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"Kurd" redirects here. For settlements in Azerbaijan, see Kürd.
Kurds
Saladin • Ahmad Xani • Jalal Talabani • Feleknas Uca
Total population
19 to 37 million
Regions with significant populations
   Turkey11.4 to 14.4 million[1][2][3]
   Iran4.8 to 6.6 million[4]
   Iraq4 to 6 million[5]
   Syria0.6 to 2 million[6]
   Afghanistan200,000[7]
   Azerbaijan150,000[7]
   Israel100,000[8]
   Lebanon80,000[7]
   Georgia20,800
60,000[9]
[7]
   Kazakhstan46,000[10]
   Armenia45,000[7]
   Turkmenistan40,000[7]
   Germany500,000[7] [11]
   France120,000[11]
   Sweden80,000[11]
   Netherlands70,000[11]
    Switzerland60,000[11]
   Austria50,000[11]
   United Kingdom25,000
to 85,000[7]
[11]
   Denmark8,000 to 30,000[12]
   Greece20,000 to 25,000[11]
   Ukraine2,088[13]
   Russia19,607[14]
   United States40,000[15]
   Canada6,000[7]
Languages
Kurdish
In its different forms: Sorani, Kurmanji , and Fayli Southern dialects
Religion
Predominantly Sunni Muslim
also some Shia, Yazidism, Yarsan, Judaism, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
other Iranian peoples
(Talysh · Baluch · Gilak · Bakhtiari · Persians)

The Kurds (Template:Lang-ku) are an Iranian-speaking ethnolinguistic group mostly inhabiting a region that includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey and which is known as Kurdistan. Substantial Kurdish communities also exist in the cities of western Turkey, and they can also be found in Lebanon, Armenia, Azerbaijan and, in recent decades, some European countries and the United States (see Kurdish diaspora). They speak Kurdish, an Indo-European language of the Iranian branch. The origins of the group and its relationships with historical entities and names are complex and disputed.

Language

Main article: Kurdish language

The Kurdish language belongs to the north-western sub-group of the Iranian languages, which in turn belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. The older Hurrian language of the people inhabiting the Kurdish areas was replaced by Indo-European around 850 BCE, with the arrival of the Medes to Western Iran.[16]

Most Kurds are bilingual or polylingual, speaking the languages of the surrounding peoples such as Arabic, Turkish and Persian as a second language. Kurdish Jews and some Kurdish Christians (not be confused with ethnic Assyrians of Kurdistan) usually speak Aramaic (for example: Lishana Deni) as their first language. Aramaic is a Semitic language related to Hebrew and Arabic rather than Kurdish.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, The Kurdish language has two main groups:[17]:

and several sub-dialects:

  • Kermanshahi
  • Leki
  • Gurani
  • Zaza

Although specialized sources consider Laki and Zaza-Gurani[18] [19] to be separate languages which share a large number of words with Kurdish and Luri Nevertheless, the general term Kurd has been used to designate these groups historically.

Commenting on the differences between the "dialects" of Kurdish, Kreyenbroek clarifies that in some ways, Kurmanji and Sorani are as different from each other as English and German, giving the example that Kurmanji has grammatical gender and case-endings, but Sorani does not, and observing that referring to Sorani and Kurmanji as "dialects" of one language is supported only by "their common origin...and the fact that this usage reflects the sense of ethnic identity and unity of the Kurds."[20] The Yazidi Kurds Speak Kurmanji.

Population

Main article: Demographics of Kurdish people

The exact number of Kurdish people living in the Southwest Asia is unknown, due to both an absence of recent census analysis and the reluctance of the various governments in Kurdish-inhabited regions to give accurate figures.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Kurds comprise 20% of the population in Turkey, 15-20% in Iraq, perhaps 8% in Syria,[21] 7% in Iran and 1.3% in Armenia. In all of these countries except Iran, Kurds form the second largest ethnic group. Roughly 55% of the world's Kurds live in Turkey, about 20% each in Iran and Iraq, and a bit over 5% in Syria.[22] These estimates place the total number of Kurds at somewhere between 27 and 36 million.

History

Main article: History of the Kurdish people

Origins

Kurdish costumes, 1873.
Main article: Origins of the Kurds

It was formerly considered sufficient to describe the Kurds as the descendants of the Carduchi (Gordyaei), who opposed the retreat of the Ten Thousand through the mountains in the 4th century BCE. However multiple groups (including many non-Indo-European tribes) are believed to have settled in what is now Kurdistan, over a period of thousands of years. Early cultures included the Halaf and Ubaid. The Hurrian period in the mid third millennium BCE is the earliest well-documented period. The 3rd millennium was the time of the Guti (Kurti) and Hattians. The 2nd and 1st millennium BCE were the time of the Kassites, Mitanni, Mannai (Mannaeans), Urartu, and Mushku. All of these peoples shared a common identity and spoke one language or closely related languages or dialects. These groups are thought to have been non-Indo-Europeans, apart from the original Mitanni [23]. Although some consider Kurds as the descendents of the Medes, this conjecture has been convincingly challenged on linguistic grounds[24].

The Median Empire was dominant over present-day Kurdistan from the 630s BCE to 550 BCE, and by the end of fifth century BCE, during the reign of Artaxerxes II, the Carduchi had achieved independence from the Persian Empire.[25] According to Xenophon, Carduchis even defeated a large Persian army sent against them and at times concluded treaties with Persian satraps.[26] Other ancient groups included the Mard, Adiabene, Zila and Khaldi.

Medieval period

Kurdish Cavalry in the passes of the Caucasus mountains (The New York Times, January 24, 1915).

In the seventh century, the Arabs possessed the castles and fortifications of the Kurds. The conquest of the cities of Sharazor and Aradbaz took place in 643 CE.

In 846 CE, one of the leaders of the Kurds in Mosul revolted against the Caliph Al Mo'tasam who sent the commander Aitakh to combat against him. Aitakh won this war and killed many of the Kurds. The Kurds revolted again in 903 CE, during the period of Almoqtadar. Eventually Arabs conquered the Kurdish regions and gradually converted the majority of Kurds to Islam.

In the second half of the tenth century, the Kurdish area was shared among four big Kurdish principalities. In the north were the Shaddadid (951–1174) in parts of present-day Armenia and Arran, and the Rawadid (955–1221) in Tabriz and Maragheh. In the east were the Hasanwayhids (959–1015) and the Annazid (990–1117) in Kermanshah, Dinawar and Khanaqin. In the west were the Marwanid (990–1096) of Diyarbakır. After these, the Ayyubid (1171–1250) of Syria and the Ardalan dynasty (14th century to 1867) were established in present-day Khanaqin, Kirkuk and Sinne.

Kurdish Communities in the Middle East

In Iraq

Main articles: Iraqi Kurdistan and 1988 Anfal campaign

Kurds make around 17% of Iraq's population. They are the majority in at least three provinces in northern Iraq which are together known as Iraqi Kurdistan. Kurds also have a presence in Kirkuk, Mosul, Khanaqin, and Baghdad. Around 300,000 Kurds live in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, 50,000 in the city of Mosul and around 100,000 elsewhere in southern Iraq.[27]

Kurds led by Mustafa Barzani were engaged in heavy fighting against successive Iraqi regimes from 1960 to 1975. In March 1970, Iraq announced a peace plan providing for Kurdish autonomy. The plan was to be implemented in four years.[28] However, at the same time, the Iraqi regime started an Arabization program in the oil-rich regions of Kirkuk and Khanaqin.[29] The peace agreement did not last long, and in 1974, the Iraqi government began a new offensive against the Kurds. Moreover in March 1975, Iraq and Iran signed the Algiers Accord, according to which Iran cut supplies to Iraqi Kurds. Iraq started another wave of Arabization by moving Arabs to the oil fields in Kurdistan, particularly those around Kirkuk.[30] Between 1975 and 1978, 200,000 Kurds were deported to other parts of Iraq.[31]

During the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, the regime implemented anti-Kurdish policies and a de facto civil war broke out. Iraq was widely-condemned by the international community, but was never seriously punished for oppressive measures such as the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of civilians, the wholesale destruction of thousands of villages and the deportation of thousands of Kurds to southern and central Iraq. The campaign of Iraqi government against Kurds in 1988 was called Anfal ("Spoils of War"). The Anfal attacks led to destruction of two thousand villages and death of 50,000 to 100,000 Kurds.[32]

The President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, meeting with U.S. officials in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 26, 2006.

After the Kurdish uprising in 1991 (Template:Lang-ku) led by the PUK and KDP, Iraqi troops recaptured the Kurdish areas and hundreds of thousand of Kurds fled to the borders. To alleviate the situation, a "safe haven" was established by the UN Security Council. The autonomous Kurdish area was mainly controlled by the rival parties KDP and PUK. The Kurdish population welcomed the American troops in 2003 by holding celebrations and dancing in the streets[33][34][35][36]. The area controlled by peshmerga was expanded, and Kurds now have effective control in Kirkuk and parts of Mosul. By the beginning of 2006, the two Kurdish areas were merged into one unified region. A series of referendums are scheduled to be held in 2007, to determine the final borders of the Kurdish region.

In Turkey

Map of Kurdish-inhabited areas
Main articles: Kurds in Turkey, Turkish Kurdistan, Human rights in Turkey, and Kurdistan Workers Party

About half of all Kurds live in Turkey. According to the CIA Factbook, they account for 20% of the 70 million people of Turkey, thus numbering about 15 million people.[37] Other estimates vary from 12 to 15 million. They are predominantly distributed in the southeastern corner of the country.[11]

The best available estimate of the number of persons in Turkey speaking a Kurdish dialect is about five million (1980). About 3,950,000 others speak Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) (1980).[38] While population increase suggests that the number of speakers has grown, it is also true that use of the language has been discouraged in Turkish cities, and that many fewer ethnic Kurds live in the countryside where the language has traditionally been used. The number of speakers is clearly less than the 15 million or so persons who identify themselves as ethnic Kurds.

From 1915 to 1918, Kurds struggled to end Ottoman rule over their region. They were encouraged by Woodrow Wilson's support for non-Turkish nationalities of the empire and submitted their claim for independence to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. The Treaty of Sèvres stipulated creation of an autonomous Kurdish state in 1920, but the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 failed to mention Kurds. In 1925 and 1930, Kurdish revolts were forcibly suppressed.

File:Hozan Cane.jpg
Kurdish singer Hozan Canê from Erzurum

- Turkey

Following these events, the existence of distinct ethnic groups like Kurds in Turkey was officially denied and any expression by the Kurds of their ethnic identity was harshly repressed. Until 1991, the use of the Kurdish language – although widespread – was illegal. As a result of reforms inspired by the EU, music, radio and television broadcasts in Kurdish are now allowed albeit with severe time restrictions. For example, radio broadcasts can be no longer than 60 minutes per day and total no more than five hours per week, and television broadcasts are subject to even greater restrictions. Additionally, education in Kurdish is now permitted though only in private institutions.

As late as 1994, however, Leyla Zana, the first female Kurdish representative in Turkey's Parliament, was charged for making "separatist speeches" and sentenced to 15 years in prison. At her inauguration as an MP, she reportedly identified herself as a Kurd. Amnesty International reported that "[s]he took the oath of loyalty in Turkish, as required by law, then added in Kurdish, 'I shall struggle so that the Kurdish and Turkish peoples may live together in a democratic framework.' Parliament erupted with shouts of 'Separatist!', 'Terrorist!', and 'Arrest her!'"[39]

Kurdish boys, Diyarbakir.

The Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK), also known as KADEK and Kongra-Gel, is considered by the US, the EU, and NATO to be a terrorist organization.[40] It is an ethnic secessionist organization using violence for the purpose of achieving its goal of creating an independent Kurdish state in parts of southeastern Turkey, northeastern Iraq, northeastern Syria and northwestern Iran.

Between 1984 and 1999, the PKK and the Turkish military engaged in open war, and much of the countryside in the southeast was depopulated, as Kurdish civilians moved to local defensible centers such as Diyarbakır, Van, and Şırnak, as well as to the cities of western Turkey and even to western Europe. The causes of the depopulation included PKK atrocities against Kurdish clans they could not control, the poverty of the southeast, and the Turkish state's military operations.[41] Human Rights Watch has documented many instances where the Turkish military forcibly evacuated villages, and destroyed houses and equipment to prevent the return of the inhabitants. An estimated 3,000 Kurdish villages in Turkey were wiped out, representing the displacement of more than 378,000 people.[42][43][44]

In Iran

a view of Sanandaj, a major city in Iranian Kurdistan.
Main articles: Iranian Kurdistan and History of the Kurds

The Kurds constitute approximately 7% of Iran's overall population. The Persians, Kurds, and speakers of other Indo-European languages in Iran are descendants of the Aryan tribes that began migrating from Central Asia into what is now Iran in the 2nd millennium BCE.[45] According to some sources, "some Kurds in Iran have resisted the Iranian government's efforts, both before and after the revolution of 1979, to assimilate them into the mainstream of national life and, along with their fellow Kurds in adjacent regions of Iraq and Turkey, has sought either regional autonomy or the outright establishment of an independent Kurdish state".[45] While other sources state that "most of the freedoms Turkish Kurds have been eager to spill blood over have been available in Iran for years; Iran constitutionally recognizes the Kurds' language and minority ethnic status, and there is no taboo against speaking Kurdish in public."[46] .

In the 17th century, a large number of Kurds were displaced by Shah Abbas I to Khorasan in Eastern Iran and resettled in the cities of Quchan and Birjand,due to Safavid Scorched earth policy, while others migrated to Afghanistan where they took refuge.[47] The Kurds of Khorasan, numbering around 700,000, still use the Kurmanji Kurdish dialect.[11][48] During the 19th and 20th centuries, successive Iranian governments crushed Kurdish revolts led by Kurdish notables such as Shaikh Ubaidullah (against Qajars in 1880) and Simko (against Pahlavis in the 1920s).[49]

In January 1946, during the Soviet occupation of north-western Iran, the Soviet-backed Kurdish Republic of Mahabad declared independence in parts of Iranian Kurdistan. Nevertheless, the Soviet forces left Iran in May 1946, and the self-declared republic fell to the Iranian army after only a few months and the president of the republic Qazi Muhammad was hanged publicly in Mahabad. After the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi became more autocratic and suppressed most opposition including Kurdish political groups seeking greater rights for Iranian Kurds. He also prohibited any teaching of the Kurdish language.[49]

File:Firing squad in iran.PNG
Firing squad in Sanandaj, Iran, August 27, 1979.

After the Iranian revolution, intense fighting occurred between militant Kurdish groups and the Islamic Republic between 1979 and 1982. In August 1979, Ruhollah Khomeini declared a "holy war" against the Kurdish rebels seeking autonomy or independence, and ordered the Armed Forces to move to the Kurdish areas of Iran in order to push the Kurdish rebels out and restore central rule to the country.[50] An image of a firing squad of Revolutionary Guards executing Kurdish prisoners around Sanandaj gained international fame and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1980,and there is also other images available of Kurdish militants capturing the supporters of the Iranian regime.[51] The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps fought to reestablish government control in the Kurdish regions. Since 1983, the Iranian government has maintained control over the Iranian Kurdistan.[52] Frequent unrest and the occasional military crackdown have occurred since the 1990s.[53]

In Iran, Kurds express their cultural identity freely, but have no self-government or administration. As in all parts of Iran, membership of a non-governmental political party is punishable by imprisonment or even death. Kurdish human rights activists in Iran have been threatened by Iranian authorities in connection with their work.[54][55] Following the killing of Kurdish opposition activist Shivan Qaderi and two other Kurdish men by Iranian security forces in Mahabad on July 9 2005, six weeks of riots and protests erupted in Kurdish towns and villages throughout Eastern Kurdistan. Scores were killed and injured, and an untold number arrested without charge. The Iranian authorities have also shut down several major Kurdish newspapers and arrested editors and reporters. Among those was Roya Toloui, a Women's rights activist and head of the Rasan ("Rising") newspaper in Sanandaj, who was alleged to be tortured for two months for involvement in the organization of peaceful protests throughout Kurdistan province.[56] According to one of Iran analysts of International Crisis Group, "Kurds, who live in the some of the least developed parts of Iran, pose the most serious internal problem for Iran to resolve, and given what they see next door--the newfound confidence of Iraqi Kurds--there's concern Iranian Kurds will agitate for greater autonomy." [57]

In Syria

Main article: Kurds in Syria
File:Saladinstatue.JPG
A statue of Saladin at the Damascus citadel.

Kurds and other Non-Arabs account for 10% of Syria's population, a total of around 1.9 million people.[58] This makes them the largest ethnic minority in the country. They are mostly concentrated in the northeast and the north, but there are also significant Kurdish populations in Aleppo and Damascus. Kurds often speak Kurdish in public, unless all those present do not. Kurdish human rights activists are mistreated and persecuted.[59] No political parties are allowed for any group, Kurdish or otherwise.

Techniques used to suppress the ethnic identity of Kurds in Syria include various bans on the use of the Kurdish language, refusal to register children with Kurdish names, the replacement of Kurdish place names with new names in Arabic, the prohibition of businesses that do not have Arabic names, the prohibition of Kurdish private schools, and the prohibition of books and other materials written in Kurdish.[60][61] Having been denied the right to Syrian nationality, around three-hundred thousand Kurds have been deprived of any social rights, in violation of international law.[62][63] As a consequence, these Kurds are in effect trapped within Syria.[60] In February 2006, however, sources reported that Syria was now planning to grant these Kurds citizenship.[63]

On March 12, 2004, beginning at a stadium in Qamishli (a largely Kurdish city in northeastern Syria), clashes between Kurds and Syrians broke out and continued over a number of days. At least thirty people were killed and more than 160 injured. The unrest spread to other Kurdish towns along the northern border with Turkey, and then to Damascus and Aleppo.[64][65]

In Afghanistan

Kurds had been living in regions bordering modern day Afghanistan since the 1500s notably in north eastern Iran where the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas exiled thousands of Kurds.[66] Many of those who were exiled ultimately made their way into Afghanistan, taking residence in Herat and other cities of western Afghanistan. The Kurdish colony in Afghanistan numbered some tens of thousands during the 16th century.[47] Some Kurds held high governmental positions within Afghanistan, such as Ali Mardan Khan who was appointed the governor of Kabul in 1641.[67] The Kurds devotedly sided with the Afghans during their conflicts with the Safavid Empire, and in their subsequent conflicts with other regional powers.[68] The number of Kurds currently in Afghanistan is difficult to calculate, though one figure notes that there are approximately 200,000.[7] It remains unclear however whether the Kurds of Afghanistan have retained the Kurdish language.

In Armenia

See also: Kurdish-Armenian relations

Between the 1930s and 1980s, Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union, within which Kurds, like other ethnic groups, had the status of a protected minority. Armenian Kurds were permitted their own state-sponsored newspaper, radio broadcasts and cultural events. During the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, many non-Yazidi Kurds were forced to leave their homes. Following the end of the Soviet Union, Kurds in Armenia were stripped of their cultural privileges and most fled to Russia or Western Europe.[69]

In Azerbaijan

Main article: Kurdistan Autonomous Oblast

In 1920, two Kurdish-inhabited areas of Jewanshir (capital Kalbajar) and eastern Zangazur (capital Lachin) were combined to form the Kurdistan Okrug (or "Red Kurdistan"). The period of existence of the Kurdish administrative unit was brief and did not last beyond 1929. Kurds subsequently faced many repressive measures, including deportations. As a result of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, many Kurdish areas have been destroyed and more than 150,000 Kurds have been deported since 1988.[69]

Diaspora

Feleknas Uca, MEP from Germany.

According to a report by the Council of Europe, approximately 1.3 million Kurds live in Western Europe. The earliest immigrants were Kurds from Turkey, who settled in Germany, Austria, the Benelux countries, Great Britain, Switzerland and France during the 1960s. Successive periods of political and social turmoil in the Middle East during 1980s and 1990s brought new waves of Kurdish refugees, mostly from Iran and Iraq under Saddam Hussein, came to Europe.[11] In recent years, many Kurdish asylum seekers from both Iran and Iraq have settled in the United Kingdom (especially in the town of Dewsbury and in some northern areas of London), which has sometimes caused media controversy over their right to remain.[70] There have been tensions between Kurds and the established Muslim community in Dewsbury,[71][72] which is home to very traditional mosques such as the Markazi.

There was substantial immigration of Kurds into North America, who are mainly political refugees and immigrants seeking economic opportunity. An estimated 100,000 Kurds are known to live in the United States, with 50,000 in Canada and less than 15,000 in Australia.

Religion

Main articles: Islam, Yazdanism, Yazidism, Yarsan, Alevi, Kurdish Jews, and Kurdish Christians
An Ezidi temple in Lalish, Kurdistan.

Islam

Today, the majority of Kurds are officially Muslim, belonging to the Shafi school of Sunni Islam. Mystical practices and participation in Sufi orders are also widespread among Kurds.[73] There is also a minority of Kurds who are Shia Muslims, primarily living in the Ilam and Kermanshah provinces of Iran, Central and south eastern Iraq (Fayli Kurds). The Alevis are another religious minority among the Kurds, mainly found in Turkey.

Yazdanism

Yazdanism is a controversial theory that refers to a group of native monotheistic religions practiced among the Kurds: Alevism, Yarsan and Yazidism. The main element in Yazdani faiths is the belief in seven angelic entities that protect the world, therefore these traditions are named as Cult of Angels.[74] Some groups classify the various Kurdish faiths under the Yazdani umbrella.

The original religion of the Kurds was Yazidism, a religion greatly influenced by Jewish, Zoroastrian, Christian and Islamic beliefs.[73][75] However, there are significant differences between Yazdanism and Zoroasterianism, such as the belief in re-incarnation. Most Yazidis live in Iraqi Kurdistan, in the vicinity of Mosul and Sinjar.[76] The Yarsan (or Ahl-e Haqq) religion is practised in western Iran, primarily around Kermanshah.

Judaism and Christianity

Christianity and Judaism both are still practised in very small numbers.[77] Rabbi Asenath Barzani, who lived in Mosul from 1590 to 1670, was among the very first Jewish woman to become a rabbi.The overwhelming majority of the Kurdish Jews had immigrated to the Jewish State, Israel, during the early 1950s. For centuries, the Jews had lived as protected subjects of the tribal chieftains (aghas) and survived in the urban centers and villages in which they lived. In return for the protection granted by their aghas, the Jews would occasionally give them gifts, services and commissions of their commercial and agricultural transactions.[78]

Culture

Main articles: Kurdish culture, Kurdish literature, and Kurdish women

Kurdish culture is a legacy from the various ancient peoples who shaped modern Kurds and their society, but primarily of three layers of indigenous (Hurrian), ancient Iranian (Medes), and Islamic roots.

Kurdish culture is close to that of other Iranian peoples. Kurds, for instance, also celebrate Newroz (March 21) as New Year's Day.[79]

Kurdish films mainly evoke poverty and the lack of rights of Kurdish people in the region. Yılmaz Güney (Yol [80]) and Bahman Qubadi (A Time for Drunken Horses, Turtles Can Fly) are among the better-known Kurdish directors.

Music

Main article: Kurdish music
File:Kamkarrobab.jpg
Bijan Kamkar singer and composer plays Robab

Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers: storytellers (çîrokbêj), minstrels (stranbêj), and bards (dengbêj). No specific music was associated with the Kurdish princely courts. Instead, music performed in night gatherings (şevbihêrk) is considered classical. Several musical forms are found in this genre. Many songs are epic in nature, such as the popular Lawiks, heroic ballads recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes such as Saladin. Heyrans are love ballads usually expressing the melancholy of separation and unfulfilled love, while Lawje is a form of religious music and Payizoks are songs performed during the autumn. Love songs, dance music, wedding and other celebratory songs (dîlok/narînk), erotic poetry, and work songs are also popular.

See also

Modern Kurdish governments

Notes and references

  1. ^ Konda Poll gives a figure of about 11.4 million, s.v. [1]
  2. ^ Turkish National Security Council gives a figure of about 12.6 million
  3. ^ CIA World Factbook gives about 14.4 million (20% Kurds out of 72 million total population) (2008 est.)
  4. ^ Estimate based on 7% of 68,688,433: World Factbook, s.v. Iran; Encyclopedia of the Orient, ed. Tore Kjeilen, s.v. Iran: Religions and Peoples, (N.P.:Lexorient, 2006), http://lexicorient.com/e.o/iran_4.htm.
  5. ^ Estimate based on 15% to 20% of 26,783,383: World Factbook, s.v. Iraq; Encyclopedia of the Orient, s.v. Iraq: Religions and Peoples.
  6. ^ CIA FactbookWorld Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sy.html.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The Kurdish Diaspora, Institut Kurde de Paris (Paris: Institut Kurde de Paris, 2006), http://www.institutkurde.org/en/kurdorama/.
  8. ^ Lokman I. Meho, The Kurds and Kurdistan: A General Background, in Kurdish Culture and Society: An Annotated Bibliography. Comp. Lokman I. Meho & Kelly Maglaughlin (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001), p. 4, viewable on Google Books
  9. ^ Population census 2002, Statistical Yearbook of Georgia 2005, Population by ethnic origin, Table 2.4, p. 22, Department of Statistics, Tbilisi, 2005
  10. ^ Elena Eliseeva, Kurds Plan Exodus from South Kazakstan, IWPR, 22 January 2008.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The cultural situation of the Kurds, A report by Lord Russell-Johnston, Council of Europe, July 2006.
  12. ^ No official figures exist. The following unofficial estimates have been made:
  13. ^ Population census of Ukraine, 2001
  14. ^ 2002 Russian census; the census also lists 31,273 Yazidi as a separate ethnos
  15. ^ Washington Post, 23 April 2007, Page A01
  16. ^ The correlation Between Languages and Genes: The Usko-Mediterranean Peoples, Human Immunology, vol. 62, p.1057, 2001
  17. ^ Kurdish language. Encyclopædia Britannica.
  18. ^ Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Stefan Sperl, "The Kurds", Published by Routledge, 1992.
  19. ^ McKenzie, D. N. (1961) ‘The origins of Kurdish’, in Transactions of the Philological Society: 68 - 86.
  20. ^ Kreyenbroek, Philip (1992). "On the Kurdish Language", in The Kurds: a contemporary overview, eds. Philip Kreyenbroek and Stefan Sperl (p. 69).
  21. ^ The CIA Factbook reports all non-Arabs make up 9.7% of the Syrian population, and does not break out the Kurdish figure separately. Since Syria contains a large Armenian population, 8% may be a reasonable percentage.
  22. ^ CIA: The World Factbook
  23. ^ "Mitanni." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 09 Jun. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/385882/Mitanni>
  24. ^ Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Stefan Sperl, The Kurds, Routledge, 1992, 250 pp., ISBN 0415072654, 9780415072656 (see p.70)
  25. ^ Carduchi, Encyclopedia Iranica.
  26. ^ Xenophon, Anabasis 3.5.16 [2]
  27. ^ Adherents.com: By Location
  28. ^ G.S. Harris, Ethnic Conflict and the Kurds in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, pp.118-120, 1977
  29. ^ Introduction. Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds (Human Rights Watch Report, 1993).
  30. ^ ibid., p.121
  31. ^ M. Farouk-Sluglett, P. Sluglett, J. Stork, Not Quite Armageddon: Impact of the War on Iraq, MERIP Reports, July-September 1984, p.24
  32. ^ Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds
  33. ^ [3]
  34. ^ FOXNews.com - Kurds Rejoice, But Fighting Continues in North - U.S. & World
  35. ^ CNN.com - Coalition makes key advances in northern Iraq - April 10, 2003
  36. ^ The Scotsman
  37. ^ CIA World Factbook
  38. ^ Ethnologue census of languages in Asian portion of Turkey
  39. ^ Amnesty International [dead link]
  40. ^ COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2008/586/CFSP of 15 July 2008: updating Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism and repealing Common Position 2007/871/CFSP
  41. ^ Radu, Michael. (2001). "The Rise and Fall of the PKK", Orbis. 45(1):47-64.
  42. ^ Turkey: "Still Critical" - Introduction
  43. ^ DISPLACED AND DISREGARDED: Turkey's Failing Village Return Program
  44. ^ Prospects in 2005 for Internally Displaced Kurds in Turkey
  45. ^ a b Iran: Ethnic Groups, Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  46. ^ Meet the Kurdish guerrillas who want to topple the Tehran regime. - By Graeme Wood - Slate Magazine
  47. ^ a b A People Without a Country: The Kurds and Kurdistan By Gérard Chaliand, Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, Marco Pallis, pg. 205
  48. ^ Fifteenth periodic report of States parties due in 1998: Islamic Republic of Iran
  49. ^ a b Are Kurds a pariah minority?
  50. ^ The Security of Southwest Asia by Zalmay Khalilza, page 191, University of Michigan Publishing
  51. ^ A photo by Abbas Attar,Magnum Photos
  52. ^ alefbe.com
  53. ^ Iran: Amnesty International calls for an urgent investigation into the killing of demonstrators.
  54. ^ Iran: Threats against Kurdish human rights defenders must stop
  55. ^ Status of minorities
  56. ^ Amnesty International
  57. ^ Iran's Waning Human Rights (The New York Times)
  58. ^ World Gazetteer
  59. ^ Syria: End persecution of human rights defenders and human rights activists.
  60. ^ a b Syria: The Silenced Kurds
  61. ^ Essential Background: Overview of human rights issues in Syria. Human Rights Watch, 31-12-2004.
  62. ^ Syria's Kurds Struggle for Rights
  63. ^ a b The Media Line
  64. ^ Syria: Address Grievances Underlying Kurdish Unrest
  65. ^ Serhildana 12ê Adarê ya Kurdistana Suriyê.
  66. ^ Knowledge, Culture, and Power: International Perspectives on Literacy as Policy and Practice By Peter Freebody, Anthony R. Welch, pg.40
  67. ^ The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Supplement : Fascicules 1-2, By Clifford Edmund Bosworth, E. Van Donzel, B. Lewis, pg. 63
  68. ^ The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant, By Michael Axworthy, pg. 88
  69. ^ a b Kurds and Kurdistan: A General Background, p.22
  70. ^ MP: Failed asylum seekers must go back - Dewsbury Reporter
  71. ^ 'I will not be muzzled' – Malik
  72. ^ UK Polling Report Election Guide: Dewsbury
  73. ^ a b Kurds Islam [dead link]
  74. ^ Yazdanism, Encyclopaedia of the Orient.
  75. ^ Iran's Other Religion
  76. ^ Religion: Cult of Angels - Yezidism
  77. ^ Religion: Judaism
  78. ^ Jewish Subjects and their Tribal Chieftains in Kurdistan: A Study in Survival, By Mordechai Zaken.This book deals with the position of the Jewish communities in dozens of urban centers and rural villages chiefly in southern Kurdistan, namely Iraqi Kurdistan, during the last few hundreds of years and primarily during the first half of the 20th century. The book describes the position of many prominent and ordinary individual Jewish subjects within the tribal Kurdish society. The unique set of relations between the Jews and their tribal chieftains (aghas), the rights, duties and obligations of the Jews towards their aghas, and the traditional, tribal obligations of the chieftains towards their Jews, receive careful attention and analysis. The book brings to life many tribal chieftains whose personal history had been wiped out from the collective memory in Kurdistan. In fact, this study rescues the life history of many tribal figures and describes in details the Kurdish tribal society during the first half of the 20th century, as it was never told. This book is based on new oral sources (based on hundreds of interviews with Jewish informants originally from Kurdistan), diligently collected and carefully analyzed. The four main parts of the book examine the relationships between the Kurdish Jews and their tribal chieftains in urban centers and villages in Kurdistan, using numerous new reports and vivid examples. It also deals extensively with topics such as the security and murder of Jews in the tribal Kurdish setting, the question of slavery of rural Jews and the conversion of Jews to Islam. The last part of the book examines the experience of the Jews in Iraqi Kurdistan between World War I (1914) and the immigration of Jews to Israel (1951-52). Readership: All those interested in the history of oriental Jewry, Kurds and Iraq, minorities in the Middle East, tribal society, as well as oral historians, sociologists and anthropologists. About the author: Mordechai Zaken, Ph.D. (2004) in Near Eastern Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He specializes in the history of the Kurds and the Jews in Kurdistan and in Muslim and non-Muslim minorities in the Middle East. Dr. Zaken served as Adviser on Arab Affairs to the Prime Minister of Israel (1997-1999). Published by Brill: • August 2007 • ISBN 978 9004161 90 0 • Hardback (xxii, 364 pp.) • Jewish Identities in a Changing World, vol. 9
  79. ^ culturalorigentation.net [dead link]
  80. ^ Yol (1982)

Bibliography

  • Barth, F. 1953. Principles of Social Organization in Southern Kurdistan. Bulletin of the University Ethnographic Museum 7. Oslo.
  • Hansen, H.H. 1961. The Kurdish Woman's Life. Copenhagen. Ethnographic Museum Record 7:1-213.
  • Leach, E.R. 1938. Social and Economic Organization of the Rowanduz Kurds. London School of Economics Monographs on Social Anthropology 3:1-74.
  • Longrigg, S.H. 1953. Iraq, 1900-1950. London.
  • Masters, W.M. 1953. Rowanduz. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan.
The Kurdish Issue in Turkey
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