Arabs of Malaysia (PGID: PG018465)

The Arabs of Malaysia

The Arabs of Malaysia, numbering approximately 18,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a diverse ethnolinguistic group whose identity is shaped by a combination of language, culture, history, and geography. Arabs are native to the Arabian Peninsula, Levant, North Africa, and parts of the Horn of Africa. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Standard Arabic is their primary language.

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

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Malaysia
People Cluster: Arab, Arabian
Primary Language(s): Standard Arabic (arb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 18,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG018465
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Pray for the Arabs of Malaysia

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%

Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Standard Arabic
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%

Arabic, Standard Speakers

Media Resources in Standard Arabic:

Films:

Title	Link
JESUS	View Film
JESUS	View Film
Magdalena	View Film
Magdalena	View Film
The Savior	View Film
The Savior	View Film

6 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Standard Arabic:

Bible Name (Translation)	Video	Audio	Text
Easy to Read Version		✓	✓
Good News Version		✓
Sharif (Iraqi) Version	✓	✓	✓
Sharif Version	✓	✓	✓
Standard Arabic (Gulf)		✓
Van Dyke Version - multi voice	✓	✓	✓
Van Dyke Version - single voice	✓	✓	✓

7 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Standard Arabic bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), 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.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Arabs:

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

Pray specifically for the Arabs of Malaysia

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

Pray that lost people will accept salvation through Christ, turn from destruction, and experience joy in the way of righteousness.

Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Psalm 67:5

While there are many who do not yet praise God, pray that He will work in their lives, advance the gospel among them, and bring many to saving faith in Christ.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
Psalm 3:5-6

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and experience isolation or other persecution, God will sustain them and give them confidence and rest in Him.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5

Pray that when discouraging days come, those who cross cultures for the sake of the gospel will be comforted as they remember that the light of Christ is stronger than the darkness that surrounds them.

Arab Across Countries (ROP3 - 100425) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index

All

Engaged yet Unreached UUPG No Longer Unreached

CountryReligion

23 people groups

People Group ID	Name	Country	Population	Strategic Progress Index	Language	Religion ▼
PG014900	Arabs	Tanzania	509,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Swahili (individual language)	Sunni Islam
PG047072	Arabs	Greece	34,500	Engaged yet Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG042248	Arabs	Maldives	750	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG041734	Arabs	India	62,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG018478	Arabs	New Zealand	10,000	No Longer Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG018465	Arabs	Malaysia	18,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG017321	Arabs	Argentina	1,580,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Spanish	Sunni Islam
PG016532	Arabs	Brazil	492,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG016383	Arabs	Jamaica	2,100	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG016194	Arabs	Barbados	150	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG015486	Arabs	South Africa	16,000	No Longer Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG015270	Arabs	Comoros	900	Engaged yet Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG000004	Arabs	Austria	101,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG014761	Arabs	Kenya	57,000	Engaged yet Unreached	Swahili (individual language)	Sunni Islam
PG014477	Arabs	Congo, Democratic Republic of the	32,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG014463	Arabs	Burundi	3,800	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG013266	Arabs	Ghana	3,300	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG011545	Arabs	Ethiopia	13,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG007830	Arabs	Australia	161,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG006321	Arabs	Pakistan	248,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG000580	Arabs	Switzerland	75,500	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG000374	Arabs	Malta	10,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni Islam
PG000078	Arabs	Denmark	96,000	Unengaged and Unreached	Standard Arabic	Sunni 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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