Singapore: In terms of cultural and religious diversity, Iraq is one of the richest countries in the world. Some parts of Iraq are like cultural and religious museums home to some of the most ancient and unique — and today endangered — communities in the region and in the world.
In some cases, the very existence of these groups is barely known by outsiders who are oblivious to any label beyond Sunni, Shiite and Kurd — and even these labels mask the diversity contained within each of Iraq’s main three communities.
Historically, Iraq’s varied communities lived, for the most part, separately from each other. The much celebrated intermarriage and communal mingling is largely a product of the 20th century and was heavily influenced by class and regional barriers. Nevertheless, Iraq’s communal divides were seldom marked by tension or conflict and minorities were recognised as a part of the social landscape. To borrow a phrase from Sudhir Kakar’s analysis of Hindu-Muslim relations in Hyderabad, Iraq’s communities in pre-20th century Iraq were, “more than strangers, not often enemies, but less than friends.”
The modern state’s inherent homogenising tendencies and the Iraqi state’s increasing authoritarianism over the 20th century affected Iraq’s rich cultural diversity and weighed heavily on its smaller communities. State-led persecution of Iraqi minorities varied. There were instances of violence against minorities such as the Assyrian massacre of 1933 or the genocidal Anfal campaign against the Kurds in the 1980s or the mass deportations of the 1970s and 1980s. More consistently, minorities were culturally excluded, whether directly such as through the official banning of Baha’ism in 1970 and Arabisation policies under the Ba’ath or indirectly such as through the elevation of Arab and/or Islamic identity in nationalist discourse.
Political marginalisation
Unsurprisingly, Iraq’s smaller communities have kept a low profile and have often been misunderstood and even stigmatised by broader society. Since 2003, the elevation of communal identities as the prime marker of political organisation has been disastrous for Iraq’s smaller groups. With Iraq and Iraqi politics being increasingly focused on the competition between its three main communal groups, the marginalisation of minorities has only increased. Furthermore, these were particularly vulnerable to the violence that has affected all Iraqis and that shows no sign of abating. In addition to the fact that they lack the numbers, political support or organisation to effectively defend themselves, religious minorities are particularly vulnerable to the genocidal ideology of the likes of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
Unsurprisingly, the last 11 years have seen Iraq’s cultural diversity come under threat. High rates of migration among minorities and their increasing marginalisation may result in Iraq irreversibly losing some its oldest communities — just as happened with its Jewish community starting in the mid-20th century. There is every chance that Iraq may even lose one of its major groups through Kurdish independence. As for minorities, in some cases, they are so demographically weak and face so many challenges that they are threatened with extinction as distinct groups.
Iraq’s boundless inter and intra ethnic/religious diversity is too extensive to list here. But beyond Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, here are some — though by no means all — of Iraq’s less mentioned communal groups:
Fanar Haddad is Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore. He is author of Sectarianism in Iraq: Antagonistic Visions of Unity.
Persecution of minorities
Yazidis (above)
One of Iraq’s most insular and misunderstood communities, the Yazidis are a Kurdish speaking ethno-religious group that can be found in parts of Syria, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. The largest Yazidi communities are to be found in Iraq where they are concentrated in the north and northwestern regions. Estimates regarding their demographic size in Iraq vary widely from 70,000 to 500,000. The word Yazidi can be traced to Kurdish and Persian roots roughly translating into those who worship the creator. Their unique creed shows influences from the region’s many faiths including the Abrahamic faiths and older pre-Abrahamic beliefs and ancient nature-worship. Contrary to popular belief, they are not devil-worshippers and are in fact monotheists believing in a single supreme deity — albeit one that has entrusted the world to seven angelic beings, the most important of which is Melek Taus (the peacock angel). Their society is tribal and hierarchical both religiously and socially with some writers speaking of a Yazidi caste system. Intermarriage with people from beyond the community and even beyond the individual caste is forbidden. Yazidis in Iraq are Kurds but are primarily defined (and self-defined) by their unique faith.
Turkmen (above)
The descendants of various waves of Turkic migration into Mesopotamia, the Turkmens are considered the third largest ethnic group in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds. There are no accurate figures for the demographic weight but estimates range from 500,000 to 3 million. They are mainly concentrated in Ninewah, Kirkuk, Arbil, Wasit and Diyala provinces. There is a sizeable Turkmen community in Baghdad though this has been largely Arabised over the generations. Turkmen are mostly Muslim (both Shiite and Sunni) but there are Christian Turkmen communities as well.
Roma (Kawliyah)
Iraqi Roma, called Kawliyah in Iraq, have a similar social status to other Roma/gypsy/traveller communities across the world: marginalised, criminalised and socially stigmatised. Until the mid/late 20th century, they often lacked permanent dwellings, but today there are several gypsy satellite towns on the edges of major urban centres across Iraq. They are mostly associated with entertainment industries, both legal and illegal. There are no accurate figures for their numbers.
Baha’is
This small religious group, numbering several thousands, is not recognised as an official religious group in Iraq. Baha’ism dates to mid 19th century Iran and has among its core beliefs the unity of God, the unity of religion and the unity of humanity. In Baha’ism, there is one supreme deity who is the source of all major religions. As such, in Baha’ism, divine messengers include both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic figures. Baha’ism is closer to being a moral philosophy rather than a dogmatic faith. Since 2003, Iraqi Baha’is have had an ambiguous legal status: neither banned nor recognised. As such they maintain a low profile and avoid declaring their religious beliefs in public.
Kaka’is/Ahl Al Haq
Like other ancient religious minorities in Iraq, Kaka’is are insular, non-missionary and reticent about the reality and nature of their beliefs. Kaka’is in Iraq are found mainly in Kirkuk and along the Greater Zab river near the Iran-Iraq border. There are also Kaka’i communities in the Kurdish region, Nineveh and Diyala provinces. They are mainly Kurdish but there are some Arab adherents. Their numbers are estimated at about 200,000 though there is much uncertainty as to their real demographic weight. Their creed draws on many influences including Sufism, Shiite and non-Abrahamic traditions such as Zoroastrianism and Yazidi beliefs.
Black Iraqis (above)
Descendants of African slaves, black Iraqis are primarily found in the south and particularly in the province of Basra. Their numbers are estimated at several hundred thousand and they are, by and large, a neglected community suffering from class, regional and racial discrimination. Black activism and black self-awareness in Iraq are very recent and still limited phenomena. Last year, one of the leaders of the nascent black rights activism movement, Jalal Diab, was murdered in Basra.
Sabean Mandeans (above)
Sabean Mandeans claim to be the oldest surviving Mesopotamian community. They are an ethno-religious community with a pre-Abrahamic monotheistic faith and with their own language, Mandean, an eastern Aramaic language — though today this is mainly used in religious liturgy. Like the Yazidis, the Sabean Mandeans are an intensely insular community who historically have been stigmatised and persecuted. In recent times, they have concentrated in southern Iraq and in the adjacent Ahvaz region of Iran. The 20th century saw significant Sabean Mandean migration to other parts of Iraq and particularly to Baghdad with some estimates stating that Baghdad became the largest Sabean Mandean city in Iraq. Since 2003, many Sabean Mandeans migrated to the Kurdish region and beyond to escape the chaos of Arab Iraq. It is estimated that Sabean Mandeans numbered about 60-70,000 people before 2003. That number has decreased to as low as 5,000 with some reports warning of their possible extinction as a group if current trends persist.
Shabak (above)
An ethnic group concentrated in Nineveh province, the Shabak are estimated to number about 200,000 people. They have their own language and customs and they mostly profess forms of Islam. Most are considered Shiites though they have traditionally been influenced by Sufism.
Fayli Kurds
Ethnically Kurdish (with their own dialect), Faylis are also identified by their distinctive Shiite beliefs. They are concentrated along the Eastern side of Iraq particularly in Diyala and Kut provinces. Fayli Kurds were heavily targeted by the former regime: up to half a million of them were stripped of Iraqi citizenship and forcibly deported in the 1970s and 1980s.
Christians (above)
One of Iraq’s oldest communities dating to the 1st century AD, the Christian communities have been steadily decreasing in numbers within Iraq particularly since 2003. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the 1.5 million Christians living in Iraq in 2003 have emigrated over the past 11 years. There are a variety of Iraqi Christian denominations, some of which also represent ethnic groups with their own culture and language. Iraqi Christians can be divided ethnically into Assyrians, Chaldeans, Armenians, Syriacs, Arabs and Kurds or religiously into Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox and Seventh Day Adventists. So, for example, there is a Syriac Orthodox Church and a Syriac Catholic Church just as there is an Armenian Catholic Church and a Roman Catholic Church. Historically, Christians could be found across Iraq particularly in urban centres and in the towns and villages of the Nineveh plains. In recent times, their presence has dwindled in many places such as in Basra or in parts of Baghdad and, of course, in Mosul, as was tragically documented in recent months.
