Main YWAM Page, or to YWAM Communications, or to Main News Digest PageA MUSLIM COMMUNITY being forced from what they claim is the Garden of Eden are the focus of worldwide prayer, next month.
Organizers of the 30 Days Muslim Prayer Focus are calling on Christians around the world to join forces on January 7 to pray for urgent action to prevent the wiping out of "an ancient people and a unique eco-system".
The appeal is going out on behalf of the Marsh Arabs who live between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in a 30,000-square kilometer natural wilderness of marshes, islands, lagoons and reed beds.
The labyrinths of waterways - teeming with thousands of species of birds, fish and animals - is under threat from a massive water-diversion program that has seen more than half the marshlands lost since 1972, according to the prayer guide for the seventh annual prayer campaign.
"Environmental destruction threatens the Marsh Arabs' existence. Large amounts of toxic chemicals and poisons have been dumped into the marshes to kill the fish, which are the main part of the people's diet. Napalm bombing has burned large areas of vegetation," says the report.
A United Nations report calls the water-diversion project "the environmental crime of the century", adds the guide. "Since 1991 several thousand people have been killed and tens of thousands made homeless."
The 200,000 Marsh Arabs are one of more than 20 Muslim communities around the world highlighted for prayer during the 30 Days event, which runs from December 20 to January 18 alongside the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
As many as ten million Christians are expected to take part in the event, for which daily prayer guides have been produced in more than 25 languages. E-mail and children's editions are available, too.
The 30 Days event was begun in 1992 by Youth With A Mission, to recruit prayer for the Muslim world. Now an independent ministry, the annual prayer month is supported by a wide range of mission agencies, denominations and churches.
Descended from the Sumerians and Babylonians, Iraq's Marsh Arabs are believed to be among the oldest people group in the world. Protected by the wildness of their homelands - where they live in floating islands, farming and fishing - they have maintained their separate culture and ancient traditions. These include a belief that the region they inhabit is the Garden of Eden.
Shiite Muslims, "there is currently no known outreach among them, and no known Christians," says the prayer guide. "The international community, including the Body of Christ, must act immediately before an ancient people and a unique eco-system are wiped out forever."
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