Bodla in Pakistan

Introduction / History

The Bodla people are Muslims who live mainly in Pakistan. Even then, they have a small population, so it's possible they merge with larger people groups. Their population in India is even smaller.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Bodla people who are subsistence farmers face a dangerous situation each year. If there are floods, their soil is enriched, offering a potentially better harvest of wheat and cotton. The bad news is that these same floods can potentially kill anyone who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Floods can also wash away an entire harvest of wheat and cotton. Crop failures leave them destitute and dependent on unscrupulous money lenders, who prey upon those who need seeds for the next year.

What Are Their Beliefs?

They 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 Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.
In most of the Muslim world, common 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 they live on a daily basis. For that reason, some Muslims appease spirits using charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces. More orthodox Muslims consider these practices heretical and un-Islamic.

What Are Their Needs?

The Bodla people need the chance to become economically independent. They need to be able to harvest enough to take care of their family's needs.

Prayer Points

Pray that the Bodlas and other subsistence farmers in Pakistan will experience an abundant harvest this year as a testimony of the sovereignty and love of Almighty God.
Pray for them to also be blessed by the abundant spiritual resources lavished on us by Christ, the King.
Pray for the Lord to thrust out loving workers to the Bodla people in Pakistan.

Text Source:   Joshua Project