The Southern Luri of Iran

The Southern Luri of Iran, numbering approximately 1,205,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indo-Iranian ethnolinguistic community of southwestern Iran, speakers of Southern Luri, whose identity is rooted in the Zagros region's tribal traditions, pastoral heritage, and Shia Muslim faith. They mostly adhere to Shia Islam and Southern Luri is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Southern Luri

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Luri-Bakhtiari
Primary Language(s): Southern Luri (luz)
Primary Religion(s): Shia Islam
Population: 1,205,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024186
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Southern Luri of Iran

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: Shia Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Shia Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Southern Luri
Language Family: Indo-European

50%
%
Luri, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Southern Luri:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Southern Luri:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Southern Luri bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Southern Luri 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 Southern Luri:
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 Southern Luri of Iran

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
readLuke 12:7

Pray that those who don't yet know how to trust in Jesus will not be consumed by worry and anxiety, but will trust in the Father's care and provision for their daily needs and for their eternal salvation

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed"
readGalatians 3:8

Ask the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed by advancing the gospel to every people group who has yet to receive it.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
readIsaiah 41:10

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will not fear, for the Lord is with them, and He will strengthen, help, and uphold them with His righteous right hand.

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
read1 Corinthians 9:22

Ask God to raise up believers from around the world to go and share the hope of Jesus with the lost so that they might trust in Him and have the hope of eternal life.

Luri, Southern Across Countries (ROP3 - 114987) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

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