Gujjar (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 Gurjara clan appeared in northern India in about the fifth century AD. During the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent, many of the Gurjar Hindus converted to Islam. Gujjars are mainly concentrated in the Indo-Gangetic plains, the Himalayan region, and eastern parts of Afghanistan, but some are established in Pakistan. Gujjars have given their names to several places in Pakistan, including Gujranwala, Gujjar Nallah, Gujar Khan, Gojra and Gujarat.


What Are Their Lives Like?

We know very little about the Gujjar people. They are often mistaken for the Gujar, a group of herdsmen.


What Are Their Beliefs?

There are both Hindu and Sunni Muslim Gujjar people. The Sunnis 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?

Centuries of commitment to a religion that denies the deity of Jesus is not quickly overcome.


Prayer Points

There are few if any followers of Jesus among the Gujjar community, but pray for those who will soon be found.
Pray the Lord will send them qualified pastors and teachers.
Pray that Scripture will be easily available to them. Pray that the large Gujjar community in Pakistan, and in other countries, may be strongly drawn to the man Jesus.
May the Holy Spirit give them a hunger for truth and righteousness.


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


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Gujjar (Muslim traditions)
People Name in Country Gujjar (Muslim traditions)
Pronunciation GOO-jur
Alternate Names Bakarwal; Dodhi; Goor; Gujar; Gujri; Manhas; Mannas; गुज्जर
Population this Country 2,568,000
Population all Countries 3,712,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 51
PeopleID3 16879
ROP3 Code 112161
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)
Total States on file 5
Largest States
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
1,550,000
Azad Kashmir
822,000
Gilgit-Baltistan
154,000
Punjab
28,000
Islamabad
15,000
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)
Total States 5
  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 1,550,000
  Azad Kashmir 822,000
  Gilgit-Baltistan 154,000
  Punjab 28,000
  Islamabad 15,000
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.00 %
Christianity  (Evangelical Unknown)
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 (982,000 speakers)
Language Code hno   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 23
Secondary Languages
(only 15 largest shown)
Gujari
719,000
Pahari-Potwari
259,000
Pashto, Northern
174,000
Shina
61,000
Urdu
60,000
Balti
46,000
Gawri
39,000
Kashmiri
36,000
Hindko, Southern
33,000
Torwali
25,000
Khowar
18,000
Bateri
12,000
Shina, Kohistani
11,000
Kohistani, Indus
10,000
Punjabi, Western
10,000
Primary Language Hindko, Northern (982,000 speakers)
Language Code hno   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 23
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown)
  Gujari 719,000
  Pahari-Potwari 259,000
  Pashto, Northern 174,000
  Shina 61,000
  Urdu 60,000
  Balti 46,000
  Gawri 39,000
  Kashmiri 36,000
  Hindko, Southern 33,000
  Torwali 25,000
  Khowar 18,000
  Bateri 12,000
  Shina, Kohistani 11,000
  Kohistani, Indus 10,000
  Punjabi, Western 10,000
People Groups Speaking Hindko, Northern
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2024  Matt Brandon  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source People Group Location: Omid. Other geography / data: GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.


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