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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Iraqi Shia Arabs of Iraq

The Iraqi Shia Arabs of Iraq, numbering approximately 19,410,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an indigenous community of Arabs in Iraq. They are an Indigenous people, in the Arab, Levant people cluster of the Arab Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Arabic, Mesopotamian.

Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Christiaan Briggs - Wikimedia Christiaan Briggs - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Northern African and Middle Eastern Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Arab, Levant
Primary Language(s): Arabic, Mesopotamian (acm)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 19,410,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046790
View on Joshua Project

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Pray for the Iraqi Shia Arabs of Iraq

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.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

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Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Arabic, Mesopotamian
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

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Media Resources in Arabic, Mesopotamian:

Films:

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Provided by the Jesus Film Project

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Bible Resources in Arabic, Mesopotamian:

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Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Arabic, Mesopotamian bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Iraqi Shia Arabs

The Iraqi Shia Arabs 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 Iraqi Shia Arabs

The Iraqi Shia Arabs 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 Iraqi Shia Arabs

The Iraqi Shia Arabs 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 Iraqi Shia Arabs of Iraq

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
readEphesians 2:8-9

Pray that the lost among them will receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith, not by works, and be created for good works.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

As mobile phones, radio, and satellite television, and other technologies become more available worldwide, pray for people who are developing digital gospel resources so that others can easily access the gospel.

This God - his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
readPsalm 18:30

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have access to His Word and the ability to understand it, so that they can grow in their faith and find refuge in Him.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Arab, Iraqi (ROP3 - 104056) 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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