Lohar (Muslim traditions) in India

Introduction / History

Lohar people of India are nomadic smiths who travel in to sell their goods. They are descendants of high-caste weapon makers of the Mewar Kingdom in India. Unfortunately, they became poor nomads when the kingdom fell in 1568, and they remain poor today.

Muslim Lohars live in the northern and western states of India. They also live in Pakistan.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Most of the Lohars are blacksmiths and have been practicing their trade for as long as they can remember. The Hindus among them have an elaborate mythology of their origin, and they observe the traditional Hindu festivals and cultural practices. The Muslim Lohars often face persecution because they are the minority group. Both groups need to know Jesus, the Savior. Like all people groups, there are Lohar people with leadership skills who can direct their people to the Savior, if only they would hear of Him and respond to His offer of salvation and love.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Muslim Lohar people are part of the Sunni branch of Islam. They believe 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.

What Are Their Needs?

Like people everywhere, Muslim Lohar people need to allow the loving savior to direct their lives. They need his forgiveness for sin.

Prayer Points

Pray that the Lord will make himself known to the Muslim Lohar people, and that they will be open when they hear the truth about Jesus being the only way to the father.

Pray that God will lead his envoys to those whose hearts have been prepared to receive his word.

Pray that the Lohar people, be they Muslim or Hindu, will be ready to repent before a holy God.

Text Source:   Joshua Project