People profile

  • The Saidi Arab people live in Upper Egypt bordering Sudan. They are a simple and sincere people - mostly following Sunni Islam. A sizable percentage are Coptic Christians with ancient Christian traditions.
  • “In Upper Egypt, shame can be worse than death,” says an Egyptian man describing the culture of revenge killing that often characterizes family feuds in Upper Egypt.
  • 80% of Egypt’s severe poverty is concentrated in Upper Egypt and many Saidi’s live in extreme poverty, earning less than $2/day

Strategic prayer

  • With almost 5% evangelical believers, the Coptic Christians in Upper Egypt is very strategic. They form the largest Christian population in the Middle East.
  • Christians are often mistreated and sometimes experience violent persecution from their Muslim neighbors. The 21 men kidnapped and beheaded by ISIS on the seashore in Libya in 2015 were Coptic Christians from Upper Egypt.

  • Pray that God will break the honor/shame dynamic that permeates all aspects of their lives, by the liberty that the Gospel brings.

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