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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Saudi Shia Arabs of Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Shia Arabs of Saudi Arabia, numbering approximately 2,830,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a people of Saudi Arabia. They are an Indigenous people, in the Arab, Arabian people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Arabic, Gulf.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Arab, Saudi Shia

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Saudi Arabia
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Arabic, Gulf (afb)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 2,830,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011922

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Pray for the Saudi Shia Arabs of Saudi Arabia

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: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Arabic, Gulf
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

%

Media Resources in Arabic, Gulf:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Arabic, Gulf:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Arabic, Gulf bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Saudi Shia Arabs

The Saudi Shia Arabs 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 Saudi Shia Arabs

The Saudi 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.

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 Saudi Shia Arabs

The Saudi Shia Arabs 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 Saudi Shia Arabs of Saudi Arabia

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
readRomans 1:19

Pray that God will use testimony of creation to cause those who do not yet know the gospel to long for truth and a relationship with the Author of life.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
readIsaiah 25:8

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will rejoice in the hope of the Lord's coming, when He will swallow up death forever and wipe away their tears.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
readActs 17:30

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will boldly and lovingly declare that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Arab, Gulf Shia (ROP3 - 116092) 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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