[WCUSP] Iran: A Country of Diverse Ethnic and Religious Minorities, Asharq Alawsat (English)
yvonne simmons
roweenayvonne at yahoo.com
Mon Feb 12 05:07:38 CST 2007
>
> Subject: Fw: Iran: A Country of Diverse Ethnic and
> Religious Minorities, Asharq Alawsat (English)
> Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2007 20:30:18 -0800
>
>
> The closest known estimates are: 40-45 percent
> Persian; 30-35 percent
> Azeris;
> 9 percent Kurds; 4 percent Arabs; 3 percent Baloch;
> 2 percent Turkmen;
> Armenians and Assyrians combined constitute 2
> percent; and a further 2
> percent
> are independent tribal groups.
>
>
>
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=3&id=7737
>
> Iran: A Country Divided
>
> London, Asharq Al-Awsat- Iran constitutes one of
> the most diverse
> countries in the Middle East in terms of ethnic and
> religious composition.
> This state, which has preserved its geographical
> and historical structure,
> in addition to its borders - at least since the
> 19th Century without any
> significant change by virtue of not participating
> in the two world wars -
> has a widely diverse internal fabric of races,
> religions and creeds. For
> this reason, it becomes difficult to understand the
> fundamental equations
> that construct the make-up of this country, which
> is spread on a wide
> range and which has a population of approximately
> 70 million, without a
> clear and accurate understanding of the
> constituents and details of this
> fabric.
> At a first glance, present-day Iranian society
> ostensibly appears to be
> homogenous and harmonious in its ethnic and
> religious build-up, but in
> reality it is but a misleading image of the Iranian
> arena. The internal
> diversity of this Middle Eastern state that spreads
> from central Asia to
> the Persian Gulf is distinguished by historical and
> geographical factors
> and the absence of 'openness' and economic
> interaction - in addition to an
> intense suppression. The Khomeini Revolution in
> 1978 contributed to the
> religious ideology of the Iranian authority and
> what ensued of disastrous
> political, cultural, economic and military attempts
> that affected the
> Iranian formations, particularities and human
> aspirations, fueling further
> the internal fires.
>
> In the book 'The Kurds: Nationalism and Politics',
> British researcher,
> Fred Halliday sees that the Iranian constitution,
> as opposed to the
> secular Turkish one, recognizes the ethnic and
> cultural pluralism of Iran,
> however in his view, the problem lies in the notion
> that the plurality in
> the constitution is limited to language, culture
> and tradition only.
> Iranian academic and Professor of Sociology, Dr
> Abbas Wali explains that
> the Iranian (Islamic) constitution acknowledges the
> cultural diversities
> in identities in the national formations in Iran
> but disregards the
> political content of these identities, furthermore
> forbidding any national
> activity that deviates from the ideology of the
> prevalent political
> system, considering any national differences to be
> inconsistent with the
> prevailing religious rule. Therefore, it would be
> correct to say that this
> diversity in population led to the enrichment of
> the linguistic, cultural,
> literary and spiritual life in Iran but it also
> took its toll on the
> country in terms of its internal political reality
> and its conflict and
> struggles externally, which has led to a
> substantial amount of tension and
> problems.
>
> Political observers do not rule out the possibility
> of countries, such as
> the US, playing the minority card to exert pressure
> on Iran's current
> stands - especially its nuclear development program
> and its support of
> organizations that Washington describes as
> 'terrorist', in addition to
> Iran's opposition to the peace process between
> Israel and Palestine and
> its interference in Iraq's internal affairs.
> Without a doubt, the
> populational and cultural diversity in Iran cannot
> act as a source of
> imminent threat to stable or democratic societies,
> or those not involved
> in external conflicts, but the situation is
> different in Iran. The
> escalating tensions that the country faces with the
> United States and the
> international community, coupled with internal
> problems on all levels;
> political, economic and cultural herald a turn for
> the worse - add to that
> the increasing unemployment amongst youth and the
> continuous subtle hints
> that point towards the imposition of international
> sanctions upon it.
>
> Iran's internal fabric is comprised of the
> following ethnic groups:
> 1-Persians, who largely dominate the country's
> political institution, in
> addition to its culture, literature and official
> language.
> 2-Azeris, (Azerbaijani) who share the same faith of
> the current regime and
> who have noticeable control of the trade markets
> (bazaars) in Tehran and
> other major cities.
> 3-Kurds, who are mainly spread in northwestern
> Iran, or what the Kurds
> refer to as Eastern Kurdistan, the most prominent
> cities of which are
> Mehebad (Mahabad), Sine (Saqqez), Karmanshah and
> Sardasht.
> 4-Arabs, who live in Khuzestan, or what is referred
> to by Arab Iranians as
> 'Arabistan'. The most renowned cities of which are
> Ahvaz (Ahwaz) and
> Khorramshahr, and some parts in the eastern coast
> of the Gulf.
> 5-Turkmen, who are spread out in southern
> Turkmenistan.
> 6-Baloch, who live in the areas of Kerman and
> Zahedan.
>
> Additionally, there exist independent tribal groups
> whose allegiances are
> divided between the Farsi, Azerbaijani and Kurdish
> nationalities such as
> the Bakhtiari and the Lur. The truth is no census
> exists with an accurate
> record of the existing ethnicities in Iran -
> especially since the
> governmental institution has long since avoided
> compiling statistics.
> Moreover, the dominance of the Persian language,
> literature and culture
> among Iranians over the past few centuries -
> especially since the decades
> that preceded the rise of the Islamic republic in
> Iran - makes it more
> difficult to view the existing ethnical
> differences.
>
> The closest known
> estimates are: 40-45 percent Persian; 30-35 percent
> Azeris; 9 percent
> Kurds; 4 percent Arabs; 3 percent Baloch; 2 percent
> Turkmen; Armenians and
> Assyrians combined constitute 2 percent; and a
> further 2 percent are
> independent tribal groups.
>
> The Azeris speak a dialect of the Turkish language
> and they are spread in
> the northwestern region of Iran of which Tabriz is
> the capital. Although
> they follow the Islamic Shia creed, their
> nationalistic inclinations are
> affiliated to their ethnical Turkish origins,
> according to numerous
> Azerbaijani researchers. Despite sharing the same
> religious creed, Shiism,
> the Azeris are distinguished by their nationalistic
> spirit, which is why
> they declared they were supported by the former
> United Soviet Socialist
> Republic (USSR), in the northwestern region of the
> country during the
> period that followed World War II. It is true that
> the Iranian forces
> succeeded in quashing the republic less than a year
> after it was formed,
> and yet the Azeri nationalistic movement continued
> to regard the Persian
> role with suspicion and mistrust based on the
> former's belief that they
> are the true fundamental basis of the Iranian
> state, achieved at the hands
> of their historic leader Ismail Safavi who was the
> one to announce Shiism
> as the official doctrine of the Savafid (Safavi)
> Iranian Empire in the
> 13th[sic] [actually the16th] Century. According to
> the nationalistic among
> the
> Azerbaijanis, the loss of their right to rule Iran
> is a result of the
> Persian cultural and literary hegemony practiced in
> the country. Despite
> that, the Azeris still continue to be at the helm
> of trade activities and
> the economy in Iran yet still felt alienated and
> ignored in politics and
> culture, which is what led to a number of
> demonstrations in a number of
> Azeri provinces last year, protesting against the
> Iranian government's
> disregard of their language. In turn, the Iranian
> security forces arrested
> a number of Azerbaijani political activists on
> charges of illicit dealings
> with Turkey.
>
> Despite the 25 percent of the Kurdish population
> that follows the Shia
> doctrine, the majority of whom are spread
> throughout the provinces of
> Kermanshah and Ilam, we find that historically the
> relationship between
> the two parties remains 'unnatural'. The Kurds have
> often taken up arms in
> the face of the Iranian governments and empires as
> a result of feeling
> that the central authorities rejected their local
> peculiarities. This is
> what is declared as the reason that drove the Kurds
> to declare an
> independent republic, with Mahabad as its capital
> in 1946. However the
> Kurdish Republic, like its Azeri counterpart lasted
> no longer than 11
> months after the Iranian forces crushed it weeks
> after vanquishing the
> Republic of Azerbaijan.
> Presently, the Iranian government allows for the
> publication of a number
> of cultural Kurdish magazines and other
> publications in the Kurdish
> language, as there are active Kurdish cultural
> centers in Tehran. A
> Kurdish literary union was established in Saqqez,
> in addition to a number
> of orchestras and arts groups, which have been
> allowed to practice their
> activities. But political activity was prohibited.
> In this domain, last
> year saw a number of bloody demonstrations in the
> Kurdish areas demanding
> political rights. It should be noted that the Kurds
> accuse the Iranian
> security forces of being responsible for the
> assassination of the Iranian
> Kurdish leader, Dr Ebdulrehman Qasimlo in the
> Austrian capital, Vienna, in
> 1989, and Dr Sadegh Sharafkandi in Berlin in 1992.
>
> Iran's Arabs inhabit the oil-rich Khuzestan and
> although the majority
> follows Islam (Shia), the Sunni followers form a
> force to be reckoned with
> among them. A few months ago, according to human
> rights findings conducted
> by the United Nations (UN), it was noted that the
> Iranian government was
> unjustifiably harshly treating the Iranian Arabs
> and was limiting job
> opportunities for them, in addition to tampering
> with their topographical
> composition in the region by sending Arab families
> to faraway cities and
> bringing families of other nationalities to live in
> their place. In this
> same report, international supervisors from the UN
> demanded that the
> Iranian government not execute capital punishment
> on three activist Arab
> politicians. As such, the Arab areas, Ahwaz
> province in particular,
> constitutes a hub for political oppositional
> activities led by clandestine
> (Arab) organizations, many of whom Iranian
> officials accuse the US and
> Britain of supporting and encouraging. Arab sources
> who believe that that
> the Iranian government is attempting to displace
> Arabs by tampering with
> their topographical makeup in Khuzestan, which is
> considered one of the
> world's richest areas by virtue of its oil, believe
> that the main aim is
> to reduce the Arab presence in the province from 70
> percent to 30 percent.
> UN special rapporteur, Miloon Kothari, who visited
> Iran in 2005, accused
> the Iranian government of attempting to change the
> Arab and Kurdish
> demographic makeup, in addition to restricting job
> opportunities and
> exercising sectarian pressure on them. It should be
> pointed out that
> Khuzestan, which has a number of active political
> parties and
> organizations, including the Popular Democratic
> Front of Ahwazi Arabs has
> witnessed a number of terrorist operations over the
> past two years. Only
> last month, Iran's Supreme Judicial Council
> declared the Arab Lejnat
> al-Wefaq party (Committee of Reconciliation), which
> is active in Ahwaz,
> illegal on the grounds that it was flouting the
> Islamic regime. Previously
> the Iranian security forces killed three Arab youth
> during a demonstration
> in Ahwaz, in addition to arresting 250 people.
>
> Other nationalistic formations include the Turkmen,
> who are spread over
> areas that overlook the Caspian Sea in the
> northeastern tip of the country
> and the Baluch who live on the border areas
> adjacent to Afghanistan and
> Pakistan - most of whom are Sunni, in addition to
> the Uzbek minority who
> are spread in the northeastern region of the
> country. What is striking
> about these nationalities is that they form
> extensions of the larger
> ethnical groups who have their own independent
> states neighboring or close
> to Iran. Since Tehran is not concerned with local
> peculiarities and
> economic development, the majority of the youth is
> attracted to these
> states and is inspired by their nationalistic
> spirit and values and cling
> to their ethnical origins. Recently, the Iranian
> government has deployed
> forces from the police and the Iranian Guard in the
> Baluch region,
> particularly in Kerman and Zahedan and the areas
> that surround them under
> the pretext of combating the cross-border smuggling
> trade.
>
> But ethnic diversity does not constitute the sole
> feature in the mosaic
> Iranian society; religion and sectarianism also
> play a large role. The
> following are the approximations of Iran's
> population:
> 1-Shia: 70 percent
> 2-Sunni: 20-25 percent
> 3-Other religions (Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians,
> Baha'is, and Zaydis): 5
> percent.
> Followers of other religions are spread throughout
> the major cities such
> as Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Hamedan, while Sunnis
> are concentrated in
> Kerman, Zahedan, Kurdistan and the areas inhabited
> by Turkmen, in addition
> to pockets in the coastal areas of the gulf of
> Khuzestan (Arabistan). The
> reality is that the Iranian government has
> displayed remarkable attention
> towards caring for the peculiarities of these
> religious groups and did not
> hesitate in allocating a parliamentary seat to each
> of the groups, save
> the Sunnis who have more than one seat. And yet in
> the end, the government
> did not succeed in establishing good relations with
> these religious
> groups. In Kerman and Zahedan sectarian groups
> actively oppose the
> government; however Tehran ignores their political
> and cultural demands
> and instead focuses its attention on the illegal
> involvements with
> neighboring Pakistan. Likewise, the Christians are
> persecuted under the
> accusation of their involvement with foreign
> countries such as the US,
> Britain and Germany. The western region in Iran has
> a large number of
> tribal formations with their own linguistic and
> social peculiarities,
> distinguished by their mountainous cultures and
> their unique economic
> life.
> What is remarkable is that none of these
> aforementioned groups
> consider themselves to be Persian nationals, such
> as the Bakhiaris who
> claim that they are descendents of the Lurs, the
> Lurs in turn believe that
> they have descended from the Kurds, among other
> examples. Most
> Orientalists and specialists in Iranian
> civilization will agree that over
> half the Iranian population is affiliated to
> non-Persian ethnic groups.
>
> The period that followed the rise of the Khomeini
> revolution in 1978, a
> year later, saw the significant flourishing of
> Iran's ethnical groups.
> Less than a year later, April 1979, the government
> embarked on bloody
> campaigns against the various ethnicities -
> particularly in Kurdistan and
> Arabistan and against the Turkmen of Iran. The
> religious regime left no
> room for cultural liberties in its constitution,
> especially article 19.
> This resulted in the establishment of a number
> radio and television
> channels and a large number of publications in
> languages other than
> Persian, which reflects the buzz of cultural
> activity, but still, more
> rights are being demanded. Amnesty International
> issued a report last
> February condemning the practices of the Iranian
> government against ethnic
> and religious groups and sects, especially related
> to the acquisition of
> lands and displacement, standard of living and the
> harsh economic
> conditions for these groups unto the sentences
> issued by the judiciary
> against political activists.
> In a situation like this, the burning question
> remains: What if the UN
> Security Council imposes international sanctions on
> Iran? Or what if the
> current tensions between Iran and the international
> community were to lead
> to a military war?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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