“Here in the church, it began when a Kurdish footballer got saved. He joyfully and passionately passed on the message of Jesus to his family and friends. Through him, a friend, his sister, his girlfriend, his cousin and another colleague came to Jesus.”
The metropolitan area of Basel is home to 1.3 million people and extends across the three countries of Switzerland, France and Germany. The “Biovalley” on the Rhine owes its economic strength to the chemical and pharmaceutical sector and to medical, nano and biotechnology. This life science industry attracts many foreigners to the Swiss city.
About 10{1ef34f8f1cacfdc6c19f5319e487deec2393c82eacea09a13da7feed1a24e305} of Basel’s population are Muslims. Many came first as guest workers and later as asylum seekers. Two-thirds of them are from Turkey. Most of the 8,000 Turks and 10,000 Kurds who live in the Swiss city of Basel are officially defined as Muslims, but are deeply disappointed by the situation in their homelands. They had to leave their countries (Iraq, Syria, Turkey) for political and economic reasons.
To build relationships and trust, believers have long offered German lessons and children’s clubs in some of the migrant neighbourhoods in the city and the outlying districts. After decades of prayer, the positive reactions of second-generation Kurds are now very encouraging for the communities in the region.
How to Pray
- Pray that God would reveal Himself to many Muslims in Basel and through them will reach their circles of friends. (Acts 2:40-42)
- Pray that Swiss and migrant believers would live together in unity and live out a powerful witness for Muslims in migrant neighborhoods. (Psalm 133:1)
- Pray for the challenges that immigrant Muslim families face in Basel from moving to a very different culture and raising children who grow up in that culture. (Psalm 20:1-5)
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