The Middle-Eastern Turkoman of Syria

The Middle-Eastern Turkoman of Syria, numbering approximately 126,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are described as a western Turkic people who played a significant role in the history of Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe and can also be known as Turkmen. They are an Diaspora people, with Turkmen (Iraq) as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Turkic people cluster of the Turkic Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Turkish.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Turkoman, Middle-Eastern

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Turkic Peoples
Country: Syria
People Cluster: Turkic
Primary Language(s): Turkish (tur)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 126,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012202
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Middle-Eastern Turkoman of Syria

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Turkish
Language Family: Turkic

100%
%
Turkish Speakers

Bible Resources in Turkish:

Or check out the Turkish bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Explore Lostness and Next Steps

Unengaged and Unreached

Strategic Priority Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached (SPI: 0), which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.
Lostness Priority Index (LPI): Frontier Unreached People Group, (LPI: 0), < 0.1% Evangelical.
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity (GSEC: 1), this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years

Next steps for the Middle-Eastern Turkoman:
Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Middle-Eastern Turkoman are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Middle-Eastern Turkoman:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

SPI: No longer Unreached

The Middle-Eastern Turkoman are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Next steps for the Middle-Eastern Turkoman:
Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Middle-Eastern Turkoman of Syria

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven"
readMatthew 9:14

Pray that those who are spiritually dead will recognize their need for spiritual nourishment and turn to the One who offers true fulfillment.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
readJohn 3:14-15

Pray that the lost will look to Jesus lifted up on the cross and believe in Him, gaining eternal life with God.

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
readPsalm 105:4

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and may feel weak in their current circumstances, they will seek the Lord's presence and persevere in the Lord's strength.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
readJeremiah 29:7

Pray that God will lead the lost among them to followers of Jesus who will share the gospel with them so that they may believe and take the message of hope to their families and friends.

Turkmen, Iraqi Across Countries (ROP3 - 118355) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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