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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain

The Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain, numbering approximately 741,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as an indigenous Arab ethnolinguistic community of Bahrain who speak Baharna Arabic and maintain a distinct identity shaped by Shia Islam, Gulf maritime heritage, village traditions, and deep historical roots in Eastern Arabia They are an Indigenous people, with Arab, Bahraini as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Arab, Arabian people cluster of the Arab Peoples. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Baharna Arabic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Bahraini Shia Arab

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Bahrain
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Baharna Arabic (abv)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 741,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011297
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Pray for the Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain

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: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

84%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Baharna Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Arabic, Baharna Speakers

Media Resources in Baharna Arabic:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Baharna Arabic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Baharna Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Bahraini Shia Arabs 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 Bahraini Shia Arabs:
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 Bahraini Shia Arabs of Bahrain

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life"
readJohn 4:13-14

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will drink of the living water that only Christ can provide and never thirst again.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
read2 Corinthians 9:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust God in all things, especially in times of persecution.

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
read2 Corinthians 3:16

Give thanks to God for believers around the world who are willing to cross cultures to share the gospel with those who are perishing. Pray that He will work through their witness to draw many to turn to Him.

Arab, Bahraini, Shia Across Countries (ROP3 - 100772) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▲Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Bahraini Shia ArabsPG011871Bahraini Shia ArabsOman20,500Unengaged and UnreachedBaharna ArabicShia Islam
Bahraini Shia ArabsPG011297Bahraini Shia ArabsBahrain741,000Engaged yet UnreachedBaharna ArabicShia 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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