Pray for Libya
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Cyrene was eastern Libya
In the Bible we are told that a man named Simon of Cyrene, passing through Jerusalem on a journey, was forced to bear the cross of Jesus (Mark 15:21). Cyrene was the region around present-day Benghazi in eastern Libya. The present Arab inhabitants of this nation, however, have never had any significant opportunity to receive the message of Jesus.
Today’s Libya
President Muammar Gaddaffi rules the nation after leading a bloodless coup to depose the ruling monarchy in 1969. For many years Libya was often negatively associated with international terrorism and Islamic revolution by the world community. The oil industry provides Libya with one of the highest per-capita incomes in Africa. Other industries include agriculture, food processing, textiles, fishing, and tourism. The Great Man-Made River Project, one of the largest water development projects in the world, is being built to bring fresh water from aquifers under the Sahara to coastal towns.
Cites of Libya
Tripoli (”Tarabulus” in Arabic) is the capital, largest city (urban population 1,682,000), principal seaport, and largest commercial and manufacturing center in Libya. Its climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot dry summers, cool winters, and some modest rainfall. Benghazi, also on the Mediterranean coast, is the second largest (850,000) and most intellectual Libyan city. It has more religious Muslims because of the presence of Islamic fundamentalist movements. Prostitution has increased in Benghazi recently. In the past decade, traditional marriage, often involving hundreds of people, has become an enormous expense.
Christian Witness Prohibited
About 96% of the Libyan population is Muslim and 3% Christian. The majority of Christians in Libya are nominal Egyptian Copts. There are only a handful of Libyan Christians. Sunni Islam is the state religion; Christian witness to Libyans is strictly prohibited.
Youth in Libya Need Your Prayers
Libyan young people have grown up with widespread government subsidies and free handouts. Strict media censorship had isolated them from most outside influence until the growing presence of the internet. About 70% of internet cafe users visit pornography sites. The oil revenues have enabled students, who will be the future leaders of the nation, to study abroad, which may give some the opportunity to hear the gospel.
Prayer requests for Libya:
* Pray for President Gaddaffi and others in authority in the nation.
* Pray for Libyans living abroad. May they hear and receive the gospel outside their own country.
* Pray for more intercession teams, entering as tourists, to go and pray for this land.
* Pray for the Christian radio and satellite broadcasts. Over 100 hours of Arabic programs can be heard by Libyans each week. Many have written to the radio stations, but censorship hinders follow-up correspondence.
* Pray for the development of the Jesus film into Libyan Colloquial Arabic, the spoken language of most Libyans. Until this is available, pray for Libyans to watch and be touched by other Arabic versions.
Background on Libya (World Factbook)
From the earliest days of his rule following the 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of “direct democracy.” QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad’s Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings.
Economy of Libya
Substantial revenues from the oil sector coupled with a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food.
Statistics on Libya
Population: 6,173,579
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2008 est.)Life Expectancy at Birth: 77.07 years
Ethnic groups: Berber and Arab 97%, other 3% (includes Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, and Tunisians)
Religions: Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%
Languages: Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
Literacy: 82.6% male: 92.4% / female: 72%
Tripoli - Libya - Video
Sights and Sounds around Libya.
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Filed under: Africa, North by TDI
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August 16th, 2007 at 6:37
Don’t forget to pray for Lybia’s neighbors…. Tunisia. They need prayer too.