Figure 1.--. |
|
Iran as the sucessor state of the ancient Persian Empire is a highly diverse country. Iran/Persia has alwys been a multi-ethnic and multicultural country. In ancient times,the vast Persian Empire encompased many different groups, including most famously the Greeks in the west. The various groups with some exceptions have coexisted fairly amnicably. The fundamentalist Iranian Revolution (1979) has been less willing to tolerate diversity. This is especially the case ethnically. The dominant Persian ethnic group constitute more than half the population and inhabit most of the Iranian Plateau of central Iran. The various ethnic minorities are related on tge perifery of the country. This has created problems with neigboring states, especially modern Iraq--a continuation of the historic conflict between Arabs and Persians. Interethnic relations have caused some problems for modern Iran because several of the other ethnic groups have demanded autonomy or independence, something the dominant Perians have effectively resisted. The principal ethno-linguistic minority groups in Iran are: Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Azeris, Baluchis, Georgians, Jews, Kurds, and Turkmen. The Arab minority is part of a centuries old conflict. the Soviets used the Azeris as part of their attempt to establish prrmanent presece in Iran during World War II. The Kurds have aspired for a state, but being scattered among Turkey, Iraq, ahd Iran this has proven difficult.
Ethnicity is important to Iranians. The change of name from Persian to Iran was taken on ethnic grounds to conect the country's image with the Aryan
people of pre-history. This was done during the 1930s when Hitler and the NAZIs raised ethnic and racial issues to matters of great nation importnce. Iran at the time developed close relations with NAZI Germany.
Lingusistics and ethnicity are inextricably related in Iran. While the majority of Iranians are Farsi speakers, a very large portion of the country speak other languages. The Iranian Constitution guarantees that schools will teach children in their own languages, but this is not always the case and has engenderd complaints among the ethnic-lingusitic minorities. There are also complsints tht non-Farsi speakers have more limited access to higher education as well as more limited job opportunitiues. Adding to these problems is that several of the ethnic-linguistic minorities do not practice Shite Islam, the state religion.
Ethnic Persians form the majority of the modern Iranian population. Ethnicity is strognly connected with language in Iran. Farsi (Persian) is today the official language, but it is only in relatively recent years that Farsi speakers and Persians have become a majority of the population. Iran is a highly diverse country ethnically and there is an important regional distribution. The Iranian heartland lateau is primarily Persian, but the ethnic minorities dominate the perifery. The Western perifery, for example,is dominated by Arabs and Azeris. Some of the minority grroups (such as the Tajiks and Ossetians) are related ethnically to Persians. There are other language-groups, including Turkic (spoken by Azeris, Turkmen, Qashqais, and Shahsevans), Kurdish, Arabic, Baluchi, Armenian, and Assyrian. The Iranians who speak these non-Farsi languages commonly perceive their ethnic identity as a complement to their national identity. This varies widely. Some see see their ethnicity as even more important tht their Iranian citizenship. Persian leaders over time have commonly been tolerant as to cultural and ethnic differences. This was one of the great strengths of the ancient Persian Empire. It was Cyrus the Great, for example, that famouly released the Hebrew people from their Babylonian captivity and historical oblivion. The Mullahs currently ruling the Iranian theocracy are primrily Persians and less tolerant of ethnic ad cultural diversity than has been the historical norm in the Persian past.
Ethnic Persians form the majority of the modern Iranian population. Ethnicity is strognly connected with language in Iran. Farsi (Persian) is today the official language, but it is only in relatively recent years that Farsi speakers and Persians have become a majority of the population. Iran is a highly diverse country ethnically and there is an important regional distribution. The Iranian heartland lateau is primarily Persian
The Arab minority is part of a centuries old conflict between Peesians and Arabs which became hardened by the Sunni/Shi'ia divide. The Islamic Republic of Iran which took power with the overhrow of the Shah (1979) posed itself as an enemy of Israel and a champion of the Palestinians. It is today a major supporter of fundamentalist Hamas in Gaza despite their Sunni orientation. Iran's propaganda machine makes a great deal of .
its support of the Palestinian Arabs. What it does not publicize is its ethnic cleansing policies of its own Arab population. While accusing Israel of Apartheid and ethnic cleahsing, it is actually Iran that is conducting the ethnic cleaning of Arabs. And almost unbelieveably, the League of Arab States with its focus on Palestine, refuses to stand up for the Iranian Arabs. Iranian Arabs are a small quiet minority that the Islamic Republic has oppressed for decades and which the international community has ignored. Arabs and Persians have lived in the Persian Gulf area for millenia and this pre-dates Islam. Arab tribes were involved in the continuing wars between Rome (and later Byzantium) on one sude and Parthia (Persia) on the other. It was the Parthians that blocked Rome's advance east. The predominantly Christian Lakhmid tribe fought with the last pre-Islamic Persian dynasty. The Ghassanid tribe were also Christian, but allied themselves with Rome and subsequently Byzantium. One interpretation of Middle Eastern history is that the wars between Parthia/Persia and Rome/Byzantium weakened both sides. This created a power vacuum in the Levant and Fertile Cressent that allowed a relatively small Arab army united by Mohammed and fired by Islam to emerged from Arabia and create a new world power.
Azerisare Iran's largest ethnic minority, Nearly 25 percent of Iranians are Azeris,although there are differences as to the precise count. Azeris tend to believe that the number is actually higher while the Farsi dominted Government insist that the officially published numbers are correct. The Azeris speak a Turkic languge. And imprtantly they re predomintely Shiite like the Farsi majority. The Azeri population is concdentrated in the northwest along the border with Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic and during World war II the Soviet Union occupied northwest Iran. Iran and especually Azeri areas became a major conduit for American Lend Lease supplies to the Soviet Union. Considerable diplomatic wrangling wascnbeeded to convince the Soviets to leave after the war. The Iranian Azeris are ethnically and lingustically related to the people of Azerbaijan, but there are culural differences. The Azerbaijan people after seven decades of Soviet rule and lest intrusive Tsarist rule before that are more secular than their Iranian Azeri cousins. This has had the impact of reducung conflict with the conservative Iranian theocracy in Tehran. (A Supreme Leader was an ethnic Azeri.) Iranian Azeris seem more integrated into Iranian society, business, and politics than most of the other Iranian minorities. There are some grievances. While many Azeris say they are not treated as second-class citizens, there arre complaints. The primary one seems to be populart attitudes among Persians, occassiinaly reflected in the state-controlled media. A cartoon comparing Azeris to cockroaches caused widespread demonstrations in major Azeri cities (2006).
Iran has one of the oldest Jewish communities outside Israel. Jews first appeared in Iran at the time of the destruction of the First Temple (6th century BC). The Jews had been conquered by the Babalonians and many were brought back to Babylon as slaves. Cyrus the Great who founded the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon (539 BC). Cyrus allowed the enslaved Jews to return to Israel. Not all the Jews returned. Scattered Jewish colonies were established in Babylon and various Persian provinces as well as Hamadan and Susa. The experiences of the Jews in Persia under the Achaemids are desctibed in the Bible (books of Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel). Jews in Persia tended to lived in their own communities. Persia was a huge multi-national empire. Thus Persian Jewish communities existed not only in modern Iran, but also what is now Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, northwestern India, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Jews during Sassanid dynasty prospered and spread throughout Persia, albeit they experienced some persecution (226-642 AD). Arab Muslims conquered Persia (642 AD). Persia became part of the Caliphate. Persia was an extremly backward state (19th century). Persian Jews were persecuted and suffered descrimination. Some Jewish communities were forced to convert to Islam. Some Jews as Zionism developed, emigrated to Palesine which at the time was an Ottoman province.
The Kurds have traditionally aspired for their own state. This was a possibility after World War I with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire (1918). The Kurds, scattered as they were among Turkey, Iraq, and Iran failed. Kurdish areas were partioned amomg Turkey and the new Iraqi state. Persian whivh became Iran maintained controlof its Kurdish areas. The enduting Kurdish dream of a state has made them a difficult minority for the Tehran regime. This was the case way before the Mullas seized control of the country. This was a concern shared by Iraq and Iran. During the Cold War the Soviets used the Kurds to destabilize pro-Western regimes. This changes fter Saddam's Iraq became aoviet ally. The nationality issues are compounded by religious diffeebces, an issue of immense importance in a theocratic state. The Kurds are predominantly Sunni. Like the Azeris, the Kurds are mainly found in northwestern Iran, part of the area referred to as Kurdistan whichbincludes northern Iraq and eastern-Turkey. The Kurds are more than 5 percent bofthe Iranian population, some what less than the Kurdish population in Iraq and Turkey. And as in these other countries, many Iranian Kurds are sympthetic to separatist ideas, although this sentiment appears less pronounced than in Iraq and Turkey. Demonstrations followed Turkey’s arrest of Abdullah Ocalan, then-leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (1999).
Baluchis are smaller than the larger minorities. Estimates suggest that they are about 2 pecent of the population.
They are predominantly Sunni. They are found in Baluchistan, a southeastern region that was divided between Pakistan and Iran. This along with the east in general is economically the least developed and poorest part of Iran. There are also high levels of unemployment. The border has been described as porous, in part because of criss border dethnic and family ties, Smuggling is rampant. Drugs are a special problem. While poorly reported, Iran has a significant drug problem and mny of the drugs enter through Baluchistan and over the Afghan border to the north. Baluchistan has few economic resources. The Iranian Government has some security concerns in Baluchistan. Baluchi militants such as Jundallah would like to break away and unite with their Pakistani coiusins. The Iranians opened a nedw military base (2006).
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Middle Eastern page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Topics]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]