The Iraqi Arabs of Belgium

The Iraqi Arabs of Belgium, numbering approximately 22,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a community formed through migration from Iraq to Belgium, particularly during successive waves of conflict and displacement, that maintains a distinct Iraqi Arab identity. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Mesopotamian Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2025). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Iraqi

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Belgium
People Cluster: Arab, Levant
Primary Language(s): Mesopotamian Arabic (acm)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 22,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG042374
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

96%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mesopotamian Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Mesopotamian Speakers

Media Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Mesopotamian Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Mesopotamian Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Iraqi Arabs:
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

Pray specifically for the Iraqi Arabs of Belgium

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
readColossians 3:5-6

Pray for God to have mercy and give those who don't yet know Him the gift of Jesus and His salvation for all who call upon His name.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost will look to Jesus lifted up on the cross and believe in Him, gaining eternal life with God.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
readPsalm 133:1

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be unified and love one another as God loves them.

For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
readActs 13:47

Pray that as people come to faith, they will follow the Lord's leading to go to their neighbors and share the treasure they found in Christ.

Arab, Iraqi Across Countries (ROP3 - 104056) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

17 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Iraqi Shia ArabsIraqi Shia ArabsIraq19,770,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsJordan1,600,000Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsSweden182,000Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsGermany178,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsUnited States156,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsCanada86,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsNetherlands63,500Engaged yet UnreachedLevantine ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsSyria60,500Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicShia Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsUnited Arab Emirates59,000Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsLebanon25,500Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsBelgium22,000Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsGreece17,000Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsKuwait14,500Engaged yet UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsYemen10,500Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsAlgeria8,700Unengaged and UnreachedStandard ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsFrance6,800Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni Islam
Iraqi ArabsIraqi ArabsItaly4,300Unengaged and UnreachedMesopotamian ArabicSunni 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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