Day 10

The Zaza or Dimli are neither Turks nor Kurds. They live in eastern Turkey and have their own language, history and culture. Despite this, they have not been recognized as a separate people group.

Since coming into existence, the Republic of Turkey has tried to assimilate multiple people groups, so that researching a people's own history and culture - and that with their own identity - has been systematically banned. Therefore, the Zaza have become an unknown people, even thought there are approximately 3-5 million of them worldwide. Possibly have of this people group have either emigrated into the Western world or moved to the larger cities of Turkey.

The Zaza are divided into two groups by religious orientation: the Northern Zaza are followers of the Alevi branch of Shiite Islam, while the Southern Zaza, like the neighboring Kurds, belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. This religious division is mirrored by the ethnic-cultural realities of both groups and is emphasized by their dialects. the differences in vocabulary and grammar are so great, that the two groups have problems understanding each other.
The Zaza have an oral cultured, passing on their stories verbally from generation to generation.

We can Pray:
*Pray that God will help this people to discover the identity which He has planned from them.

*Pray for culturally appropriate means of proclaiming the gospel among the Zaza.

*Pray for the growth and strengthening of the few existing Christians and for new congregations.

*Pray for the existing work of Bible translation in the Southern Zaza dialect.

Information taken from 30 Days Muslim Prayer Focus, Frontiers Edition and Operation World