Bhatia (Muslim traditions) in India
Photo Source:
Frontiers
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Map Source:
People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project
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| People Name: | Bhatia (Muslim traditions) |
| Country: | India |
| 10/40 Window: | Yes |
| Population: | 4,000 |
| World Population: | 4,000 |
| Primary Language: | Gujarati |
| Primary Religion: | Islam |
| Christian Adherents: | 0.00 % |
| Evangelicals: | 0.00 % |
| Scripture: | Complete Bible |
| Ministry Resources: | Yes |
| Jesus Film: | Yes |
| Audio Recordings: | Yes |
| People Cluster: | South Asia Muslim - other |
| Affinity Bloc: | South Asian Peoples |
| Progress Level: |
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Introduction / History
At one time the Bhatia caste members were simple farmers. They are ambitious, and this ambition led them upward. For hundreds of years the Bhatia have been a trading community, putting them in the Vaishya category. Such communities have often had wealth but low status. They have at least 10 subgroups.
They live in northwestern India and Pakistan.
What Are Their Lives Like?
Most of their trading activities involve crafts. They are also skilled craftsmen.
What Are Their Beliefs?
Some Bhatia 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?
Like all other peoples of the world, this people group needs the blessings and guidance that only Jesus Christ can offer.
Prayer Points
Ask God to raise up Muslim Bhatia who are more desirous to know the truth than to stay on the broad road to death.
Ask God to send loving, committed workers to the Bhatia in the near future.
Pray the Bhatia would no longer be hidden away from the influence of Christ.