Strategic missionary grouping
Groups predominantly Muslim countries for missionary purposes, distinct from the catalog of beliefs already available elsewhere on the site.
Region
Islamic Belt
48
Countries
2.523
Peoples
1.637
Unreached
7.8%
Evangelicals (weighted)
Peoples overview
48Countries
2.523people groups
1.637unreached
7.8%evangelicals (weighted average)
- 1K Unreached 58%
- 174 Minimally reached 6.9%
- 61 Superficially reached 2.4%
- 555 Partially reached 22%
- 270 Significantly reached 10.7%
Compiled from the data of each country in this region.
2.224Language
672With complete Bible
1.552Without complete Bible
Compiled from the data of each country in this region.
What it is
Overview
The Islamic Belt, also called the Arab-Islamic World, is a strategic missionary grouping comprising 48 predominantly Muslim countries, from North Africa to Maritime Southeast Asia, including nations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Egypt and Pakistan. It is not a catalog of beliefs, which already exists elsewhere on the site, but a grouping designed to help understand the missionary challenge of reaching this vast and diverse world.
The evangelical Christian presence in this band is small: on average, only 6.9% of the population. Of the 2,523 ethnic groups mapped in the Islamic Belt, 1,637 are considered unreached, a number revealing the distance between the prevailing Muslim culture and personal knowledge of the gospel.
Access to Scripture also remains limited: of the 2,224 mapped ethnic groups, 1,552 still do not have the complete Bible in their own language. These nations extend from Mauritania to Malaysia, through Central Asia, each with its own cultural expression of Islam.
Praying for the Islamic Belt means praying with respect and love for billions of people living within a different faith, asking that they may discover personally who Jesus Christ is.
Context and characteristics
From North Africa to Southeast Asia
Covers a vast territory, including the Arab world, Central Asia and island areas such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
Low evangelical presence
With an average of 6.9% evangelicals, the region has one of the world's lowest proportions of Christians.
Diversity within Islam
The Muslim faith takes very different cultural forms across Arab, African and Asian countries.
Vast population scale
Includes some of the world's most populous countries, multiplying the scale of the missionary challenge.
Countries in this region
Mayotte
Cocos Islands
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo
Malaysia
Uzbekistan
Azerbaijan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Kyrgyzstan
Palestine
Qatar
United Arab Emirates
Bahrain
Kuwait
Western Sahara
Djibouti
Madagascar
Mauritius
Sierra Leone
Senegal
Mauritania
Ivory Coast
Gambia
Guinea
Burkina Faso
Tanzania
Morocco
Chad
Tunisia
Niger
Türkiye
Oman
Comoros
Saudi Arabia
Libya
Sudan
Mali
Somalia
Maldives
Yemen
Mozambique
Lebanon
Syria
Albania
Kazakhstan
Nigeria
Pakistan
Unreached peoples of this region 1.227 in total
Mission indicators
1.637
Unreached peoples
Combined from the countries in the region
1.552
Languages with no Bible translation at all
Combined from the countries in the region
What to pray for
Intercession
Pray for the Islamic Belt's 1,637 unreached peoples.
Ask that the 1,552 ethnic groups without a complete Bible may receive this translation work.
Pray for Christians to show respect and true love in their relationships with people of the Muslim faith.
Pray for workers serving in these nations with wisdom and discernment.
Ask that Muslim families may have the opportunity to discover personally who Jesus is.
Pray for small Christian communities living their faith among a Muslim majority.
Pray for peace among nations in this grouping marked by tensions and conflicts.