Who the Northern Kurd are
The Kurds are one of the largest peoples in the world without a country of their own, spread across Türkiye, Iraq, Iran and Syria. The Northern or Kurmanji-speaking Kurds are the largest of the Kurdish groups, and they have spent a century caught between states that have variously suppressed, displaced and fought them.
That history has produced something unusual: a widespread openness to questions about identity and faith, and a suspicion of religion used as an instrument of the state. Small Kurdish churches now exist in northern Iraq in a way they did not a generation ago, and Kurmanji Scripture and media keep expanding.
Signs of hope
Small but real Kurdish churches in northern Iraq, growing Kurmanji Scripture and media, and unusual openness to spiritual conversation.
The honest difficulty
Scripture is still incomplete in Kurmanji, the people are split across four states, and displacement and conflict are constant.
What "Frontier" means
Fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus, and there is no indigenous movement large enough to grow on its own. Most people in this group will never meet a Christian.
This describes access to the Gospel, not the worth of a people or the sincerity of anyone's faith.
How to pray for the Northern Kurd
Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.
- Pray for Kurdish believers in northern Iraq and across the diaspora.
- Ask God to speed the completion of Scripture in Kurmanji.
- Pray for a people who have been fought over for a century to find peace in Christ.
- Pray for Kurdish communities in Türkiye's south-east, where witness is scarcest.
Where the Northern Kurd live
Each nation profile carries church size, unreached peoples, what is going well, what is hard, and four prayer points.
Questions people ask about the Northern Kurd
Who are the Northern Kurd people?
The Northern Kurd (also called Kurmanji Kurd) are a people group of roughly 20 million, living mainly in Iran, Iraq, Türkiye. They speak Kurmanji Kurdish and are predominantly Islam (Sunni). A nation without a state, scattered across four countries, and newly open in a way it has not been before. Population figures for people groups vary considerably by source and by how a group is defined.
Are the Northern Kurd an unreached people group?
The Northern Kurd are classified as frontier. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus, and there is no indigenous movement large enough to grow on its own. Most people in this group will never meet a Christian. Scripture status: New Testament and growing portions in Kurmanji.
How can I pray for the Northern Kurd?
Pray for Kurdish believers in northern Iraq and across the diaspora. Ask God to speed the completion of Scripture in Kurmanji. Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.