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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Ahiska Turks of Uzbekistan

The Ahiska Turks of Uzbekistan, numbering approximately 194,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are ethnic Turks whose identity is rooted in the Ahiska (Meskheti) region of Georgia prior to their forced deportation by the Soviet government in 1944 and can also be known as Meskhetian Turk, Turkish Meskhetian, Turkish Ahiskan, Ahiska Turk, Turkish, Georgian Muslims. They are an Diaspora people, in the Turkic people cluster of the Turkic Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Turkish.

Ahiska Turks in Russian Federation photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Cem Ahiska - Wikimedia Cem Ahiska - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Uzbekistan
People Cluster: Turkic
Primary Language(s): Turkish (tur)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 194,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024319

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkish
Language Family: Turkic

%
Turkish Speakers

Media Resources in Turkish:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Turkish:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Turkish bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Ahiska Turks

The Ahiska Turks are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Ahiska Turks

The Ahiska Turks are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Ahiska Turks

The Ahiska Turks are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Ahiska Turks of Uzbekistan

And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many."
readMark 14:23-24

Pray for those who may have heard the gospel but have not yet submitted their lives to Christ, that they will finally see the sacrifice which He made for them and surrender their lives to Him.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.
readPsalm 67:4

Pray that God will use ways from in-person witnesses to digital gospel resources to bring the joy of His salvation to everyone so that they can be glad in Him and sing for joy.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
read2 Corinthians 6:14

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and want to marry, they will be led to other believers and enter into godly marriages.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
readJohn 1:35-36

Pray for those God sends to cross cultures to share the gospel, that they might faithfully share the good news of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Ahiska (Meskheti) Turk (ROP3 - 115687) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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