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

For many years Libya was often negatively associated with international terrorism and Islamic revolution by the world community. Under normal circumstances 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.

Flag of Libya

Prayer requests for Libya:

* Pray for those 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.

Map of Libya

Background on Libya (World Factbook)

After the death of Colonel Gaddafi (20 October, 2011) the country seeks ways to bring the various tribes and factions together to form a peaceful and prosperous nation. It is probable that elections will be held in mid-2012.

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: 6,597,960 (July 2011 est.) World Rank #101
Note: includes 166,510 non-nationals

Life Expectancy at Birth: 77.65 years. World Rank #58

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%

School Life Expectancy: 17 years

Tripoli - Libya - Video

Sights and Sounds around Libya.

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| · This article was written before the Libyan uprising against Muammar Qaddafi.

Rashid sits looking out over the Mediterranean. At his back is the Sahara Desert. His five children are playing happily while his wife tidies up the barbecue. Rashid is worried. He normally enjoys barbecues in the warm spring weather, talking with his friends, drinking mint tea and relaxing after a hard week.

This week was particularly difficult as a new law is requiring businesses like his to re-register, meaning hours in queues, and Rashid is unsure if he has correctly understood the new law. Progressive methods are new for his country, where corruption and favouritism have often meant the abundant oil wealth has not benefited the common people. A training trip to Europe had shocked Rashid -- the buildings and roads, indeed everything, seemed to be constantly repaired, not left to crumble as in his country.

Rightly Guided

But none of this is why Rashid is worried. The physical environment is not important -- what Allah wants will happen anyway. Rashid knows his name means Rightly Guided. He is proud to think of himself as one on the right path. Of course, one can never be sure with Allah, but Rashid is pretty confident that he is doing everything Allah wants: he prays, fasts, pays the tax, and at every opportunity he declares his faith in Allah. In a year or two he should be able to pay to go to Mecca.

His Guilt Trip

But as he thinks back to his trip to Europe, and in particular one of his European teachers, all this certainty is clouded. The teacher hadn’t lived as Rashid had expected, and he told Rashid in one of their many conversations over tea that he believed that God was not primarily interested in what we did but in our acceptance of what he had done through the Messiah! He seemed to be certain that he would live with God when he died! How could that be? He had suggested to Rashid that he watch an Arabic TV station. To be polite, Rashid had taken the details. Now at home he couldn’t stop thinking about it, and finally, late one night when no one would see him, he found the channel and guiltily watched a few minutes, terrified of being found out.

What Now?

Now Rashid has a bigger problem. The message attracts him, but for him it is all wrong. He has thought since childhood that Christians believe in three gods, that the original books of Jesus, Moses and David have been lost and/or changed by the Jews and Christians. How could this message, which they obviously take from the book, be the truth from God?

Flay of Libya

Map of Libya

Prayer Starters:

• For the government -- that wealth will be equitably distributed and the country better administered (Exodus 23:8, Deuteronomy 16:19).
• For travellers from Libya to meet real Christians who testify to their faith (Acts 8:26-39).
• For more believers to get jobs in Libya and have opportunities to proclaim the Messiah in word and deed.
• For Libyans to tune into radio, satellite TV and Internet programs. These effective media aids have helped many find faith. God is revealing himself!
• For the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to Libyans despite all their misconceptions.

(See the www.lovelibya.com site for more information.)

Listen to the Podcast - DAY 16 - Saved in Libya

Video: History of Libya (4:28)

Ancient Libya Rediscovered from Carmel Bruno on Vimeo.

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