A large country the size of Western Europe, Kazakhstan is the world’s leading uranium producer and the economic leader of Central Asia. Soviet-era nuclear testing and toxic waste dumping plague the nation as well as elevating drug addiction levels and HIV/Aids rates. Islam had a resurgence after the Soviet era, but more legal restrictions are being imposed on all religious groups. Unregistered Protestant churches and their Believers suffer the most persecution. Political instability and infighting between the ruling party and opposition groups have been the mark of the last three years. The impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine has been felt hard in the neighboring nations, with many migrant workers in Russia losing jobs due to sanctions, and the rising cost of living impacting the poor.

Oman is listed in 47^th position in the World Watch Report 2023 by Open Doors for Christian persecution. The Sultan of Oman is Haitham bin Tariq Al. The standard of living improved dramatically due to the discovery of oil. Omanis highly respect their Sultan and have enjoyed peace and prosperity under his leadership. Morden technology has vastly changed the lifestyles of Omanis. Smartphones, the internet, and social media command a great deal of the time of young and older Omanis. Oman’s population has doubled in the past 25 years and around 50% of the population is under 16 years of age. Traditional family structures are also changing. The conservative and traditional nature of Oman’s Islamic society, combined with material comfort, results in much resistance to the Gospel.