Monday 4th May

Day 11 Moors of Mauritania Pop: Approximately 2.6 million

After her morning prayers, Aminatou sweeps the entire house. Then she brews sweet minty tea as others wake to the sound of clinking glasses. After that, she gathers a bundle of laundry to wash by hand on the roof. Her work won’t stop until well after sunset.

About 40% of Moors in Mauritania are elite Arab-Berbers called the bidhan, meaning white.

The rest are like Aminatou: haratin or black Moors, many of whom were born as slaves.

Perched on the western edge of Africa, Mauritania has the highest rate of slavery in the world. The government formally abolished slavery in 1981 and made it a criminal offence in 2007. But without enforcement, the centuries-old practice persists.

Black Moors descended from enslaved Sub-Saharan tribes. As slaves adopted the language and culture of white Moors, a pernicious class system developed that intertwined the lives of black and white clans. To this day, the roles of slave and master are deeply engrained in the culture and perpetuated by society.

Hope from God’s Word:

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

A Vision for the People:

 Freedom: Pray that black Moors will be freed from physical and mental bondage and delivered from the spiritual yoke of Islam.

 Identity: Pray for black and white Moors to embrace the gospel message and find their true identities—not as slave or master, but as equals in Christ.

 Fruitfulness: Pray that Moors will become servants of God the Father and glorify Him by bearing much fruit for the Kingdom.

Tuesday 5th May

Day 12

The Gawamaa of Sudan Population: Approximately 1 million

The dry season is finally over. Abdu thanks God for the recent rains that soaked the ground. Soon plump blades of grass will dot the land with green and nourish his gaunt-looking cows. Abdu’s entire life has revolved around caring for his family’s cattle through seasons of heat and drought. Like other Gawamaa, his life is hard. But at least his days are largely peaceful. It wasn’t always so.

The Gawamaa used to be raiders. During the long civil war in Sudan, they raided villages and stole property. Even though his people no longer fight openly with other tribes, the scars of war are still raw. All it takes is one small offence to open old wounds.

Abdu’s young son has heard old men tell tales of battle. “I want to fight like they did,” the boy says. Abdu’s heart deflates when he hears this. He longs for his son to enjoy the simple pleasure of seeing the family’s cattle herd grow and to live in peace and security.

Hope from God’s Word:

“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” Isaiah 2:4

A Vision for the People:

 Healing: Pray for old wounds to heal between Sudanese tribes and for the Gawamaa to become agents of peace and reconciliation.

 Openness: Ask God to open doors for Christian professionals to help meet the medical and water needs of the Gawamaa while sharing the good news with them.

 Salvation: Pray for the Gawamaa to hear the gospel of peace and to dedicate their lives to following Jesus Christ.

Wednesday 6th May

Day 13 Najdi Arabs of Saudi Arabia Population: Approximately 12 million

As a young girl, Amira adored her older brothers. But as she got older, she often felt jealous of their freedoms. Like other Najdi Arab men, her brothers led active lives. But Amira and her sister often felt confined at home.

In spite of recent social changes, Amira’s brothers still have more rights than she does. In many ways, Saudi women are restricted from public life and dependent on male family members.

But society continues changing rapidly for women. Through new legislation, they’re receiving rights that were once denied them. They can now drive and more and more women are entering the workforce. They can also vote and they no longer need consent from male guardians to access higher education and healthcare.

Despite this progress, strict religious laws still govern the land. Saudi citizens are forbidden from possessing non-Islamic religious materials and it’s illegal for them to practise any religion other than Islam.

Hope from God’s Word:

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11–13

A Vision for the People:

 Future: Pray that young Najdi men and women will seek after the Lord God with all their hearts and find a future and a hope in the Saviour.

 Freedom: Pray for Najdis to have unhindered access to the truth of the gospel message and the chance to read God’s Word freely.

 Identity: Pray that women like Amira will discover their true identities as treasured daughters in the Kingdom of God.

Thursday 7th May

Day 14 The Mappila of India Population: Approximately 9 million

Rajab draws an Arabic letter on his grandson’s small chalkboard. He prompts the boy to pronounce it several times before erasing it and writing out the next letter. Rajab tells his grandson that a good Muslim must know how to read the Quran in Arabic, its original language.

Rajab’s people, the Mappila, have lived in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala for well over a thousand years. According to tradition, Arab merchants and spice traders brought Islam to Kerala and built South Asia’s first mosque there.

For centuries, the Mappila prospered in the spice trade. But in the fifteenth century Portuguese traders weakened their monopoly, and Mappila communities fell into poverty. Then in the early twentieth century, Muslim scholars from Egypt brought Islamic reform. They preached that prosperity would return if the Mappila lived according to the Quran.

Rajab is thankful for the ways this reform movement brought social change and success to his people. Today other Indian Muslims respect the Mappila as prosperous people and spiritual role models. But all the wealth and honour in the world still can’t assure Rajab that he’s been forgiven and saved for eternity.

Hope from God’s Word:

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9–10

A Vision for the People:

 Love: Pray for Mappila Muslims to know the depth of the love of God, who sent His Son to save us from our sins and give us life through Him.  Faith: Pray that Mappilas will be set free from Islam to find faith in Jesus Christ and worship the Father in spirit and truth.

 Honour: Pray for Mappilas to find their honour not in Islam, but in devotion to the Lord, love for His Word and joy in eternal salvation.

Friday 8th May

Day 15 Southern Pashtuns of Afghanistan Pop: Approximately 9 million

Gulalai’s name means beautiful. But she’s seen little beauty and much conflict in her forty-plus years. Her Southern Pashtun village is poor and her grandchildren are often sick from drinking contaminated water. With no health care, few people in the village live beyond the age of 50.

Still, Gulalai fills her home with music and poetry. She has memorised long poems about her people’s history, and she enjoys singing when she gathers for celebrations with other village women.

Gulalai’s people are said to love and hate with equal intensity. Pashtun men are proud and are known to take revenge on those who dishonour them. But they are also loyal toward their loved ones. The men in Gulalai’s family call themselves peacemakers and protectors of women, and they act as her guardians by accompanying her in public.

Outside the home, Gulalai wears the traditional full-length burka, a garment that can be a difficult to wear. But to women like her, it feels like a safe and comforting shield protecting her from threats to her honour.

Hope from God’s Word:

“Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Psalm 91:3–4

A Vision for the People:

 Protection: Pray for Pashtun women to know God as their mighty protector and pray they will find their honour in bearing the name of Jesus.

 Peace: Ask God to bring peace to Afghanistan’s unstable southern region where few ambassadors of Christ currently serve.

 Beauty: Pray for gospel transformation to reach every corner of Afghanistan so that Christ’s beautiful bride, the Church, will flourish in this war-torn land.

Saturday 9th May

Day 16 Eastern Bedouins of Egypt Population: Approximately 1.4 million

Salem looks out across the vast desert from the crowded cab of his cousin’s small pickup truck. For most of their journey, the highway is all theirs, except for the large air-conditioned buses that rumble by, filled with international tourists flocking to the white-sandy beaches along the Red Sea.

Salem and his cousins are nomadic shepherds and camel herders. They live on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, a sparsely populated desert where Africa and Asia connect. This vast wilderness is where the Israelites wandered for 40 years on their way to the Promised Land.

But in this space where some of history’s most dramatic events took place, Salem’s people feel forgotten and overlooked. Denied citizenship by the Egyptian government, the Eastern Bedouin are barred from owning land and have no access to schools, hospitals, or other public services. With few economic opportunities, they are among the poorest people in the country.

Young men like Salem and his cousins have little hope for their futures and consider turning to illegal income-generating activities like smuggling.

Hope from God’s Word:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:19

A Vision for the People:

 Citizenship: Pray for an end to government policies that marginalise Eastern Bedouins, and pray they will be granted rights as Egyptian citizens.

 Prosperity: Pray that Eastern Bedouins will embrace their inheritance as members of the household of God and find all their riches in Christ.

 Faith: Pray for a movement of faith in Christ that spreads among the Eastern Bedouins and reaches other Muslim people groups.