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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Southern Zaza of Turkiye

The Southern Zaza of Turkiye, numbering approximately 1,780,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Turkey (Asia) and can also be known as Dimli Kurd. They are an Indigenous people, in the Kurd people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Sunni. They primarily speak Zazaki, Southern.

Southern Zaza in Turkiye photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: CharlesFred - Flickr CharlesFred - Flickr Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Turkiye
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Zazaki, Southern (diq)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Sunni
Population: 1,780,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046644
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Southern Zaza of Turkiye

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Sunni
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Sunni Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Zazaki, Southern
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Zazaki, Southern Speakers

Media Resources in Zazaki, Southern:

Films:

No entries found for: Zazaki, Southern(diq). Help build some!

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Zazaki, Southern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Zazaki, Southern bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Southern Zaza

The Southern Zaza 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 Southern Zaza

The Southern Zaza 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 Southern Zaza

The Southern Zaza 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 Southern Zaza of Turkiye

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
readEphesians 6:12

Pray for those ensnared by the darkness of this world, that they will recognize the spiritual forces at work and turn to the light of Christ.

"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet."
readMatthew 5:13

Pray that the lost will have the opportunity to hear a Christian witness of how the gospel can bring hope and that they will put their faith in Christ.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
readPsalm 42:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will thirst for God and be satisfied when they abide in Him.

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
readPsalm 105:2

Pray for God to saturate this place with the gospel and raise up believing men and women from among them to share the good news of Christ with those who have yet to encounter it.

Zaza-Dimli (ROP3 - 102613) 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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