The Middle East lies at the juncture of Africa and Eurasia and of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
It is the birthplace and spiritual center of religion such as: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Manichaeism, Yezidi, Druze, Yarsan, and Mandeanism, and in Iran, Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, Manicheanism, and the Baháʼí Faith. Throughout its history the Middle East has been a major center of world affairs; a strategically, economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive area.
Demographics:
Most Middle Eastern countries (13 out of 18) are part of the Arab world. The most populous countries in the region are Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, while Saudi Arabia is the largest Middle Eastern country by area. The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the geopolitical importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Arabs constitute the main ethnic group in the region, followed by Turks, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen, Yazidis, and Greek Cypriots.
Focus on Key People: The Arab People
Arab, one whose native language is Arabic. Before the spread of Islam and, with it, the Arabic language, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. In modern usage, it embraces any of the Arabic-speaking peoples living in the vast region from Mauritania, on the Atlantic coast of Africa, to southwestern Iran, including the entire Maghrib of North Africa, Egypt and Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, and Syria and Iraq.
The early Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula were predominantly nomadic pastoralists who herded their sheep, goats, and camels through the harsh desert environment.
Settled Arabs practiced date and cereal agriculture in the oases, which also served as trade centres for the caravans transporting the spices, ivory, and gold of southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa to the civilizations farther north. The distinction between the desert nomads, on the one hand, and town dwellers and agriculturists, on the other, still pervades much of the Arab world.
Saudi Arabia: A key Nation in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace and stronghold of Islam. From Mecca, Islam holds influence over billions, and touches many cultures worldwide. Billions of oil dollars go towards promotion of Islam around the world every year. A spiritual breakthrough for Jesus Christ here would transform Islam and all who follow it! All Muslims must pray toward Mecca 5 times daily, and over 2 million Muslims make the pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca every year. Pray that many who seek God might encounter the living Christ.
Saudi Arabia’s record on religious freedom and human rights is probably the world’s worst. People of faiths other than Islam can live in Saudi Arabia, but they cannot practise their religion openly or even gather privately. Restrictions limit women in driving, voting, work, and their presence outside the home. Authorities watch Christian expatriates all the time, and those caught meeting even in homes can face beatings, prison, expulsion, or even execution.
Pray for strength, wisdom, and courage for the community of foreign believers.
Pray also for a witness to Christ among all foreign workers, that many might come to Jesus while in this land.
Arab Christians
Pray that the ancient Orthodox and Catholic communities might come to new life and vigour to become effective witnesses. There is an encouraging, almost unbelievable, acceleration of new movements of people to Christ in the region, but these are not yet large enough to offset the losses of traditional Christians.
Prayer for Middle East:
- Pray for greater vision and burden for the Muslim people in Middle East.
- Pray for more laborers to be sent to the harvest fields in the Middle East.
- Pray that Muslims in Middle East will come to know Jesus through dreams and visions.
- Pray for the influence of a large number of Christian expatriate workers in many nations in the Middle East.
- Pray for the Nation of Yemen – It has suffered in recent decades from three civil wars, tribal conflicts, and war in nearby countries, and it is one of the poorest nations. The Christian presence is minimal in this least-reached nation.
- Trained leadership for the churches remains a challenge. There are few in training and few institutions in the Middle East that can provide it. Many of those who study in the West find good ministry opportunities there, so few return home. Training structures for the underground and MBB churches also need to be developed further to meet the demands of these burgeoning groups.
- Missions vision is growing. Increasing numbers of Middle Eastern Christians are capturing a burden to reach out to Muslims, especially in lands closed to normal mission work – in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and others.
- The impact of Christian satellite TV and the Internet has been momentous, greater than in any other region of the world. It has been highly effective at sharing the good news in restricted access nations, at offering sound defence of the gospel in the face of Muslim accusations and at offering solid discipleship to believers.
Source:
The Britannica.
The Operation World.
Wikipedia.