Gajal, Gadzhal in Türkiye (Turkey)

People Name:	Gajal, Gadzhal
Country:	Türkiye (Turkey)
10/40 Window:	Yes
Population:	19,000
World Population:	19,000
Primary Language:	Turkish
Primary Religion:	Islam
Christian Adherents:	0.00 %
Evangelicals:	0.00 %
Scripture:	Complete Bible
Online Audio NT:	Yes
Jesus Film:	Yes
Audio Recordings:	Yes
People Cluster:	Turkish
Affinity Bloc:	Turkic Peoples
Progress Level:

Introduction / History

Gajal history is based on their ethnic values and their language and cultural uniqueness. Today they are a small ethnic minority in Turkey. They speak Turkish as their primary language.

What Are Their Lives Like?

There is very little information about their current activities.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The Gajal people are Sunni Muslims who believe that the supreme God, Allah, spoke through his prophet, Mohammed, and taught mankind how to live a righteous life through the Koran and the Hadith. To live a righteous life, you must utter the Shahada (a statement of faith), pray five times a day facing Mecca, fast from sunup to sundown during the month of Ramadan, give alms to the poor, and make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you have the means. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, slandering and making idols. They gather for corporate prayer on Friday afternoons at a mosque, their place of worship.

The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the monthly fast and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah.

Sunni religious practices are staid and simple. They believe that Allah has pre-determined our fates; they minimize free will.

In most of the Muslim world, people depend on the spirit world for their daily needs since they regard Allah as too distant. Allah may determine their eternal salvation, but the spirits determine how well we live in our daily lives. For that reason, they must appease the spirits. They often use charms and amulets to help them with spiritual forces.

What Are Their Needs?

Ministering to the Gajal people in Turkey may need to be improved because of language and cultural barriers. Additionally, potential resistance from the community to religious change is a significant Christ followers can provide social and educational support for the Gajal people. They can create space for open dialogue about faith. Bible studies in the local language help these Muslims to understand the Christian faith is not “foreign.”

Prayer Points

Pray for the authority of Christ to bind hindering spiritual forces to lead them from darkness to light.
Pray for signs and wonders among the Gajal people and for great breakthroughs with a rapid multiplication of disciples and house churches.
Pray for bold workers who are driven by the love of the Holy Spirit to go to them.
Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among them.