About the People

In a nation of over 100 million people, the Greater Cairo Project is situated in the capital and largest city of Egypt (population over 22 million). While the Arab Egyptians of Cairo are quite open to foreigners, they are very resistant to change. The upper echelons (about 10 percent) of the population do speak English, but the heart language is Egyptian Arabic, with classic Arabic used in most writings, Cairene Sa’idi used in most other media and culture, and Bedawi spoken by a smaller percentage of the people. Learning to speak these languages is quite difficult.

The primary unreached people group of the region is the Arab Muslim (over 93 million people), with 15 million Copts and 350,000 Bedouin. Sunni Islam is the predominant religion of this people group; however, Coptic Orthodox Christians make up approximately 10 percent of the population. While there are Adventist churches among the Christian population, there are none among the Muslims. This people group remains unreached due to radical Islamic beliefs, prejudice, laws, a lack of Adventists moving to the region and inefficient past approaches.

Areas in what would become Cairo were first inhabited around 6,000 years ago. Today, Greater Cairo envelops the ancient cities of Heliopolis and Memphis, as well as the Giza pyramids. Juxtaposing history with modernity, Cairo is a regional center of commerce, finance and the arts, and the location of one of the oldest universities in the world, and indeed, the oldest in Egypt. Cairo is also home to many international organizations and those with regional headquarters.

About the Project

Three families are sought to study the local language and adapt to the local culture in preparation for church planting in Cairo.

People-Group Facts

• Population: 22 million people
• Language: Egyptian Arabic
• Religion: Primarily Islam (approximately 90 percent)