Arab, Southern Yemeni of Yemen

The Yemeni Arabs have had a close association with Islam throughout their history; and today, nearly all of the Yemeni Arab (both in the Republic of Yemen, and in the other nations), are Muslims. About half of them are Zaydis Muslims, 40% are Shafi’ites, and 5% are Ismailis. Social life is extremely important to Arabs. They like to share a daily coffee time by sitting on the floor and drinking coffee from cups without handles. Yemeni Arab society is tribal in structure with over 1,700 different tribes or clans. These various tribes are ruled by sheiks (Arab chiefs), who often fight with each other. There is little doubt that Islam has influenced their society. The Zaydis sect of Islam (part of the Shi’ite tradition) is quite fanatical in its form. Most of the Zaydis are warriors and perceive all wars to be a manifestation of Jihad (Muslim crusade against infidels; holy war). Like many Muslim countries, Muslims who profess faith in Jesus Christ can be put to death. Perhaps this explains why there are so few known Yemeni believers in Yemen at the present time. Evangelization efforts among them are challenging due to restrictions in many of the countries, and general antagonism to the Gospel.

Primary Religion: Islam

% Evangelical: 0.00%

Primary Language: Arabic, Taizzi-Adeni Spoken

Status:   Few, if any, known Evangelical, Profession Christian

Prayer Points:

• For God to call people to reach out and share the love of Christ with this people.
• For God to soften their traditional Muslim culture, creating open doors for the Gospel.
• For translation of the Bible to begin in this people group’s primary language

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