The number of believers from the Muslim background is growing in Alexandria. Muslim fundamentalism seems, at present, to have lost its vitality and a number of people who were involved have begun looking for something else that will better meet their spiritual hunger.
In this harsh, sun-soaked, sand-moving country lives a people called the Saharawi. Of semi nomadic decent they are a Berber/Arab mix. Their Arabic inheritance can be traced back to the 15th Century when tribes migrated from Yemen across North Africa and settled in Western Sahara.
About 96% of the Libyan population is Muslim and 3% Christian. The majority of Christians in Libya are nominal Egyptian Copts. There are only a handful of Libyan Christians. Sunni Islam is the state religion; Christian witness to Libyans is strictly prohibited.
The Harari people inhabit mainly the cities of Harar and Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia. Some Harari are also scattered in several other main urban centres of Ethiopia as prominent traders and shop owners. They are devoutly Muslim, and there are few known believers among this largely unreached people group. The Harari people have had little opportunity to respond to the Gospel. There are few Christian resources available to them. The Jesus film and the Bible have not yet been produced in the Harari Adare language. Come and help!
The Saho people of Eritrea are a nomadic people, whose lives are built around their herds. Numbering only 180,000 people they compose only about five percent of the total population of Eritrea. Today, the Saho often tend other people's cattle, in exchange for grain. Many Saho children wear little leather pouches around their neck, which are supposed to ward off evil spirits. Honey has traditionally been an important part of the Saho diet and the people are also known as good beekeepers.
Darfur, in the desert region of western Sudan, has been the scene of much horrible torture, death, and destruction in the past few years. For centuries the settled farmers and nomadic herder tribes in the area coexisted peacefully.
The Lebou of Senegal perform various kinds of sacrifices to appease the spirits and bind themselves in covenants with them. Each Lebou is bound to a “rab” who accompanies him. The “rab” can be either good or bad, and can cause sickness, paralysis or folly.
(Also known as Ishilhayn, Southern Shilha or Souss Berbers)
Souss Population: 3 million | Muslim: 99.9%
Some History of the Souss in Morocco
The original inhabitants of North Africa are known to the western world as Berbers and those of south-central Morocco call themselves Ishilhayn. With a population of more than three million, the Ishilhayn are 99.9% Muslim [...]
Islam and secularism both shape the minds and values of most Tunisians. It is relatively easy to talk with Tunisians about the Gospel, though many do not show interest in spiritual things. Though direct persecution and arrests by the police are rare, many believers do live in fear of ostracism by their friends and families.
Some Kabyles started translation work and saw the emergence of Kabyle in writing. The first book ever written in the new Kabyle Berber script was the New Testament and the first film ever translated was the Jesus film. Worship tapes in Kabyle now exist. Soon the entire Bible in Kabyle will be printed. The Kabyles are bold people, willing to share their faith. Clearly, a revival is taking place.
