, Siirt, and Sanliurfa provinces.. Source: Ethnologue 2016 |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical 0.10 %) |
0.50 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
97.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
2.50 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
Primary Language | Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken (590,000 speakers) |
Language Code | ayp Ethnologue Listing |
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
Primary Language | Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken (590,000 speakers) |
Language Code | ayp Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 1 |
People Groups | Speaking Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken |
Primary Language: Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (2012) |
Bible-Complete | No |
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name | Source |
---|---|---|
Audio Recordings | Arabic Bible Online | Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry |
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching | Global Recordings Network |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Arabic, North Mesopotamian Spoken | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | LUMO film of Gospels | Bible Media Group/LUMO |
General | Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video | Faith Comes by Hearing |
General | Gospel resources links | Scripture Earth |
Text / Printed Matter | Tools for faith conversations | Campus Crusade for Christ |
Photo Source | National Archives Creative Commons |
Profile Source | Joshua Project |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |