Unengaged Muslim People Group Profiles

Frontiers has identified 50 people groups ranging in population of 100,000 to nearly 18 million that have no believers in Jesus living among them long-term, sharing the Good News in their language. These people groups desperately need the light of Christ to shine among them. Most of them reside in three major regions of the world. Take some time to explore the interactive map below and learn about the unengaged Muslim people groups to which the Lord is calling Frontiers to serve. Then join us in prayer.

Afshari

• Population: 1,230,000
• Language: South Azerbaijani

The Afshari are descendants from the larger Azerbaijani people cluster that occupies a wide area from the Caucasus to ... read more »

Qizilbash

• Population: 316,000
• Language: Dari

The name Qizilbash, which is Turkish for "Red Heads," is given to a wide variety of extremist Shi'ite militant groups who helped found ... read more »

Baluch

• Population: 421,000
• Language: Western Balochi

The Baluch people of Afghanistan (part of a subgroup known as Western Baluch) are part of a much larger Baluch ethnic group numbering nearly nine million. They are primarily concentrated ... read more »

Seraiki

• Population: 17,854,000
• Language: Seraiki

A gentle and loving people, the Seraiki primarily occupy the southeastern part of the Punjab region. The several million people who make up this group constitute one of ... read more »

Western Baluch

• Population: 1,261,000
• Language: Western Balochi

The 1.2 million Western Baluch are part of a larger Baluch community of nearly 9 million people whose homeland straddles the ... read more »

Kho

• Population: 314,000
• Language: Khowar

Most of the Kho make their home most live in upper valleys, where farming is very difficult due to the dry, rugged mountain terrain. ... read more »

Kolai

• Population: 410 000
• Language: Kohistani Shina

While the Kho live in the northwestern part of the province, the Kolai are found further to the southeast. ... read more »

Persian

• Population: 165,000
• Language: Western Farsi

Although the vast majority of Persians now live either in Iran or in nearby Middle Eastern countries, small Persian communities can also be found in many other nations around the world ... read more »

Wanetsi

• Population: 126,000
• Language: Waneci

The Wanetsi are closely related to the Pashto, the majority people ... read more »

Awan

• Population: 618,000
• Language: Urdu

The majority of Awans claim that they are descendants of Qutb Shah, a general in the army of ... read more »

Kunjra

• Population: 1,601,000
• Language: Urdu

The Kunjra of India are one of several unengaged people groups in the east Indian state of Bihar, a state with 15 million Muslims and no one working long-term to reach any of them. According ... read more »

Makhmi

• Population: 499,000
• Language: Urdu

The Makhmi are a Tibetan people who number nearly 500,000. Though scattered, many live in or around ... read more »

Mappila

• Population: 9,635,000
• Language: Malayalam

Arab traders brought Islam to the Mappila during the time of Muhammad ... read more »

Bhatia

• Population: 189,000
• Language: Sindhi

Though most of the Muslim Sindhis live in Pakistan, some ... read more »

Jhojha

• Population: 174,000
• Language: Urdu

The Jhojha live near the Bhatiara and Bhatia peoples. This people group is mostly concentrated in ... read more »

Mahur

• Population: 241,000
• Language: Magahi

The Mahur people are a Bengali people group who are found mostly in southern Bihar, not far from the state of West Bengal. ... read more »

Shaikh (Marathi)

• Population: 2,405,000
• Language: Marathi

Though the majority of the Marathi people practice Hinduism, there is a significant Muslim minority numbering ... read more »

Shaikh (Gujarati)

• Population: 1,048,000
• Language: Gujarati

Those who speak Gujarati and have ancestral origins in the Indian state of Gujarat are known as Gujaratis. Today, most of them still live in Gujarat, though a significant number can be found in other ... read more »

Shaikh (Maithili)

• Population: 766,000
• Language: Maithili

The Maithili Shaikh live in India’s Bihar state, along with the Kunjra and Mahur peoples. While the Kunjra live in the far eastern part of the state, the Maithili live in the north, not far from ... read more »

Shaikh (Bengali)

• Population: 444,000
• Language: Bengali

The Bengali Shaikh live in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, which borders the country of Bangladesh and whose capital city is Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). William Carey first attempted ... read more »

Rawther

• Population: 267,000
• Language: Urdu

The Rawther live in Rajasthan, India’s largest state, which lies in the western portion of the country and borders Pakistan. The majority of the state’s land area lies in the Thar Desert, also ... read more »

Bhatiara

• Population: 265,000
• Language: Urdu

The Bhatiara, Bhatia, and Jhojha people all live somewhat near each other in the north central region ... read more »