Mahra in Saudi Arabia

The Mahra people are few and they are scattered in three countries, including southeastern Saudi Arabia. They speak their own dialect of Arabic but they are not Arabs. They are semi-nomadic pastoralists who engage in some agriculture part of the year. The men have only one wife and they are Sunni Muslims, although they are probably not as devout as Saudi Arabs. As a society, they have social ranking and are led by a sheikh. They are a cultural minority.

Ministry Obstacles

The chief ministry obstacle is political; they live in Saudi Arabia and two Gulf states that have no freedom of religion. The second obstacle is their faith in the Islamic religious system rather than Christ. The third obstacle is nomadism, which makes it hard to reach them.

Outreach Ideas

Satellite television and radio might be good ways to reach these nomads.

Scripture Focus

"So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, Do you understand what you are reading?"  Acts 8:30

Scripture Prayer

Pray that the Lord gives today’s people group a desire to hear and to understand God’s words.

Prayer Focus

Pray that they would tune into Christian broadcasts on television and radio and open themselves to the gospel. Pray for Holy Spirit-driven dreams and visions of Jesus. Pray for the few believers to winsomely be witnesses of Jesus and that they would be prepared to answer questions concerning Him and visions and dreams of Him.