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The Western Arameans of Syria

The Western Arameans of Syria, numbering approximately 16,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Western Neo-Aramaic-speaking people of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains in Syria who preserve the last surviving form of Western Aramaic, the language once widely spoken throughout the ancient Levant. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Western Neo-Aramaic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: West Aramaic

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Syria
People Cluster: Assyrian
Primary Language(s): Western Neo-Aramaic (amw)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 16,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012203
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Pray for the Western Arameans of Syria

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

50%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Neo-Aramaic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

66%
%
Western Neo-Aramaic Speakers

Media Resources in Western Neo-Aramaic:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Western Neo-Aramaic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Western Neo-Aramaic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Western Arameans 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.

Next steps for the Western Arameans:
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

Pray specifically for the Western Arameans of Syria

"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said "What is impossible with man is possible with God."
readLuke 18:25-27

Pray that the lost who think they have everything they need will recognize their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus and turn to Him in faith.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
readRomans 10:14

Pray that the gospel will advance among those who don’t know the good news of salvation in Jesus so that they might believe and trust in Jesus.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
readJohn 14:3

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have hope in trials because they know that Jesus will one day take them to be with Him forever.

"For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
readActs 17:23

Pray that believers God sends to cross cultures will be sensitive to the spiritual needs of the people they serve, and will proclaim the truth of Christ to them in creative ways that they will understand.

Aramean, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 105954) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Western ArameansPG012203Western ArameansSyria16,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern Neo-AramaicSunni Islam

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 Data Standards section.

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