The Riffi Imazighen of Morocco

The Riffi Imazighen of Morocco, numbering approximately 2,285,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Amazigh people indigenous to the central and eastern Rif mountains of northern Morocco, whose Tarifit-speaking tribal communities share a strong regional identity shaped in part by the Rif War and Republic of the Rif. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Tarifit is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Amazigh, Riffi

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Morocco
People Cluster: Amazigh-Riff
Primary Language(s): Tarifit (rif)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,285,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011865
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Pray for the Riffi Imazighen of Morocco

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tarifit
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Tarifit Speakers

Media Resources in Tarifit:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Bible Resources in Tarifit:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Arabic Script✓✓✓
Latin Script✓✓✓

2 entries

Or check out the Tarifit bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Riffi 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.

Next steps for the Riffi Imazighen:
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 Riffi Imazighen of Morocco

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
readPsalm 1:6

As many look for hope in worldly pleasures, pray they will hear and accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."
readJohn 6:35

Pray that the lost will come to Jesus and believe in Him, never to hunger or thirst again.

It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
readIsaiah 25:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will proclaim and rejoice in His salvation.

For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
read2 Corinthians 1:5

When any who might believe suffer for the sake of the gospel, ask God to deepen their understanding of His grace so that they may share it freely with those who have not received it.

Amazigh, Riffian Across Countries (ROP3 - 101275) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

3 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion ▼
ImazighenImazighenNetherlands168,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral Atlas TamazightSunni Islam
Riffi ImazighenRiffi ImazighenFrance138,000Unengaged and UnreachedTarifitSunni Islam
Riffi ImazighenRiffi ImazighenMorocco2,285,000Engaged yet UnreachedTarifitSunni 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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