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The Western Arameans of Syria

The Western Arameans of Syria, numbering approximately 16,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Western Neo-Aramaic-speaking people of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains in Syria who preserve the last surviving form of Western Aramaic, the language once widely spoken throughout the ancient Levant. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Western Neo-Aramaic is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: West Aramaic

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Syria
People Cluster: Assyrian
Primary Language(s): Western Neo-Aramaic (amw)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 16,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012203
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Pray for the Western Arameans of Syria

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

50%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Western Neo-Aramaic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

66%
%
Western Neo-Aramaic Speakers

Media Resources in Western Neo-Aramaic:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Western Neo-Aramaic:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Western Neo-Aramaic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Western Arameans 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 Western Arameans:
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 Western Arameans of Syria

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:16-20

Pray that those who don't yet know Him will encounter the risen Savior and be transformed by the power of His resurrection, becoming disciples who make disciples.

There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
readPsalm 19:3

Pray that God will lead them to His Word, and where it is not available, ask that He will raise up those who will produce gospel media in their heart language.

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
readPsalm 51:9

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have confidence that God has turned His face from their sins and forgiven their iniquities.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
readRomans 6:23

Pray that God will bring people to faith who are excited about the eternal life they have in Christ and will want to cross cultures to share this hope with others.

Aramean, Western Across Countries (ROP3 - 105954) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▼LanguageReligion
Western ArameansPG012203Western ArameansSyria16,000Engaged yet UnreachedWestern Neo-AramaicSunni 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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