They’ve been called “the people without a friend.” The Kurds of Northern Iraq have been marginalized, targeted, and rejected for centuries. Listen as bestselling author Stephen Mansfield shares how God has redeemed and restored this people from the brink of death.

Stephen first explains why he wrote the book, . “The Kurds began to pour into Nashville after the first Gulf War. In those relationships I began to understand who the Kurds were – I had never been exposed to their biblical history, their character… these people deserve to be known.”

Stephen shares

• The Kurdish practice of hospitality

“I was touched by how gracious and forgiving they were, and how much they loved democracy and Israel. They reached into my heart. They are known internationally as a people without a friend – in fact their motto is ‘We have no friends but the mountains.'”

• The ancestry

Stephen points out that the modern Kurds are descended from the Medes.

“They have a heritage that is rooted in the law. They’ve evolved with less extremist orientation on Islam – there are women on their Supreme Court. This is a very unusual people – pro-democracy, pro-Israel, pro-West – right here in the Middle East.”

• The miracle of the rebuilding

Stephen says this formerly-marginalized country has been targeted but is now protected.

“Saddam [Hussein] tried to wipe these people off the earth, and with assistance from Western jets, they took their affairs in hand and prospered.”

Skyscrapers and five-star hotels rose where there had been chemical warfare and oppression.

“The Kurds were able to do better because we [America and the West] were protecting them; they were already thriving when Saddam was captured. The Kurds really are pointing the way of progress in the Middle East.”

• How to pray for this people group

Pray that they would know the One True God and His Son Jesus. Pray that they would rise up, partner with Israel, and defeat ISIS.

Key Scriptures: Proverbs 16:7; Psalm 62:7

Featured Songs: Jesus Loves Me by Chris Tomlin; You’re the Water, You’re the Shore by Selah; We Must Not by Selah

Highlight : How Saddam lost

The miracle of the Kurds

This program has been previously aired.