The Ishilhayn Imazighen of France

The Ishilhayn Imazighen of France, numbering approximately 146,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Amazigh (Berber) subgroup primarily inhabiting the Anti Atlas, High Atlas, Sous Valley, and Soussi coastal regions of Morocco and can also be known as Ishilhayn Berber, Ishelhien, Shilha, Tachelhit, Sous Berber. They are an Diaspora people, in the Amazigh-Shilha people cluster of the Arab World affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Tachelhit.

Ishilhayn Imazighen in France photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: ABS

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: North Africa and Middle East Peoples
Country: France
People Cluster: Amazigh-Shilha
Primary Language(s): Tachelhit (shi)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 146,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011680
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Ishilhayn Imazighen of France

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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tachelhit
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%
Tachelhit Speakers

Bible Resources in Tachelhit:

Or check out the Tachelhit bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Ishilhayn Imazighen

The Ishilhayn Imazighen 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 Ishilhayn Imazighen

The Ishilhayn Imazighen 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 Ishilhayn Imazighen

The Ishilhayn Imazighen 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 Ishilhayn Imazighen of France

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him
readLuke 10:34

Pray that the lost among them will experience the kind of compassion Jesus taught His followers to show others, and that they will trust in Him because He is the one who brings healing to the broken and lost.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
read2 Corinthians 9:6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will remember the principle of sowing and reaping, and be generous in their giving and serving, knowing that they will reap a generous harvest.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
read1 Corinthians 9:22

Ask God to raise up believers from around the world to go and share the hope of Jesus with the lost so that they might trust in Him and have the hope of eternal life.

Amazigh, Tachelhit (ROP3 - 108945) 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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