Loving Muslims Through Prayer | www.30-days.net » These tags are specific to the 30-Days Muslim prayer focus booklet http://www.30-days.net/muslims 107 Muslim countries, people groups and cities we pray for Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:07:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Muslims in Uranium-poor Niger http://www.30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/africa-west/niger/ http://www.30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/africa-west/niger/#comments Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:45:49 +0000 TDI http://www.30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/west-africa/niger/ karadje-niger-30-days-net| · 80% Muslim

Niger seeks answers after world drops it and its uranium.

"I remember it like yesterday", writes a missionary. "I was doing nothing more than taking a morning walk through millet fields, down a sandy path running along the banks of the Niger River. A Songhai man rushed out of his garden to meet me. After a decade of missionary work, this was the first time anyone had run to me, telling me of how Christ had spoken to his heart at dawn. I had given him an evangelistic cassette months before as a gift for allowing my daughter's school group to tour his garden and interview him for a project..."

The missionary goes on to lament, "Who would have thought he would have been one of the many seeds who sprouted but were eventually choked and forsook the Gospel."

Songhai believers

Songhai believers face incredible obstacles to live a life of faith since Islam is so prominent in Niger. This land-locked, sub-Saharan country of over 11 million people is four-fifths desert. Islam came to Niger by way of the empires of the Songhai, also Mali, Gao, Kanem, Bornu and Hausa states. Niger is frequently disrupted by extended droughts and locust infestations. Niger has the world's highest birth rate yet life expectancy is just 43 years and the literacy rate is an alarmingly low 17.6%.

Niger's capital

Niamey was just a few thousand people back in the 1940's and is now home to 675,000 people thanks to the uranium-funded boom of the 1970's, which since collapsed. Shops have pictures or paintings to explain what services or goods they carry. Most of the Christians in Niger live in Niamey which is now the capital.

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Flag of Niger

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Map of Niger

Notables:

* Niger made headlines as documents came out that Saddam Hussein had sought to buy uranium and subsequently build the bomb. The finger was pointed at Niger.
* Niger banned hunting to save its wildlife, including the lion, the giraffe and the hippopotamus.
* A ceremony freeing some 7,000 slaves was cancelled after the government claimed there was no slavery in Niger. That was in 2005.
* Famine hit hard in south Niger affecting at least 2.5 million in 2005. Late rains in 2006 will cause more problems for the coming years. The BBC reports that the President prayed for rain.

How can we pray for Niger?

* Intercede for Songhai believers and for those ministering to them. Pray they can remain strong in Christ and lead others to the Lord.

* Pray that we as missionaries would respond generously to physical needs with the wisdom of God, without creating dependence. Pray for jobs for believers and ways for them to support their families.

* Ask Him to bless us as we nurture and disciple believers.

* Radio is the most important outlet for news and information, owing to extraordinary low literacy levels. Pray that more Christian radio would be broadcast.

Background on Niger (World Factbook)

Niger is one of the hottest countries in the world. It is also rated as the world's poorest Muslim country. Some have called for Niger to become an Islamic Republic, but this has yet to be established. The government has funded several Muslim-oriented programs, such as a powerful Muslim radio ministry and an Islamic university in Niamey. The government has made three Muslim feasts as national holidays. The majority of Nigerian's are linked to the Tijaniya Sufi brotherhood, who believes its leaders are supernaturally gifted with mystical power. Ahmed al Tijani, an Algerian Berber, founded the Tijaniya brotherhood in 1781, essentially as a missionary order. It has spread in many areas of West Africa thanks in part to its relative simplicity and flexibility to modern life.

Economy of Niger

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last on the United Nations Development Fund index of human development. Nearly half of the government's budget is derived from foreign donor resources. Future growth may be sustained by exploitation of oil, gold, coal, and other mineral resources. Uranium prices have increased sharply in the last few years.

Statistics on Niger

Population: 16,468,886 (July 2011 est.) World Rank #62

Life expectancy at birth: 53.4 years. World Rank #203

Ethnic groups: Haoussa 55.4%, Djerma Sonrai 21%, Touareg 9.3%, Peuhl 8.5%, Kanouri Manga 4.7%, about 1,200 French expatriates

Religions: Muslim 80%, remainder indigenous beliefs and Christian

Languages: French (official), Hausa, Djerma

Literacy: 28.7% male:42.9% - female: 15.1%

School Life Expectancy: 5 years

Video: The Nomads of the Azawak

* Here is a video to give you an idea of the land and help you pray -

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]]> http://www.30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/africa-west/niger/feed/ 4 The Kanuri Muslims of Central Africa http://www.30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/central-africa/the-kanuri/ http://www.30-days.net/muslims/muslims-in/central-africa/the-kanuri/#comments Sat, 22 Jan 2011 23:07:30 +0000 TDI http://www.30-days.net/muslims/?p=585 Living in Nigeria, Niger and Chad

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Flad of Chad

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Flag of Niger

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Flag of Nigeria

muslim_women-30-days-netKanuri main tribes consist of the Yerwa Kanuri, the Manga Kanuri, and Kanembu Kanuri. The majority of the Kanuri live in northeastern Nigeria, where they are the dominant people group. Smaller numbers are also located across the borders in the surrounding countries of Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. This entire region was once ruled by the ancestors of the Kanuri. Aspects of Kanuri culture, language, and religion have been adopted by many of the neighbouring tribes. The Kanuri are tall and very dark in appearance, with a stately, dignified look. Many Kanuri speak Hausa and Arabic.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Most of the Kanuri are farmers; however, they usually practice some other occupation during the dry season. Those who farm raise millet as their staple crop, and supplement it with sorghum, corn, and peanuts. They raise sheep, goats, and some horses. Kanuri settlements vary in size; but most contain walled-in compounds surrounding several mud or grass houses with thatched, cone-shaped roofs. These houses are very cool during the hot months. Farmland surrounds each settlement. Kanuri men marry while they are in their early twenties. Polygamy is common and a man may have as many as four wives. Young girls marry while they are in their teens. Ideally, a man wants his first wife to be a young virgin. However, the bride price for a virgin is quite expensive, so men often take divorced women as their first wives. The divorce rate among the Kanuri is extremely high, with eight out of ten marriages ending in divorce.

What are their beliefs?

The Kanuri have been Muslims since the eleventh century (about 1,000 years). Many superstitions and animistic beliefs are still practiced in conjunction with Islam. Charms and amulets are worn around the neck or in pockets for various reasons.

What are their needs?

Some of the Kanuri tribes do not yet have a translation of the Bible in their native dialect; others tribes have only portions of the Bible. Among the nearly five million Kanuri, there are several hundred known believers.

Adapted from material at the Joshua Project online.

Prayer Starters

* Ask God to call more people to proclaim the love of Jesus among the Kanuri.

* Ask the Lord to raise up strong local churches among the Kanuri and increasingly use the small number of Kanuri believers to share the Gospel with others.

* Pray that God will raise up people to translate the Bible into each of the Kanuri dialects.

Testimony from Africa:

Aïcha was born into a family that was partially Christian and partially Muslim. Eventually, under the influence of her older brothers, Aïcha started practicing Islam. At 18 years of age she married a Muslim man and continued to practice Islam including the fast of Ramadan and daily prayer. After the birth of her daughter Aïcha had an amazing series of dreams. Various aspects of the first dream convinced her to stop doing her daily Islamic prayers. Her husband convoked her brothers and sisters to convince her to recommence her daily prayers, but she could not be convinced. In the second dream she saw a man in the sky. Others were fearful of this man and ran but Aïcha was drawn to him even while he was still in the air. Strangely she found herself having an experience similar to the one recorded in Luke 7:36-50. Afterwards within a short time Aïcha met several believers in Jesus. She has given herself completely to the Lord. She suffered a divorce and many difficulties but she has seen the faithfulness of God in her life.

The general coordinator of “30 Days” worldwide has personally met Aïcha.

Video: Lake Chad under threat [3:35]

Hear the Good News in the Kanuri language!

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