Group+3.3+Kurds+in+the+Arab+World

= Kurds in the Arab World = =Introduction= ====The Kurds are a community of people who do not have a definite homeland. The place they live is known as Kurdistan, “The land of the Kurds”, which is an unidentifiable region located in the countries of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, and Syria. Most Kurds live in small farming villages in the countryside of the countries they reside. The Kurds who live on lands that are mountainous have a culture lead in a tribal fashion. There are animal herders in the mountains at higher elevation than where farming is more suited for wheat. Kurds are known to be attuned to music, dance, and poetry. The music that is considered classical to Kurds is performed by storytellers, minstrels, and bards. Kurdish songs often have simple melodies with the use of roughly five notes.==== ====The Kurdish peoples have their own language that belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and a part of the Irano-Aryan group within that family. It has its own historical identity(Blau). The Kurdish language is broken into three dialects. The northern Kurdish people often use the dialect of “Kurmanji”. Another group, the peoples in north-east Iraq, uses a dialect of “Sorani”. The southern Kurdish dialect is called “Pehlewaní”. Smaller dialects also branch out from these primary three.====

Kurdish literature is often hard to date the origin of because the Kurds pre-Islamic periods are unknown.
====The Kurdish population is hard to quantify because the Kurdish people do not have their own homeland with boundaries and also are not easily spotted through a certain religion. It is estimated that there are 15.4 million Kurds in Turkey, 6.8 million in Iran, 4.3 million in Iraq, 1.3 million in Syria, 680,000 in Transcaucasia and 80,000 in Lebanon(Izady).==== ====The Kurdish peoples do not all follow the same religion. Christianity is present, yet they follow different denominations. The three Christian sects are the Jacobites, the Armenians, and the Nestorians(Driver). The largest number of Christian Kurds resides in the Nestorian sect. The most common religion for Kurds is Islam, and the Kurds are divided into the two sects of the Qizilbash and the Yazidi Kurds(Driver).====

Source Citations: BLAU, Joyce. Kurdish Language and Literature. Kurdish Institute of Paris. Retrieved from [] Izady, Mehrdad R. (1992), The Kurds: A Concise Handbook, Taylor & Francis, [|ISBN] [|0844817279]. “Kurds” Compton’s Encyclopedia http://www.optonline.com/comptons/ceo/02664_A.html G. R. Driver. (1922). The Religion of the Kurds. Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London Vol. 2, No. 2 pp. 197-213

Image Citation: Izady, Mehrdad R. (1992), The Kurds: A Concise Handbook, Taylor & Francis, [|ISBN] [|0844817279].

//Shannon Morehouse//
=Kurdistan= ====The Kurds are people of Indo-European origin who live mainly in the mountains and uplands where Turkey, Iraq and Iran meet in an area known as “Kurdistan.” Kurds speak an Indo-European language (akin to Persian) and throughout history, they have been divided as a people due to religious and political conflicts. They are also divided by class, regional and sectarian differences.====

Turkey
====Ethnic Kurds compose a significant portion of the population in Turkey. They live all over the country of Turkey, however most live to the east and southeast of the country, where they originated. Kurds are Turkey’s largest non-Turkish ethnic group and about half of all Kurds worldwide live in Turkey (Most of the rest live in adjacent areas of Iran, Iraq and Syria).==== ====During the 16th century the Ottoman and Persian Empires allowed the Kurdish tribes almost total autonomy for keeping the peace between the borders of the two empires. However, around the mid 19th century, governments decided to control the border themselves and bring previously independent tribes under direct control. The government’s main strategy for assimilating the Kurds has been through language suppression (The two main Kurdish dialects spoken in Turkey are: Kermanji and Zaza).==== ====In the 1930’s, the Turkish government aimed to forcibly assimilate and “Turkify” local Kurds. However, since 1984, Kurdish resistance movements included both peaceful political activities for civil rights and violent armed rebellion for a separate Kurdish state.====

Iraq
====The Iraqi Kurdistan region is an autonomous region of Iraq. The establishment of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq dates back to the March, 1970 autonomy agreement between the Kurdish opposition and the Iraq government. In 1991, an uprising of the Iraqi people against Saddam Hussein forced many Kurds to flee the country and become refugees in bordering regions of Iran and Turkey. Under legal terms, Kurds enjoy more national rights in Iraq than in any other home country, however the 1988 Halabja Massacre led by Sadam Hussein, killed thousands of innocent Kurds in Iraq.====

Iran
====“Iranian Kurdistan” is the unofficial name for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes Kurdistan Province, Kermanshah Province, Llam Province and parts of West Azerbaijan Province. Historically, Kurds of Iran have been both urban and rural, with as much as half the rural population practicing pastoral nomadism in different periods of history, however most of the rural Kurds retain a tribal form of social organization.====

Syria
====The majority of Kurds in Syria originally came from Turkey in the 1920’s, however the community of Kurds in Syria is small compared to those of Iraq, Iran and Turkey. Kurds in Syria are the largest ethnic minority in Syria making up 10% of the country’s population and most of them are Sunni Muslims.==== ====The Syrian government officially does not acknowledge the existence of Kurds in Syria, however according to the Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria, Kurds in Syria make up about 15-20% of the population. The Yazidi and Yarsan, Christian and Alawis Kurds face routine discrimination and harassment by the Syrian government. Between 1980 and1990, violent clashes of community members with authorities resulted in mass arrests and deaths in 1986 and 1992.====

//Jasmine Johnson//
=History Of Kurdistan= ==== ====

Kurdistan existed mostly through dynasties formed mostly throughout regions in Zagros, Azarbaijan, and parts of Armenia for most of the time between the 10th and 12th centuries.
====Growth of the Kurdish nation was impeded in the middle of the 12th century by the Turkish annexation of the region it occupied. Marco Polo made mention of the Kurds in documenting his travels, making a point to learn about the Kurdish people in an effort to enlighten his European contemporaries upon returning home.==== ====The earliest formal mention of the existance of Kurdistan in historical text was in the 12th century, by Armenian historian Matteos Urhayeci. For the larger portion of the Middle Ages, Kurdistan existed as a collection of semi-independent and independent states known as “emirates”. These emirates included (but weren’t limited to) Baban, Badinan, Badlis, Bakran, Bokhtan, Garmiyan Mukriyan and Soran.====

The Ottoman Empire
====Kurdistan was annexed by Sultan Selim I in 1514, and re-organized under the supervision of a historian of Kurdish descent named Idris. As a result of this annexation, Kurdistan was split into “sanjaks” (or districts), initially governed by local chiefs in a move of solidarity intended to avoid interfering with the heredity of power within the people region.==== ====After the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-29, Idris’ system was modified for the first time. The Kurds in the region had become increasingly affluent, and nationalistic; and as a result the governing Turks attempted to curb the Kurdish growth by replacing their “beys” (or chieftains) with Turkish figures. Bedirkhan Bey was the last to vacate his office, and was eventually deported to Crete. His children, who believed his title to be their birthright, are now thought of as integral to the Kurdish nationalist movement that began to develop in the following years.====

**20th Century Kurdistan** ====The Kurdish delegation at the San Francisco Peace Conference of 1945 proposed the consideration of a territory claimed by the Kurds to have existed between the Mediterranean shores of Adana and the Persian Gulf shores of Bushehr, this region would have included most of Zagros.An autonomous region of Iraq known as Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region was established in early 1970, stemming from an agreement between the Kurdish people and Iraqi government- the result of years of tumultous fighting.==== ====Kurds number around 8 million in both Iran and Iraq in the present day; and there are 2-3 million Kurds currently living in Syria. The most populus nation in terms of Kurds is currently Turkey; as there are approximately 20 million Kurds living there, or roughly 18% of the total population.==== //Kevin McGraw |// mcgrawk2@msu.edu

__ Academic Sources __
 * Yassin, Borhanedin, “A History of the Republic of Kurdistan” The International Journal of Kurdish Studies 11 Mar. 2011. ProQuest.
 * Houston, Christopher, “Imagining the Ottoman Empire and Kurdistan” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and Middle East 10 Mar. 2011. Muse.
 * W.L.E., “Iraqi Kurdistan: A Little Known Region” The World Today 10 Mar. 2011. JSTOR.
 * Edmonds, C.J., “Kurdish Nationalism" Journal of Contemporary History 11 Mar. 2011. JSTOR.

__Image Sources__
 * "Flag of Kurdistan.” Photo. Wikicommons.com. 14 Mar 2011. [|Flag of Iraqi Kurdistan]
 * "Photo73.jpg.” Photo. 2.bp.blogspot.com. 14 Mar 2011. [|Photo73.jpg]

=Contemporary Issues= ====Kurdish people have been fighting for their rights for some time throughout Kurdistan. Today is seems the Kurds are getting closer to receiving some human rights with elections coming up in June and the Turkish government seeming to want peace. In the run-up to the parliamentary elections the Kurdish political organizations have made proposals for autonomy and bilingualism in Turkey. In response to such demands the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has made sure to accommodate such demands while being extremely careful not to aggravate ethnic Turkish voters. So far the AKP has removed the state of emergency that has been in place for the past 15 years in all Kurdish areas. A Kurdish television channel has also been implemented, along with education opportunities through Kurdish language courses and new Kurdology departments in some of the universities. However these steps made to make the Kurds happy have not done so completely. The Democratic Society Congress (DTK), an organization of several pro-Kurdish groups, wants administrative autonomy within Turkey’s boarders. The DTK which has the support of the PKK envisions local administration, parliament, and a self defense force. The ethnic language Kurdish, becoming the second official language of Turkey is also included in the proposal. This proposal has brought about a lot of problems for the AKP which thinks the Turkish public is not ready for Kurdish autonomy. However with the Turkish government becoming more open to Kurdish rights, many Kurdish leaders and organization have made a further push for more political and cultural rights. But a looming distrust, mostly politically driven, dominates the relations between the AKP and the Kurdish groups. A solution to the Turkish Kurdish problem has yet to be found but the AKP continues to claim that they have created an open environment for the discussion of Kurdish rights to take place. Analysis say it is unlikely the AKP will consider autonomy for the Kurdish people, but the AKP may reconstruct election laws so that minority groups like the Kurds have better access to Parliament, and the use of ethnic languages. A new constitution is also being promised from the AKP but nothing has been said about how it will affect the Kurdish people in Turkey. All that has been said is that community leaders will be involved.====

//Jennifer Milner//
Source Citations: Salih, Mohammed A, “Turkey: Kurd Issue to the Fore Ahead of Elections.” Global Information Network [New York] 02 Mar. 2011. ProQuest. Arsu, Sebnem. “Step by step, Gulf between Tureky and Kurds narrows.” New York Times 10 Jan. 2011: A8 (L). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.

Image Citations: “PKK Flag.” Photo. Wikicommons.com. 4 Mar. 2011. 4 Mar 2011. “Supporters of Kurdish rebel group of the Kurdistan Workers Party.” Photo. Examiner.com. 1 Sep. 2009. 4 Mar. 2011.[]

Links for more information on Contemporary Issues: Kurdish Human Rights Projectwww.khrp.org Kurdistan Regional Government (select English is top right hand corner to view in English) www.krg.org Kurdistan Worker's Party PKK @http://burn.ucsd.edu/~ats/PKK/pkk.htm Kurdish Parliament in Exile @http://www.ariga.com/peacebiz/peacelnk/kurd.htm American Kurdish Information Network www.kurdistan.org US State Dept. Human Rights Report - Turkey @http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8358.htm Human Rights Watch Report - Kurdistan []