Southwest Asia
Awan
Population: 609,000
Language: Urdu
Religious Identity: 94% Muslim
The name Awan is of Arabic origin and means “assistant” or “helper.” The majority of Awans subscribe to the belief that they are the descendants of the fourth Caliph Ali. Not much further information is known about the Awan.
Chhimba
Population: 1,032,000
Language: Urdu
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The Chhimba are part of the larger Urdu Muslim people cluster. Urdu-speaking Muslims are not an ethnic group in the strictest sense, but are rather a collection of ethnic groups who have been widely dispersed geographically. Very little is known about the Chhimba specifically.
Kamboh
Population: 1,510,000
Language: Hindi
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The Kamboh of India are part of the larger Punjabi people cluster. The name Punjabi is used to describe both those who speak Punjabi and those who inhabit the Punjab region (in India and Pakistan). There are many different social classes and occupational sub-groups among the Punjabi, which makes it difficult to adequately describe their lifestyle. Modern Punjabi culture was largely shaped by the partitioning of India and Pakistan in 1947, an event which resulted in massive migrations which separated the Muslims from the Hindus and Sikhs.
Kunjra
Population: 1,627,000
Language: Urdu
Religious Identity: Muslim
The Kunjra are part of the larger Urdu Muslim people cluster. Urdu-speaking Muslims are not an ethnic group in the strictest sense, but are rather a collection of ethnic groups who have been widely dispersed geographically. Very little is known about the Kunjra specifically.
Makhmi
Population: 507,000
Language: Urdu
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The Makhmi are a Tibetan people living in Pakistan and India. They live in the northern mountainous regions of India and associate with many of the other peoples and groups located in the mountains of northern India. Very little information is known about the Makhmi people. However, since they speak Urdu as their heart language, there are some resources available to them. Prayer will be essential in reaching the Makhmi with the Gospel.
Mappila
Population: 9,539,000
Language: Malayalam
Religious Identity: 99.5% Shafiite Muslim
The Laccadive Mappilla live in the Lakshadweep Islands off the southwestern coast of India. The people of the islands migrated from the Kerala coast around the seventh century. They came as Hindus but later converted to Islam and they are thought to be the earliest Muslim community in India. The Laccadive Mappilla belong to the Shafiite School of the Sunni branch of Islam. Their religion has the typical characteristics of Islamic beliefs and practices, in addition to certain local features that have developed according to their particular way of life. Every child has to read the Qur’an completely in Arabic at least once, but the meaning is not explained to them.
Maraikayar
Population: 125,000
Language: Tamil
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The name Maraikayar is derived from the Tamil term for boat, because these peoplewere traditionally known for maritime trade along east Asia. The Maraikayar have a distinct culture and are traditionally very conservative.
Nikari
Population: 149,000
Language: Bengali
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The Nikari are part of the Bengali people cluster and likely live in or around the Indian state of West Bengal. Overall, very little is known about the Nikari people.
Pashtun
Population: 13,280,000
Language: Urdu
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
The Pashtun are a race of warriors who take pride in their ethnicity, bravery, and aggressiveness in battle. Said to be fierce in hatred and kind in friendship, the majority of Pashtun are Sunni Muslims.
Thulukkan
Population: 265,000
Language: Malayalam
Religious Identity: Muslim
The Thulukkan are a South Asian people who live mainly in India.
Seraiki
Population: 17,854,000
Language: Seraiki
Religious Identity: Muslim
A gentle and loving people, the Seraiki of Pakistan primarily occupy the southeastern part of the Punjab region. The several million people who make up this group constitute one of the largest ethnic blocks in all of Pakistan, and are one of the largest (if not the largest) unengaged people groups in the world.
Western Baluch
Population: 1,236,000
Language: Western Balochi
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The Western Baluch of Pakistan are part of a larger Baluch community of about 8 million people whose homeland sits on the borders of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
Baluch societies are organized into clans and tribes, and a male elder is the head at every level of this hierarchy. Prior to the coming of Islam, the Baluch were probably followers of Zoroastrianism, but today they are all Sunni Muslims. Their religious practices remain private, and there is no concept of a “state religion.” All forms of secular authority are separated from the spiritual authority held by religious leaders.
Kho
Population: 308,000
Language: Khowar
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
The Kho are the original speakers of the Khowar language. It is the language which Kho children learn from their parents and grandparents within the extended family and through which they receive their informal education in the customs, traditions, values and beliefs of Kho society. Khowar’s oral tradition is full of well-loved poems and songs, passed down from generation to generation and sung to the accompaniment of a variety of instruments, especially the sitar.
Kolai
Population: 402,000
Language: Kohistani Shina
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
Bordered by China to the north, Afghanistan to the northwest, and India to the east, Northern Pakistan is said to contain the most breathtaking sights in Pakistan. It is there, nestled between five of the world’s highest mountain peaks, that the Kolai people can be found. They are the original inhabitants of the area. Around 1000 A.D., the Islamic faith penetrated the region. Today, the vast majority of the people are Sunni Muslim, though traces of traditional, pre-Islamic beliefs still linger in a few areas.
Persian
Population: 162,000
Language: Western Farsi
Religious Identity: 100% Muslim
By definition, Persians (also known as Iranians) are an ethnic group classified primarily by language and secondly by location. The Persian language, called Farsi, is part of the Indo-Iranian language family and is the official language of Iran. Although the vast majority of Persians now live either in Iran or in one of the nearby Middle Eastern countries, small Persian communities can also be found in many other nations around the world, including Pakistan.
Wanetsi
Population: 124,000
Language: Waneci
Religious Identity: Muslim
The Wanetsi people are a Pathan group of Muslims in Pakistan. Waneci is a dialect of the Pashto language and is spoken only in Pakistan. Very little information is known about the Wanetsi of Pakistan, and since no Gospel material is available to them in their heart language, they must currently hear about Jesus through the trade languages of the larger groups that surround them.
Afshari
Population: 1,230,000
Language: South Azerbaijanii
Religious Identity: Shi'a Muslim
The Afshari are a people group that descends from the larger Azerbaijani people cluster. Generally, Azerbaijanis in Iran seem to have become a well-integrated minority and even hold high positions of authority. The majority of Azerbaijanis are Shi’a Muslims, though many would describe themselves as simply cultural Muslims.
Western Pushtun
Population: 130,000
Language: Western Panjabi
Religious Identity: Muslim
The Western Pushtun are part of the larger Pashtun people cluster, though not much else is known about them specifically.
Qizilbash
Population: 316,000
Language: Dari
Religious Identity: Muslim
Qizilbash, is Turkish for “Red Heads” and is a name given to a wide variety of extremist Shi’ite militant groups who helped found the Safavid Dynasty of Iran. Qizilbash in Afghanistan live in urban areas, such as Kabul, Herat or Qandahar, as well as in certain villages in Hazarajat. Not much is known about the daily lives of these people. There are few Gospel resources in their language and no known believers.
Brahui
Population: 80,000
Language: Brahui
Religious Identity: Sunni Muslim
The Brahui of Afghanistan are made up of a confederation of 29 tribes, and they live in an area known as Registan, or “land of sands,” which lies in southern Afghanistan near the border of Pakistan. Virtually all of the Brahui are Sunni Muslim.