Birthplace of Islam
Saudi Arabia is home to Islam's holiest cities, destinations for pilgrims from around the world.
Region
Arabian Peninsula
7
Countries
90
Peoples
74
Unreached
0.5%
Evangelicals (weighted)
Peoples overview
7Countries
90people groups
74unreached
0.5%evangelicals (weighted average)
- 72 Unreached 80%
- 2 Minimally reached 2.2%
- 8 Superficially reached 8.9%
- 6 Partially reached 6.7%
- 2 Significantly reached 2.2%
Compiled from the data of each country in this region.
212Language
128With complete Bible
84Without complete Bible
Compiled from the data of each country in this region.
What it is
Overview
The Arabian Peninsula is the geographical birthplace of Islam. It was there, in Saudi Arabia, that the religion began, and it is toward that land that more than a billion Muslims around the world turn in prayer every day. The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen form this region of deserts, modern cities built on oil wealth and ancient tribal traditions.
Alongside the visible luxury of cities such as Dubai and Doha lies another, much harsher reality: in Yemen, years of war and humanitarian crisis have left millions facing hunger and displacement. Across almost the entire peninsula, publicly professing a faith other than Islam is prohibited or severely repressed, and leaving Islam can cost a person their life or family relationships.
There are 90 ethnic groups in the region, and 74 of them have not yet had contact with the gospel. The arrival of foreign workers from various parts of the world has created, without the governments themselves realizing it, small bridges of contact between different cultures, but the number of native Christians remains minimal.
Praying for the Arabian Peninsula means praying for one of the places most closed to the gospel on the planet, asking that, even amid such resistance, the name of Jesus may reach hearts once reserved for Islam alone.
Context and characteristics
Oil wealth
Oil extraction transformed cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha into global centers of business and tourism.
Humanitarian crisis in Yemen
Years of war have left Yemen facing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with hunger and mass displacement.
Foreign workers
Millions of workers from other countries live in the region, forming diverse communities within closed societies.
Total restriction on the Christian faith
In most of the peninsula, conversion to Christianity is prohibited by law or brings intense family and social pressure.
Countries in this region
Unreached peoples of this region 31 in total
+1
+6
+3
+12
+17
Mission indicators
74
Unreached peoples
Combined from the countries in the region
84
Languages with no Bible translation at all
Combined from the countries in the region
What to pray for
Intercession
Pray for the Arabian Peninsula's 74 unreached ethnic groups, most without any contact with the gospel.
Ask for protection for the few Christians living out their faith in secret, at risk of persecution from their families and the law.
Pray for an end to humanitarian suffering in Yemen, where hunger and war affect millions of people.
Ask that foreign workers living in the region may carry and receive seeds of the gospel.
Pray for freedom for the Bible to circulate more easily in these nations.
Ask that rulers' hearts may open to greater religious tolerance.
Pray that, even in one of the places most resistant to the gospel, God may raise up faithful witnesses.