The Moors of Mauritania

The Moors of Mauritania, numbering approximately 3,890,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are the predominantly Muslim populations of medieval North Africa and al-Andalus, composed largely of Amazigh (Berber) and Arab peoples united by Islamic civilization rather than by a single ethnic identity. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Hassaniyya is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Mauritania
People Cluster: Arab, Hassaniya
Primary Language(s): Hassaniyya (mey)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 3,890,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG013586
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Moors of Mauritania

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: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Hassaniyya
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Hassaniyya Speakers

Media Resources in Hassaniyya:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Hassaniyya:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
PBT Version✓✓

1 entry

Or check out the Hassaniyya bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Moors 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 Moors:
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 Moors of Mauritania

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
readProverbs 4:19

Pray that lost people will 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.

Turn, O LORD, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
readPsalm 6:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and still struggle with the worries of this life, God will deliver them from worry for the sake of His steadfast love.

And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
readLuke 10:6

Pray that, as people come to faith in Christ and want to share it with others, they will be welcomed into homes and received well so that they can share message of hope with many people.

Moor, Beidane (White) Across Countries (ROP3 - 106417) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDName ▲CountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
MauritaniansMauritaniansCanada1,200Engaged yet UnreachedHassaniyyaSunni Islam
MoorsMoorsMali706,000Unengaged and UnreachedHassaniyyaFolk Islam
MoorsMoorsMauritania3,890,000Engaged yet UnreachedHassaniyyaSunni Islam
MoorsMoorsMorocco3,135,000Unengaged and UnreachedHassaniyyaSunni 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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