The Gurjara clan appeared in northern India in about the fifth century AD. During the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent, many of the Gurjar Hindus converted to Islam. Gujjars are mainly concentrated in the Indo-Gangetic plains, the Himalayan region, and eastern parts of Afghanistan, but some are established in Pakistan. Gujjars have given their names to several places in Pakistan, including Gujranwala, Gujjar Nallah, Gujar Khan, Gojra and Gujarat.
We know very little about the Gujjar people. They are often mistaken for the Gujar, a group of herdsmen.
There are both Hindu and Sunni Muslim Gujjar people. The Sunnis 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.
Centuries of commitment to a religion that denies the deity of Jesus is not quickly overcome.
There are few if any followers of Jesus among the Gujjar community, but pray for those who will soon be found.
Pray the Lord will send them qualified pastors and teachers.
Pray that Scripture will be easily available to them. Pray that the large Gujjar community in Pakistan, and in other countries, may be strongly drawn to the man Jesus.
May the Holy Spirit give them a hunger for truth and righteousness.
Scripture Prayers for the Gujjar (Muslim traditions) in Pakistan.
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
Global Prayer Digest: 2007-11-04 |
Global Prayer Digest: 2013-11-09 |
Global Prayer Digest: 2015-10-12 |
Global Prayer Digest: 2019-07-29 |
People Name General | Gujjar (Muslim traditions) |
People Name in Country | Gujjar (Muslim traditions) |
Pronunciation |
GOO-jur
|
Population this Country | 2,484,000 |
Population all Countries | 3,683,000 |
Total Countries | 2 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | Yes |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 50 |
Alternate Names | Bakarwal; Dodhi; Goor; Gujar; Gujri; Manhas; Mannas; गुज्जर |
People ID | 16879 |
ROP3 Code | 112161 |
Country | Pakistan | ||||||
Region | Asia, South | ||||||
Continent | Asia | ||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||||||
National Bible Society | Website | ||||||
Persecution Rank | 7 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||||||
Total States on file | 5 | ||||||
Largest States |
|
Country | Pakistan |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 7 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 5 |
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,459,000 | |
Azad Kashmir 774,000 | |
Gilgit-Baltistan 145,000 | |
Punjab 26,000 | |
Islamabad 14,000 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Islam |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
0.00 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
0.00 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
0.00 %
|
Islam |
100.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest Pakistan census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Hindko, Northern (982,000 speakers) | |||||||||||||||
Language Code | hno Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||||||||
Total Languages | 23 | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) |
|
Primary Language | Hindko, Northern (982,000 speakers) |
Language Code | hno Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 23 |
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) | |
Gujari 719,000 | |
Pahari-Potwari 259,000 | |
Pashto, Northern 174,000 | |
Shina 61,000 | |
Urdu 60,000 | |
Balti 46,000 | |
Gawri 39,000 | |
Kashmiri 36,000 | |
Hindko, Southern 33,000 | |
Torwali 25,000 | |
Khowar 18,000 | |
Bateri 12,000 | |
Shina, Kohistani 11,000 | |
Kohistani, Indus 10,000 | |
Punjabi, Western 10,000 | |
People Groups | Speaking Hindko, Northern |
Primary Language: Hindko, Northern
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1929-2019) |
Bible-New Testament | No |
Bible-Complete | No |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name | Source |
---|---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching | Global Recordings Network |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | Indigitube.tv Video / Animation | Create International |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Hindko, Northern | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | World Christian Videos | World Christian Videos |
General | Bible for Children | Bible for Children |
General | Biblical answers to your questions | Got Questions Ministry |
General | Gospel resources links | Scripture Earth |
Photo Source | Copyrighted © 2023 Matt Brandon All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source | People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project |
Profile Source | Joshua Project |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Read more |