40 Days pray for the Muslim countries: 2 Tammuz, 5774 Please pray for the salvation of Syria and the protection of Christians in this country. Prayer for Syria: * Pray that there will be an awakening among the Alawites through the Spirit of God, so that they will search for the truth. * Pray for the Alawites to turn to Christ through the testimony of Christians and through evangelistic literature and radio and satellite TV programmes. * Pray for there to be a new freedom for the proclamation of the gospel, especially by foreigners, thus ending 45 years of prohibition. Background on Syria (World Factbook) Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic, but in September 1961 the two entities separated and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba’th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel, and over the past decade Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD in July 2000, Bashar al-ASAD was elected as president. Influenced by major uprisings that began elsewhere in the region, antigovernment protests broke out in the southern province of Da’ra in March 2011 and spread to other Syrian cities. Protesters called for the repeal of the restrictive Emergency Law allowing arrests without charge, the legalization of political parties, and the removal of corrupt local officials. The government responded with a mix of force and concessions, including the repeal of the Emergency Law. Unrest persists in 2013, and the death toll among Syrian Government forces, opposition forces, and civilians has topped 100,000. Economy of Syria The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution. Statistics on Syria Population: 22,457,336 (July 2013 est.) World rank #54 Life Expectancy at Birth: 75.14 years. World rank #97 Ethnic groups: Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% Religions: Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) Languages: Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood Literacy: 84.1% — Male: 90.3%, Female: 77.7% School Life Expectancy: 11 years
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 03:45:03 +0000
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