The soaring Pamir mountains dominate the landscape of greater Badashan / Badakshan, which spills over North Eastern Afghanistan, Eastern Tajikistan and Northern Pakistan. The peoples who live in these isolated mountain communities generally feel distinct from the majority of the populations in their nations. Badakshanis speak Eastern Persian mountain languages. They are often fairer skinned than others in their countries, with Caucasian features. However, the most distinctive aspect of Badakshani identity is their religion.

Badakshan is the one part of the world where the Muslim Ismaili sect makes up the majority of the population. The Agha Khan, their spiritual leader, has become like a god to them. To quote a Badakshani: “The Agha Khan is like a living Koran for us. He shows us the way and how to live. Our religion is not stuck in history. We have a modern Imam to show us how to live in the 21st Century. We see the light of Mohammed on him.” Most other Muslims consider the Ismailis to be heretics.

There are few believers in Badakshan and no known believing communities. However, many Badakshanis are coming to faith elsewhere. There are believers in Dushanbe - the capital of Tajikistan - and in Moscow, where many Tajik Badakshanis become migrant labourers. Pray for believers living in other places, that they might wisely proclaim Jesus in their communities.

Flag of Pakistan

Map of Pakistan

Prayer Starters:

• Meditate on Jeremiah 16:19-21 and use it in prayer.
• Pray for those who worship the Agha Khan as a god, and that they may come to a realisation that he is just a man.
• Spiritual blindness and the spirit of deception seem to be two major strongholds in Badakshan. Pray for these barriers to the Gospel to be removed.

Video: Sights and Sounds of Badakhshan

Special Section: Pray for the Uyghur Peoples of China

The following information came from Western China as we were preparing the “30 Days” for 2009. We have asked for prayer for the Uyghurs in the past. It seems urgent to pray now. Some Uyghurs live within 400 kilometers of Badakshan.

In Northwest China there are only 100-200 believers among the Uyghur people (pronounced ‘ooy-goor’) who number about 11 million in population. The Uyghurs are largely preoccupied with a) making a living and b) the strife between their Muslim / Uyghur cultural heritage and the controlling Chinese Communist system. This area was a significant point on the Silk Road from Europe and the Middle East to China and now it seems to be one of the last regions to be reached by the Body of Christ. In the past fifteen years, thousands of Muslims all along the Silk Road in Central Asia have become believers in Jesus (along with millions of Han Chinese), however, there is still no resilient Uyghur church. There are many stories of unfair treatment, as well as house fellowships being broken up as soon as they get started. Three key men are now in jail; the little community of believers is floundering. Fear keeps them from moving beyond private belief to a sharing, deep life in Christ.
May God guide you to pray for the Uyghurs as only he can.

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“We have the duty to make the World a better place”! - His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV.

To his followers Prince Karim Aga Khan IV is more then just their leader; he traces his ancestry back to the Prophet Muhammad through the line of Ali and Fatima, the Prophet's daughter. The Aga Khan's 18 million followers reside in more than 25 countries, stretching from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe all the way to North America. Although most Ismailis have their roots in India, their major language today is English. The Aga Khan's grandfather had urged the community to become more western oriented, and his grandson's headquarters has moved from India to Paris in Europe.

As Imam and spiritual leader of the Shiite Ismailis, he has absolute authority over his followers. The Aga Khan has been concerned about the well being of all Muslims and particularly the Ismailis in the face of challenges of modern life. Therefore he has dedicated his life to improving the quality of life for his multicultural and multinational family. He even calls his followers “my spiritual children”. The feeling of family within the Ismaili community is so strong that the Aga Khan's picture is not only put up in every shop and office but a photo of him and his close family are in every Ismaili family photograph album.

The spiritual and much of the social life of the Ismaili community takes place in a “Jamaatkhana”. It is more a community centre than a mosque. Ismailis pray three times instead of five times a day and don't use the general practice of Muslim worship postures; one even finds Indian and Hindu elements in their worship.

Prayer Starters

* Pray for a spiritual hunger for the Ismailis, that they will discover life in Christ.

* Pray for culturally sensitive outreach towards the Ismailis, wherever they are, through friendship with believers.

* Pray for boldness and sensitivity for the few Ismaili believers who have mostly been ostracised from the community and sometimes from their families.

Bridging Gaps

Harvard educated, one of the Aga Khan's primary goals is to bridge the gap between Islamic faith and western society. As one of the richest men on earth, he uses his wealth and influence to start humanitarian projects. The Aga Khan Development Network is a group of institutions concerned with education, health, economic development, and culture in Asia and Africa.

Video: Visit to Aga Khan Palace

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