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The Melillan Imazighen of Spain

The Melillan Imazighen of Spain, numbering approximately 35,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are a Riffian Amazigh community native to the Melilla area and neighboring eastern Rif, historically linked to the Iqer'iyen and retaining Tarifit as a marker of identity. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Tarifit is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Melillan Amazigh

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Arab Peoples
Country: Spain
People Cluster: Amazigh-Riff
Primary Language(s): Tarifit (rif)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 35,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG050698

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Pray for the Melillan Imazighen of Spain

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

98%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Tarifit
Language Family: Afro-Asiatic

100%
%
Tarifit Speakers

Media Resources in Tarifit:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

3 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Tarifit:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Arabic Script✓✓✓
Latin Script✓✓✓

2 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Tarifit 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 Melillan Imazighen:
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 Melillan Imazighen of Spain

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
readPsalm 8:1

Pray that those who have yet to believe will soon recognize the majesty of God's name and raise their voices in praise to the Lord Almighty.

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
readHebrews 10:36

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will patiently endure suffering and hardships and do God's will so that they may receive what He has promised.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
readPsalm 23:3

Pray for believers to go and share the gospel with others here. Ask that God will restore their souls and lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Amazigh, Riffian Across Countries (ROP3 - 101275) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

4 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
Riffi ImazighenPG011865Riffi ImazighenMorocco2,285,000Engaged yet UnreachedTarifitSunni Islam
ImazighenPG000396ImazighenNetherlands168,000Unengaged and UnreachedCentral Atlas TamazightSunni Islam
Riffi ImazighenPG011677Riffi ImazighenFrance138,000Unengaged and UnreachedTarifitSunni Islam
Melillan ImazighenPG050698Melillan ImazighenSpain35,000Unengaged and UnreachedTarifitSunni 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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