Day 16: Eastern South Asia
Series: 30 Days of Prayer for Muslims and Christians – 2016 Ramadan
Presented in American Sign Language, no voice interpretation.
Link: http://vimeo.com/171138661

Written Transcript:

Almost 850 million people live in Eastern South Asia, with 284 million people in this region being Muslims. Sufi Islam – a mystical form of Islam – is spread out around the Muslim world, but may have found its origins in this area where a rigid monotheism collided with the mystical strains of South Asian Hinduism.

There are dozens of movements with several thousand baptized Muslim-background believers loving and worshiping Jesus across Eastern South Asia. These believers have endured severe persecution through brave witnesses and skilled Bible translators who have labored over the years to make the gospel known in local cultural contexts and their own languages. It is possible that there are about 100,000 Muslim-background believers in this region of Muslim world.

– Pray for the movements of Muslims to Christ in Eastern South Asia to multiply.

– Pray for bold witnesses to endure persecution and remain faithful to Christ.

– Pray for the 284 million lost Muslims in Eastern South Asia to come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Source: www.30daysprayer.org

Day 15: Deoband, India
Series: 30 Days of Prayer for Muslims and Christians – 2016 Ramadan
Presented in American Sign Language, no voice interpretation.
Link: http://vimeo.com/171138663

Written Transcript:

Deoband, a town in North India with 100,000 people and relatively small in comparison to other mega and large cities throughout India, is important for tens of millions of Muslims around the world. It is the home of the Darul Uloom madrassa – an Islamic center of learning.

Darul Uloom opened this school in 1867 with the purpose of protecting and promoting conservative Sunni Islam across the Indian subcontinent. Thousands of men have studied at this school, and Darul Uloom graduates have started madrassas in other places such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afhanistan, South Africa, Great Britain and North America.

For many Sunni Muslims, Deoband represents a scholarly, conservative, and pure Islam. It has the reputation of being connected with militant extremism. The Taliban finds its roots back to Deobandi madrassas in Pakistan, and suspicion about extremist ties grew so great that in 2013 Darul Uloom issued a FATWA (a public statement) denouncing terrorism.

Muslims from all over the world gather to Deoband to visit as tourists or stay for seven years to be fully trained as a mosque or madrassa leaders. The influence of Deoband extends to many nations and continents, and Muslims are passionate about what they believe. Imagine what it would be like if Deobandis were filled with an awareness of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. May that commitment and passion be for the glory of Jesus.

Habakkuk 2:14 – “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.”

– Pray for the town of Deoband itself to be a place of peace and blessing.

– Pray for truth, justice and peace to flow through Deobandi networks around the world.

– Pray that Deobandi women, most of whom are hidden from sight, would know their value to the Father and find His love through Jesus.

Source: www.30daysprayer.org

Day 14: Western South Asia
Series: 30 Days of Prayer for Muslims and Christians – 2016 Ramadan
Presented in American Sign Language, no voice interpretation.
Link: http://vimeo.com/171138662

Written Transcript:

Western South Asia is one of the most crowded and volatile regions in the Islamic world, covering the region of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and western half of India. More than 300 million Muslims live in this area, and 186 ethnic people groups are often in conflict with each other and also with outside imperial forces. In spite of this, God is drawing thousands of Muslims to new life in Jesus Christ.

– Pray for the war-torn nations of Western South Asia, that they find a new path forward through the Prince of Peace.

– Pray for courageous Muslim-background witnesses to stand firm for Jesus and also for the missionaries to find people to disciple Muslim-background believers.

– Pray for the 300 million Muslims of Western South Asia who do not yet know the peace that passes all understanding that Jesus offers them.

Source: www.30daysprayer.org

Day 13: Tajikistan
Series: 30 Days of Prayer for Muslims and Christians – 2016 Ramadan
Presented in American Sign Language, no voice interpretation.
Link:

Written Transcript:

Located in Central Asia, the small country of Tajikistan boasts over 8 million people, 70 percent of whom are under the age of 30. The Tajik young people in this largely Sunni Muslim region are increasingly curious about Jesus, and many missionaries have been questioned about Jesus by them.

Jesus in the Bible says that the harvest is ready yet many workers are needed. Even in the poor, hard-to-reach mountainous nation such as Tajikistan, many Muslims – notably young ones – are longing for truth and hope. And they are finding it in Jesus Christ.

– Pray that Tajik hearts would be further open to the good news of Jesus Christ, and that many Tajiks would have opportunities to meet Christians who would lovingly share Jesus with them.

– Currently, there are few believers in Tajikistan. Pray that the existing Church would be strengthened and obedient in sharing Jesus with others, so that it will multiply throughout the region.

– Pray for increasing hunger among Tajiks both in Tajikistan and in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Russia. Pray that God would send more laborers in these communities (Luke 10:2).

Source: www.30daysprayer.org

Day 12: The Persian World
Series: 30 Days of Prayer for Muslims and Christians – 2016 Ramadan
Presented in American Sign Language, no voice interpretation.
Link: http://vimeo.com/170844915

Written Transcript:

The Persian World encompasses all of modern-day Iran and also parts of Iraq, northern Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. About 100 inhabitants speak variations of the ancient Persian language. Most Muslims in Iran belong to the Shi’ite majority sect while the rest of the Islam world is made up of Sunni Muslims.

The modern day country of Iran was established by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, and a great persecution ensued for Christians in that area. Nowadays, millions of Iranians have rejected the Islamic theocracy and hundreds of thousands have turned to Jesus Christ.
While thousands of Christian converts have been arrested, others have been forced out of the country. Many more live secretly inside Iran, worshiping in underground house churches or in the privacy of their own homes through the guidance of satellite-television broadcasts. There have been some Christians who have paid the ultimate price of martyrdom, such as Iranian-American Christian, Haik Hovsepian.

Haik became the first national bishop of the Assemblies of God church in 1980. The Iranian government, although allowing ethnic Christians to practice their faith, forbidden them from sharing their faith with Muslims. Haik refused to yield to these government pressures, saying, “If we go to jail or die for our faith, we will not yield.”

Reverend Mehdi Dibaj was a Muslim covert who was arrested in 1983, sentenced without trial, and pressurized to recant his faith. In 1993, he was sentenced to death for the crime of converting from Islam.

When he heard about this, Bishop Haik was faced with a choice: remain silent and avoid persecution, or speak out against the Iranian government. He decided to go public with efforts to save Dibaj, which proved effective in response to international outcry. On January 16, 1994, Dibaj was released from custody.

Three days later, Bishop Haik was abducted from the streets of Tehran. His tortured body was found in an unmarked grave. At Haik’s funeral, Dibaj spoke through his tears, “When Jesus died on the cross, only Barabbas knew that Jesus had died for him. When Bishop Haik died, I know that he died for me.”

– Pray for bold Christian witnesses like Haik Hovsepian to continue to take the gospel to the Persian World’s Shi’ite Muslims.

– Pray for the nations in Persia to allow greater freedom of religion, permitting people to make up their own minds about what they will believe.

– Pray for Iraqi migrants and refugees rebuilding their lives in new places, to be blessed in their new lands and a blessing to those around them.

Sources: http://www.30daysprayer.com; www.wikipedia.org; www.hovsepian.com