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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Talysh of Iran

The Talysh of Iran, numbering approximately 147,000 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Azerbaijan and can also be known as Talush, Talyshon, Talishi, Taleshi, Talyshi. They are an Indigenous people, in the Talysh people cluster of the Persian-Median affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia. They primarily speak Talysh.

Talysh in Azerbaijan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Withheld by request

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Iran
People Cluster: Talysh
Primary Language(s): Talysh (tly)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia
Population: 147,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024220

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Islam - Shia
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Shia Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Talysh
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Talysh Speakers

Media Resources in Talysh:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Talysh:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Talysh bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

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Next steps for the Talysh

The Talysh are Unengaged and Unreached, 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.

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

Next steps for the Talysh

The Talysh 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.

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

Next steps for the Talysh

The Talysh 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.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Talysh of Iran

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
readEphesians 2:8-9

Pray that the lost among them will receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith, not by works, and be created for good works.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, "the kingdom of God has come near to you."
readLuke 10:8-9

Pray that the lost will receive messengers of the gospel with joy, turn from their sins, and be healed.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
readRomans 10:12

Pray that as people from different backgrounds place their faith in Christ, they will be unified by their faith Him.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
read1 John 1:5

Pray that God will raise up believers who can share the gospel with people who don't know the good news of Jesus, that God is light and in him, there is no darkness at all.

Talysh (ROP3 - 109766) 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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