Seventh-day Adventists tend to be keen observers of major world events because we know that prayer can change situations and, more important, lives. We are frequently known to pray for those living in global hotspots. Iran, with its more than 92 million people, is such a place at the moment. But we don’t always know who we are praying for. The following may provide a bit more insight into Iran and the people who need our prayers.
Iran is home to a range of ethnic groups and languages. These communities are generally viewed as part of a shared national identity. Persian functions as the primary language of communication across the country. The majority of the population belongs to people groups such as Persians and Kurds, alongside groups such as Lurs, Mazandaranis, Gilaks, and Baloch. Turkic peoples account for another significant portion, with Azerbaijanis forming the largest group, along with Turkmen, Qashqai, and others. Smaller populations—about 1–2 percent each—include Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, Jews, Georgians, Circassians, and Mandaeans.
Most Iranians are Shia Muslims, particularly among Persians, Gilakis, Mazandaranis, and Lurs. Sunni Muslims are more prevalent among Turkmen and Baloch, while Kurds and Larestanis are divided more evenly between the two. Smaller communities follow Zoroastrianism or Christianity, especially among Armenians and Assyrians.
There is currently no official Seventh-day Adventist presence in Iran. At present, ADRA is responding to the displacement in South Lebanon, which is directly related to the ongoing conflict. To learn more about the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iran, click here.
Let us keep praying for the Iranian people and all those caught up in this current crisis and faced with very difficult times ahead.
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iran_-_languages_and_religions.jpg (Image cropped) | CIA world factbook and Jean Sellier’s, Anne Le Fur’s, Bertrand Le Brun’s Atlas des Peuples d’Asie (chap. “Iran”), La Découverte publ., Paris 2008, ISBN-978-2-7071-5425-5.
