The Arab culture was developed by tribes of nomads and villagers who lived in the Arabian Desert. It was from there that Arab migrations throughout the Middle East and northern Africa began, leading to the expansion of the Arab world. Today, the region is home to a number of different types of Arabs. Gulf Arabs (also known as Saudi Arabs) live primarily along southern edges of the Arabian Desert. They speak Arabiya, or, as it is more commonly known, Gulf Arabic. Gulf Arabic is the language of a fraction of Saudi Arabia's population, and most who speak this language live in the less inhabited and oil rich northeastern region. The various Arabic dialects are seldom mutually intelligible. However, there are cultural similarities. Most have tremendous oil wealth, which allows their people to travel and study abroad. For that reason, one can find Gulf-spoken Arabs at Swedish universities.
Gulf Arabic is the dialect spoken by Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula countries, especially Saudi Arabia.
Saudis tend to marry other Saudis. They like to eat Saudi food. Saudi male students tend to wear western clothes. Women dress in Islamic style. They try to maintain their Arabic culture as best they can.
Almost all Gulf Arabs in Sweden are Sunni Muslims. Sunni Islam is an integral part of their identity. Very few would dare to sway from what they have been taught all their lives.
Gulf Arabs in Sweden are in a place where there is freedom of religion, and they can hear and respond to the life-saving gospel. When they return to their place of birth, they will no longer have that freedom. If even a couple of them embraced the savior and shared his ways with their families and friends, it could make a difference. But they would take serious risks of being ostracized. To many Arabs, that's a fate worse than death.
Pray for spiritual hunger among Gulf Arabs in Sweden, leading them to seek and find Jesus as the only way to salvation and peace with God.
Pray that God will give Gulf Arabs in Sweden dreams and visions leading them to put their faith in Jesus Christ.
Pray for Swedes who love the Lord to make a point of sharing Jesus with Gulf Arabs.
Scripture Prayers for the Arab, Arabic Gulf Spoken in Sweden.
References
| Profile Source: Joshua Project |
