Kashmiri (Muslim traditions) in Pakistan


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.

Introduction / History

The Kashmiris live in Kashmir, a breathtaking region that is located in the western Himalayan Mountains of northwestern India and northeastern Pakistan. Unfortunately, this is a highly disputed area. It has been a battleground between India, Pakistan, and China since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, so all three countries control part of Kashmir, and sporadic fighting continues among the three. More than ninety percent of Kashmir is mountainous. Most of the region is under snow and glaciers all year due to its extreme elevation.


What Are Their Lives Like?

Most of the Kashmiris are farmers or livestock herders. They suffer from natural disasters like earthquakes and avalanches.


Kashmir lies in a remote part of the world that is often a war zone.
What Are Their Beliefs?

The Kashmiri people are Sunni Muslims who 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.


What Are Their Needs?

Kashmiris need peace so their economy can thrive. There have been times when their cool mountain homeland has drawn tourists and tourist cash. This would greatly help them economically.


Prayer Points

There are no known followers of Christ among Kashmiris in Pakistan. Pray for the few believers among Kashmiris in India to reach out to them. Pray for a just and lasting peace in Kashmir.
Pray the the ordeals they have faced will give Kashmiris a desire to cling to the Lord Almighty.
Pray for workers to go to the Kashmiris and begin a disciple-making movement.
Pray for Kashmiri society to be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit.


Scripture Prayers for the Kashmiri (Muslim traditions) in Pakistan.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

The Waiting World - The Kashmiri

Source:  The Waiting World      Download

People Name General Kashmiri (Muslim traditions)
People Name in Country Kashmiri (Muslim traditions)
Pronunciation kash-MEER-ee
Alternate Names Kashmiri-Punjabi; Keshur; Khoja; Mansoori; Mansoori Muslim; Shia Imami Ismaili; कश्मीरी (मुस्लिम ट्रेडिशन्स)
Population this Country 1,335,000
Population all Countries 8,891,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 27
PeopleID3 12558
ROP3 Code 104709
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)
Location in Country Jammu and Kashmir, south of Shina.   Source:  www.ethnologue.com
Total States on file 7
Largest States
Azad Kashmir
509,000
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
343,000
Punjab
209,000
Gilgit-Baltistan
193,000
Sindh
73,000
Islamabad
7,100
Balochistan
700
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)
Location in Country Jammu and Kashmir, south of Shina..   Source:  www.ethnologue.com
Total States 7
  Azad Kashmir 509,000
  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 343,000
  Punjab 209,000
  Gilgit-Baltistan 193,000
  Sindh 73,000
  Islamabad 7,100
  Balochistan 700
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
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 (320,000 speakers)
Language Code hno   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 24
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Pahari-Potwari
272,000
Kashmiri
265,000
Urdu
143,000
Shina
97,000
Pashto, Northern
70,000
Khowar
47,000
Hindko, Southern
28,000
Balti
27,000
Pashto, Central
12,000
Gujari
11,000
Shina, Kohistani
5,600
Punjabi, Western
4,900
Bateri
4,200
Burushaski
3,700
Kohistani, Indus
1,200
Primary Language Hindko, Northern (320,000 speakers)
Language Code hno   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 24
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Pahari-Potwari 272,000
  Kashmiri 265,000
  Urdu 143,000
  Shina 97,000
  Pashto, Northern 70,000
  Khowar 47,000
  Hindko, Southern 28,000
  Balti 27,000
  Pashto, Central 12,000
  Gujari 11,000
  Shina, Kohistani 5,600
  Punjabi, Western 4,900
  Bateri 4,200
  Burushaski 3,700
  Kohistani, Indus 1,200
People Groups Speaking Hindko, Northern
Photo Source Muaz Asim - Wikimedia  Creative Commons 
Map Source People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Video Source The Waiting World
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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