Ghasiya (Muslim traditions) in India

People Name:	Ghasiya (Muslim traditions)
Country:	India
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	600
World Population:	600
Primary Language:	Urdu
Primary Religion:	Islam
Christian Adherents:	0.00 %
Evangelicals:	0.00 %
Scripture:	Complete Bible
Online Audio NT:	No
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	South Asia Muslim - other
Affinity Bloc:	South Asian Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

There are both Hindu and Muslim members of the Gasiya community. The Muslims live in Uttar Pradesh. Gasiya is their heart language, but they also speak whatever the local language may be, especially Urdu. All Gasiyas have Scheduled Tribe status, which is low.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Gasiya make baskets and brooms from grasses, leaves and bamboo.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Gasiya 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 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?

Muslim Gasiya people need a John 10:10 blessing: The abundant life Jesus offers those who are willing to submit to his lordship.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Gasiya culture to be renewed and enhanced by a work of the Holy Spirit and shaped into a God-centered and God-honoring mold.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to move among their family and community leaders to seek his face and enjoy his blessings.

Pray for the Lord to thrust out workers who will be compelled to nurture a disciple making movement among the Gasiya people.

Pray that soon the Gasiya people will have faith that will lead them to live honorable lives that will draw others to the savior.

Pray for spiritual discernment and a hunger for true spirituality.