Mali

Population• 90% of the

population are Muslim

• 5% of the population are Christian (with less than 1% evangelical)

• 5% follow indigenous religions

A landlocked state just under the Sahara desert it is one of the largest countries in Africa.

Mali History• The Mali empire prospered from the trans-Saharan trade route with wealth

coming from the trading with gold, salt and slaves. Djenne and Timbuktu became the main trading cities along this route.

• Following the establishment of sea trade routes the trans-Saharan route lost its importance and significance.

• By 1905 French colonial rule dominated this area of Africa with a large state known as French Sudan.

• In 1959 this formed the Sudanese Republic which then split to form Senegal and the Mali Federation which gained its independence in 1960.

• In March 1991 mass democracy rallies eventually resulted in a democratic constitution.

• In 2012 the Tuareg Berber people involved with the Libyan army returned to Mali bringing with them heavy weaponry and sought to establish an independent state in northern Mali. This rebellion was subsequently taken over by jihadists who imposed severe sharia law.

• This rebellion threatened to expand southwards and the French army was invited into the country to help put down the rebellion.

The French air force in operation over Mali

‘from here to Timbuktu!’• Any distant or outlandish place.• Oxford English Dictionary puts it,

‘the most distant place imaginable’.

A camel train approaching Timbuktu

Mount Hombori

Bamako is the capital city and has a population of nearly 2 million people.

• In an Islamic culture the conversion of a young man to Christianity will mean that he faces great difficulty. The conversion of a young woman means that she will face even greater difficulty. A young Christian man will be rejected by his family but may be able to work: this will not be true for a converted woman.

• For this reason there are very few converted women in Mali and this creates a real difficulty for Christian men.

The Great Mosque of Djenne overlooks the main market. It is one of the largest mud brick buildings in the world.

Prayer POINTs• Mali is still a pioneer missionary country with the northern areas being

very hazardous for mission. • Pray for dedicated missionaries willing to take the gospel to

unevangelized areas. • Pray for Malian Christian students to have God’s spirit of wisdom and

discernment in relating to their Muslim friends and classmates.• Pray for the reconstruction and reconciliation in the north as the Church

in Mali strives to rebuild after the 2012 crisis.• Pray for young Christians under great pressure to return to Islam.• Pray for the spread of good Christian literature in Mali.• Pray for the conversion of young women in Mali.• Pray for the Bible Institute in Gao, run by the Evangelical Baptist Mission.