Minority politics in Iraq
Encyclopedia
Minorities in Iraq include various ethnic and religious groups. The Kurds
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

 , Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

 (also known as Chaldo-Assyrians), and Iraqi Turkmen
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...

 represent the three largest non-Arab minorities in the country. Other smaller ethnic groups include Armenians, Roma, Shabak
Shabak people
Shabak people are an ethnic and religious minority group living in northern Iraq, who live mainly in the villages of Ali Rash, Khazna, Yangidja, and Tallara in Sinjar district in the province of Ninawa in northern Iraq. Their language, Shabaki, is a Northwestern Iranian language very close to...

, Yezidi
Yazidi
The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...

, Mandean
Mandaeism
Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is a Gnostic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram and especially John the Baptist...

s, Mhallami
Mhallami
The Mhallami, or Mhalmites, are a Semitic people originating from the Assyrian/Syriac people. They originally spoke Aramaic and were Eastern Rite Christians, but are now primarily speakers of North Mesopotamian Arabic and Sunni Muslims of Shafi`i madh'hab.-Origin:"A small minority of the Syriacs,...

, Circassians and Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

. There are also small Palestinian
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...

 and Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...

 minorities, and small numbers of Bedouins, Iranians
Iranians
Iranians may refer to:* Persian people, who are synonymous with the people of Iran/Persia...

, Azeris, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

 and Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....

.

Religious groups include Sunni Arabs, Christians, Mandeans, Iraqi Jews, Yazidis, Yarsan, Shabak
Shabak
Sherut haBitachon haKlali , officially known by the acronym Shabak , officially known in English as Israel Security Agency , and commonly known in English as the Shin Bet , is Israel's internal security service. Its motto is "Magen VeLo Yera'e"...

, Zoroastrians and Bahá'ís.

Some groups are both religious and ethnic minorities, these are Assyrians, Mandeans, Yazidis, Shabaks, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

, Roma, Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

 Yarsan, Mhallami
Mhallami
The Mhallami, or Mhalmites, are a Semitic people originating from the Assyrian/Syriac people. They originally spoke Aramaic and were Eastern Rite Christians, but are now primarily speakers of North Mesopotamian Arabic and Sunni Muslims of Shafi`i madh'hab.-Origin:"A small minority of the Syriacs,...

 and Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

, as well as the small numbers of Kurdish and Turcoman Christians.

These groups have not enjoyed equal status with the majority Arab populations throughout Iraq's eighty-five year history. Like the Shi'a Muslims, the ruling Arab Socialist Ba'th Party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...

 harshly oppressed these minorities during its rule of Iraq. Under Ba'athist rule, Iraq, despite being one of the most multi-ethnic and multi-religious countries in the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...

, these groups were forced to deny their identities under Ba'ath rule, and particularly under Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

's process of Arabization
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or incorporates Arab culture...

. The situation of the Kurds, however, has changed since the toppling of the Ba'ath party.

The end of the Ottoman Empire

The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 invasion of 1915–1918 during the First World War paved the way for Sunni Arab rule of Iraq. King Faisal, the son of the Sharif of Mecca
Sharif of Mecca
The Sharif of Mecca or Hejaz was the title of the former governors of Hejaz and a traditional steward of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina...

 and brother of Abdullah Hussein
Abdullah II of Jordan
Abdullah II ibn al-Hussein is the reigning King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He ascended the throne on 7 February 1999 after the death of his father King Hussein. King Abdullah, whose mother is Princess Muna al-Hussein, is a member of the Hashemite family...

 of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 became King. Turkomen were assaulted, perceived to have been leftover from the Turkish and Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 imperialism that controlled Iraq from the 16th century to 1917. The ethnic-cleansing began in earnest in 1933 with attacks on the Assyrian
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...

 community (see Assyrian Genocide
Assyrian genocide
The Assyrian Genocide refers to the mass slaughter of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac population of the Ottoman Empire during the 1890s, the First World War, and the period of 1922-1925...

) which was accused of collaborating with the British because they had served with the British army as Assyrian levies
Assyrian Levies
The Iraq Levies was the first Iraqi military forces established by the British in British controlled Iraq. The Iraq Levies were a most noteworthy feature of the Kingdom of Iraq, and especially of northern Iraq during the years of the mandate, and no account of the Assyrians or indeed of Iraq itself...

. The Assyrians had been used by the British to put down Arab and Kurdish insurrections during British rule. Although King Faisal was opposed to the massacres, a number of communities were destroyed and thousands were killed (see Simele Massacre
Simele massacre
The Simele Massacre was a massacre committed by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Iraq during the systematic targeting of Assyrians in northern Iraq in August 1933...

). Between 1949 and 1951 Iraq’s 150,000 Jews were driven from the country, an ancient pre Arab community dating from before the 7th century BC ceased to exist, accused of being collaborators with Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...

 and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

Nuri as-Said
Nuri as-Said
Nuri Pasha al-Said was an Iraqi politician during the British Mandate and during the Kingdom of Iraq. He served in various key cabinet positions, and served seven terms as Prime Minister of Iraq....

, the Prime Minister of Iraq was part Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

, and herefore a minority, like Mohamed Ali of Egypt.

Baathism and minorities

The advent of Ba’athism did nothing to curb the loss of minority communities. Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...

s were rounded up and moved into developments to stop their nomadism. Communists were killed, and six of the last remaining Jews were hanged as ‘communists’ in 1967. Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...

 were expelled from Eastern Iraq.

When Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

 embarked on a war with Iran he dredged the Shiite and Mandean (an indiginous pre Arab Aramaic speaking Mesopotamian ethnic group with their own Gnostic religion) inhabited swamps of Southern Iraq, destroying the ancient culture of the Mandean people who had lived amongst the reeds since the time of Babylon. Saddam also began a concerted campaign against the Kurd
Kürd
Kürd or Kyurd or Kyurt may refer to:*Kürd Eldarbəyli, Azerbaijan*Kürd Mahrızlı, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Goychay, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Jalilabad, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Qabala, Azerbaijan*Qurdbayram, Azerbaijan...

s and other ethnic groups in the north, culminating in the gassing of Halabja
Halabja
Halabja , is a Kurdish town in Northern Iraq, located about north-east of Baghdad and 8–10 miles from the Iranian border....

 in the Al-Anfal Campaign
Al-Anfal Campaign
The al-Anfal Campaign , also known as Operation Anfal or simply Anfal, was a genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq, led by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and headed by Ali Hassan al-Majid in the final stages of Iran-Iraq War...

 campaign and the destruction of hundreds of Kurdish, Assyrian, Turcoman, Shabak, Armenian and Yazidi villages and mass killings. Saddam set upon a policy of settling Arabs in the formerly Kurdish area, having read about Stalin’s resettling of peoples. Many Kurdish, Assyrian, Turcoman, Shabak and Yazidi villages and towns were destroyed or forcibly resettled with Arabs.

Post-Saddam Era

The end of Saddam’s rule in 2003 truly opened the floodgates to the creation of completely homogenous areas made up of Sunnis, Shiites or Kurds. The Assyrian (aka Chaldo-Assyrian), Yezidi, Mandean, Shabak, Armenian, Roma and Turcoman minorities, were singled out for attacks by Arab Iraqi Islamic insurgents and terrorists (both Shia and Sunni) and to some degree by Kurdish nationalists. Churches have been bombed through the Iraq war in Baghdad and Mosul. In another case 30 members of a Yezidi community was slaughtered by neighboring Sunni Arabs after they were accused of stoning a Yezidi girl
Stoning of Du'a Khalil Aswad
-Asylum and return:Some news agencies reported that Aswad was being sheltered by a Yazidi tribal leader in Bashika in fear of her life until her family persuaded her that she had been forgiven and could return home. Other reports indicate that she was instead given asylum by a local Muslim Sheikh...

 who wanted to marry a Sunni man. Shiite Arabs were targeted by foreign Sunni fighters who arrived in Iraq since 2003, under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...

.

On August 14, 2007 four co-ordinated suicide bombings
2007 Yazidi communities bombings
The 2007 Yazidi communities bombings occurred at around 8pm local time on August 14, 2007, when four co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks detonated in the Yazidi towns of Qahtaniya and Jazeera , near Mosul....

 killed as many as 800 people and wounded over 1,500 in villages in the district of Qahtaniya and Jazeera. These people were members of the Yazidi
Yazidi
The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...

 ethnicity, an ancient race and religion often called "devil worshippers" by some Islamists.

Ethnic Iraqi minority groups make up a large percentage of the Iraqi diaspora
Iraqi diaspora
The Iraqi diaspora refers to native Iraqis who have left for other countries as emigrants or refugees, and is now one of the largest in modern times, being described by the UN as a "humanitarian crisis" largely due to the US invasion and occupation of Iraq....

. In the US, Assyrians are concentrated especially in the state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. Most Iraqi Jews reside in Israel. The Kurdish diaspora resides in Germany among other places. Some Mandeans have relocated to Sweden.

Kurds

Kurds are an Indo-European people of the Iranic branch. Ethnically and linguistically they are most closely related to Iranians and have existed in Iraq since before the Arab-Islamic conquest. They are possibly descended from the ancient Corduene
Corduene
Corduene was an ancient region located in northern Mesopotamia and modern day Kurdish inhabited south east Turkey. It was a province of the Greater Armenia. It was referred to by the Greeks as Karduchia and by both the Greeks and Romans as Corduene...

. Only the Assyrians, Mandeans and Jews have a longer history in Iraq, and possibly Armenians.

The majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslims, with Shia and Alevi Muslim minorities. There are also a significant number of adherents to native Kurdish/Iranic religions such as Yazidism and Yarsan. There are also minorities of Christians
Kurdish Christians
Kurdish Christians are Kurds who follow Christianity and mostly live in the Kurdistan region. The word is derived from the Greek words and . The Arabic word is also sometimes used. Kurdish Christians should not be confused with other historical Christian communities living in the area such as...

 and Jews
Kurdish Jews
Kurdish Jews or Kurdistani Jews are the ancient Eastern Jewish communities, inhabiting the region known as Kurdistan in northern Mesopotamia, roughly covering parts of Iran, northern Iraq, Syria and eastern Turkey. Their clothing and culture is similar to neighbouring Kurdish Muslims and Christian...

. Some Kurdish Communists and Socialists are Atheist.

Under the Kingdom of Iraq, Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani
Mustafa Barzani
Mustafa Barzani also known as Mullah Mustafa was a Kurdish nationalist leader, and the most prominent political figure in the modern Kurdish politics. In 1946 he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party to lead the Kurdish revolution against Iraqi regimes...

 led a rebellion against the central government in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 in 1945. After the failure of the uprising Barzānī and his followers fled to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. In the 1960s, when Iraqi Brigadier Abdul-Karim Qassem distanced himself from Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...

, he faced growing opposition from pro-Egypt officers in the Iraqi army. When the garrison in Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...

 rebelled against Qassem's policies, he allowed Barzānī to return from exile to help suppress the pro-Nasser rebels. By 1961, Barzānī and the Kurds began a full-scale a rebellion.

When the Ba'ath Party took power in Iraq, the new government, in order to end the Kurdish revolt, granted the Kurds their own limited autonomy. However, for various reasons, including the pro-Iranian sympathies of some Kurds during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s, the regime implemented anti-Kurdish policies and a de facto civil war broke out. From March 29, 1987 until April 23, 1989, the infamous Al-Anfal campaign
Al-Anfal Campaign
The al-Anfal Campaign , also known as Operation Anfal or simply Anfal, was a genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq, led by the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and headed by Ali Hassan al-Majid in the final stages of Iran-Iraq War...

, a systematic genocide of the Kurdish people in Iraq, was launched. For this, Iraq was widely-condemned by the international community, but was never seriously punished for oppressive measures, including the use of chemical weapons
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...

 against the Kurds, which resulted in thousands of deaths.

After the Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, the Kurds began another uprising against the Ba'athists. The revolt was violently put down. During the same year, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, fighting Kurds on its on territory, bombed Kurdish areas in Northern Iraq, claiming that bases for the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party
Kurdistan Workers Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...

 were located in the region. However, the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

 and the fall of Saddam, brought renewed hope to the Kurds. The newly-elected Iraqi government agreed to re-establish the Kurdistan Regional Government
Kurdistan Regional Government
The Kurdistan Regional Government , , is the official ruling body of the predominantly Kurds-populated Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq...

 in Northern Iraq. The Kurds have since been working towards developing the area and pushing for democracy in the country. However, most Kurds overwhelmingly favor becoming an independent nation. "In the January 2005 Iraqi elections, 98.7 percent of Kurds voted for full independence rather than reconciliation with Arab Iraq." Almost no other political or social group in the region is agreeable to the idea of Kurdish independence. Iraq's neighboring countries such as Turkey are particularly opposed to the movement because they fear that an independent Iraqi Kurdistan would strengthen Kurdish independence movements in their own territories.

Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...

 was at loggerheads with the leader of ethnic Kurds, who brandished the threat of secession in a growing row over the symbolic issue of flying the Iraqi national flag at government buildings in the autonomous Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

 north. Maliki's Arab Shi'ite-led government was locked in a dispute with the autonomous Kurdish regional government, which has banned the use of the Iraqi state flag on public buildings. The prime minister issued a blunt statement on Sunday saying: "The Iraqi flag is the only flag that should be raised over any square inch of Iraq." But Mesud Barzani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...

 region, told the Kurdish parliament the national leadership were "failures" and that the Iraqi flag was a symbol of his people's past oppression by Baghdad: "If at any moment we, the Kurdish people and parliament, consider that it is in our interests to declare independence, we will do so and we will fear no one." The dispute exposes a widening rift between Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

s and Kurds, the second great threat to Iraq's survival as a state after the growing sectarian conflict between Arab Sunnis and Shi'ites.

Assyrians

The Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...

-speaking Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

 (also known as Chaldo-Assyrians and Chaldeans) are the indigenous people of Iraq and descendants of those who ruled ancient Akkad
Akkad
The Akkadian Empire was an empire centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region in Mesopotamia....

, Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...

 and Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...

. More generally speaking, the Assyrians (like the Mandeans) are descendants of the ancient Mesopotamians (Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylon, Adiabene, Osroene and Hatra). They are a Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...

 people, and speak versions of the Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...

 of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and have their own written script. They began to convert to Christianity in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD formerly having followed the ancient Sumerian-Akkadian religion (also known as Ashurism). For a time some were Manicheans, following the religion created by the Assyrian prophet, Mani. There are an estimated 800,000 to 1 million Assyrians remaining in Iraq, the larger concentration of them is scattered worldwide (see Assyrian diaspora
Assyrian diaspora
The Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac diaspora refers to the estimated population of Assyrian/Syriac Christians in the world that migrated outside of the Middle East or their original homeland. The worldwide diaspora of Syriac Christian communities begins during World War I, with the mass-killings of...

)
. They are Iraq's third largest ethnic group after the Arabs and the Kurds.

Assyrians have been successful in Iraq in many fields, including Sports, the Arts, Academia, the Military, Business and Medicine.

The Assyrians rose up against the Ottoman Empire in World War I, and fought alongside the British and Russians with the promise of an independent homeland. This was not to be, and the Assyrians were abandoned by both.

During the British Mandate the Assyrians were used as a well trained and highly effective military force by the British to put down Arab and Kurdish insurrections and protect British interests.

Persecution of the Assyrians began early in Iraq's history. In 1932, the British Mandate of Iraq ended and King Faisal I
Faisal I of Iraq
Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...

 took the reins of power. In 1933, however, the Assyrians refused to sign a declaration of loyalty to King Faisal. This led to mass deportations and massacres of Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

 in Northern Iraq. The death toll estimates at roughly 3,000. To this day, Assyrians mark August 7 as their martyrs day.

The Assyrians also came under persecution during Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime. When Hussein first assumed power, the Assyrian population there numbered 2 million to 2.5 million. Many have fled to neighboring countries such as Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, or have emigrated to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 The United Nations High Commission for Refugees reports that half a million Iraqi Christians have registered for temporary asylum in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. Assyrians have traditionally made good soldiers, during the Iran–Iraq War, many were recruited to the armies of both sides. This resulted in Assyrians in Iraq killing Assyrians in Iran. It was estimated that 60,000 Assyrians were killed during the conflict). Many were purposely put on the front line by both sides as a way of reducing numbers.

With the 2003 invasion of Iraq, some Assyrians felt a renewed hope at possibly being granted their own autonomy. However, many became targets for the Iraqi insurgency
Iraqi insurgency
The Iraqi Resistance is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures opposing the United States-led multinational force in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government...

, ultimately reducing their numbers even more. According to local organisations, about 150,000 Assyrians are believed to have left the country since the US occupation began in 2003.

Still, there is a push for Assyrian autonomy in Iraq, particularly in the Ninawa
Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa is a governorate in northern Iraq, and the Arabic name for the biblical city of Nineveh in Assyria. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient...

 region where the biblical Assyrian capital of Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....

 was located. Although little has been done so far to establish this, some voices from within the new Iraqi government appear to welcome the possibility of Assyrian autonomy. For example, on February 24, 2006, Dr. Mohammad Ihsan, Minister of Human Rights in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...

 stated "We don't mind Iraqi Christians concentrating anywhere they wish, and establishing a new province for themselves in the Nineveh plain, and bringing together Iraqi Christians from all over the world and their return to their houses and towns." On January 29, 2006, a set of car bombs exploded outside four Assyrian churches in Baghdad and Kirkuk
Kirkuk
Kirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...

 killing four worshippers and injuring many more. This led to demonstrations by Assyrians around the world demanding Assyrian autonomy in Iraq.

More recently, Assyrian armed militias have been formed to protect Assyrian towns, villages and areas in the north from Islamic and Kurdish extremists. This policy has met with success thus far.

However deadly attacks against the community began again in December 2009 in Mosul and picked in February 2010. It led to the assassination of over 20 Christians and the bombings of churches in Mosul. The attacks led to up to 4,300 Assyrians flying Mosul to Assyrian towns.

Iraqi Turkmen

The Iraqi Turkmen also claim to be the third largest ethnic group in Iraq,In the December 2005 elections
Iraqi legislative election, December 2005
Following the ratification of the Constitution of Iraq on 15 October 2005, a general election was held on 15 December to elect a permanent 275-member Iraqi Council of Representatives....

, between five and seven Turkmen candidates were elected to the Council of Representatives. This included one candidate from the ITF (its leader Sadettin Ergec
Sadettin Ergeç
Sadettin Ergeç is an Iraqi Turkmen politician and the leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front political party. In December 2005, he was elected as the sole member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives on the ITF list...

), two or four from the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...

, one from the Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...

 and one from the Kurdistani Alliance.. They are an Altaic (Turkic) people, and speak a dialect of Turkish. They reside exclusively in the north, particularly in areas such as Mosul and Kirkuk. They are predominantly Sunni Muslims and are mostly secular in nature. There are a minority of Christians. When the Ba'ath party took over Baghdad, it declared in the constitution that schools were prohibited from using the Turkish language and banned Turkish-language media in Iraq. By the 1980s, Hussein prohibited the public use of the Turkish language completely. After the toppling of the Ba'athists, tensions started to rise between the Kurds and the Iraqi Turkmen. Assignations and acquisitions between the two sides made Kirkuk the only violent non-Arab city in Iraq during the aftermath of the U.S-led war. The violence has slowly died down and on January 30, 2006, the President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, said "Kurds are working on a plan to give Iraqi Turkmen autonomy in areas where they are a majority in the new constitution they're drafting for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq."

. However, according to the last Iraqi census which was conducted in 1957, the Turkmens numbered 567,000 out of a population of 6.3 million; thus, they formed 9% of the total Iraqi population.

According to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization , formed in 11 February 1991, in The Hague, is an international organization of political organisations and governments representing self-proclaimed "indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognised or occupied territories". The organization...

, at least 180,000 Turkmen live in the city of Kirkuk
Kirkuk
Kirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...

.

However, the Diyala Province and Kifri
Kifri
Kifri is a town in Iraq and a seat of Kifri District. The district population was estimated at 42,010 in 2003 . Kurds form the majority of the population both in this town and in the District, which is currently part of Diyala Governorate...

 which were once mainly Turkoman cities have been heavily Kurdified
Kurdification
Kurdification is a term used to describe a cultural change in which something ethnically non-Kurdish is made to become Kurdish, usually in contexts of post-Saddam Iraq, in particular in relation to Assyrian Christians, Shabaks and Iraqi Turkmen.- See also :...

 and Arabified
Arabization
Arabization or Arabisation describes a growing cultural influence on a non-Arab area that gradually changes into one that speaks Arabic and/or incorporates Arab culture...

.

Iraqi Turkmen are most known for folk songs, especially the "qoyrats", long songs with nearly twenty different melodious voices forming rich literary texts are typical Turkmen musical works, and make up an important part of Turkish music. The songs often are protest-like, expressing sorrow and resentment over injustice. Hoyrats are a form of uzun hava built on quatrains which often contain allusions and plays on words. They are sung throughout Eastern Anatolia, Southeast Anatolia and Turkmeneli
Turkmeneli
Turkmeneli is the territory claimed as homeland by the Iraqi Turkmen Front.Turkmeneli includes within its boundaries Kirkuk, Tel Afar, Erbil, Madali, Mosul, and Tuz Khormato.-External links:...

.

Iraqi Turkmen speak a Turkic language that is one of the official languages of the Kirkuk region. It is closest to the languages spoken in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

.http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qdA1K3E66UgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA285&dq=Iraqi+Turkmen+language&ots=vuiXv1RLZT&sig=8S-NxEci6jPNjmdFeIDPr0jbXzg#v=onepage&q=Iraqi%20Turkmen%20language&f=false Historically, some Iraqi Turkmen of the intelligentsia adopted the formal Ottoman Language as their written language during their rule by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. Iraqi Turkmens use standard Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

 -official language of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 in writing.

Mandaeans

Mandaeans (also known as Subbi and Sabianism (Arabic: صابئية)) are one of the smallest ethnic and religious groups in the world with only about 75,000 followers worldwide. And historically speaking, the Mandaeism is one of the ancient religions of Mesopotamia and one of the earlier known monothestic religions, along with Abrahamic faiths, and Zoroastrianism.

Mandeans (like the Assyrians) are of indigenous ancient Mesopotamian heritage, and speak their own dialect of Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...

, known as Mandic
Mandic
Mandić is a Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian surname. It may refer to:* Andrija Mandić, Serbian politician* Dominik Mandić, Bosnian Croat historian and politician* Igor Mandić, Croatian writer and journalist* Leopold Mandić, Croatian saint...

. They are a Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...

 people.

The Iraq Mandaean community, in the pre 2003 war period, was the most important in the world with 30,000–50,000 of the 70,000 total living in the country mainly in the area around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Given the peaceful ethos of Mandaeans and lack of missionary movement within the faith they had traditionally formed a successful community with their Sunni, Shia and Christian neighbors and were considered “people of the book” which Islamically speaking allows them to practice religion and integrate into Iraq society even though technically this is incorrect as they are neither Jews nor Christians.

Mandaeans although an ethnic and religious minority, consider themselves Iraqi and have supported the Iraqi nation patriotically, serving in the army during various conflicts. They were considered an economically successful community, and had achieved high levels in Iraqi society, and are held in high regard as silversmiths and goldsmiths.

During the Saddam administration

For Mandaeans the rule of Saddam was a period of mixed fortune. From his rise to power in 1979 the Mandaean community was viewed with suspicion, as other non Sunni citizens, and were kept out of the political sphere. Mandaeans also suffered during Saddam's 1991–1993 purge of the marshlands between Basra, Amara and Nasiriya which reduced the Mandaean population there from about 6,000 to fewer than 2,000.

The government of Saddam though oppressive was fundamentally a secular movement and had a degree of religious tolerance, and due to the strict rule of law this offered a degree of protection to the Mandaean and other minority groups.

"We will set up a temple for you," Saddam told Hilo and his followers. "Iraqis have religious freedom, whether they are Muslims, Christians or Sabaeans,” Saddam Hussein 2001.

Post Saddam and the Iraq war of 2003

Following the removal of the government of Saddam Hussein the plight of the Mandaean community has been international news.

Being such a small community the Mandaeans do not enjoy the same militia protection and this has left them vulnerable to the extremist elements in both the Sunni and Shia communities. This has led to numerous instances of torture, rape, theft and murder.

These very real threats coupled with the inability of the US and Iraqi government to offer protection has resulted in the Mandaean population falling from about 50,000 to less than 13,000 (September 2005) and 5,000 (March 2007) ethnically cleansing them from Iraqi society.

The Mandaeans face great religious persecution from other religious groups whose goals are to eradicate all Mandaeans from Iraq. "The Iraqi Islamic Mujahideen, a militant group, demands that all Mandaeans convert to Islam, leave the country or be killed. The BBC reports that a leaflet was distributed to Christian and Mandaean homes in Baghdad reading 'Either you embrace Islam and enjoy safety and coexist amongst us, or leave our land and stop toying with our principles. Otherwise, the sword will be the judge between belief and blasphemy'". Although the Koran does state that there should be protection to Jews, Christians and Sabaeans, the Mandaean faith is often question as to whether it is a 'Sabian' faith. 'Sabian' "does mean the Baptized in Aramaic Mandaean... [and] the Mandaeans have survived through the centuries by identifying themselves as Sabaeans"...

After the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government, the persecution against the Mandaeans has increased. Mandaeans are pacifists who don’t believe in violence or the possession of weapons so therefore they are more vulnerable to attacks. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq’s Human Rights Report, there have been a "recorded 42 killings, including of women and children, 46 kidnappings, 10 reported threats and 21 attacks between January 2007 and February 2008".

The goal of many hateful groups is the extinction of the Mandaean religion. The religious fundamental groups give the Mandaeans the option to flee, convert or die, as well as using other means to make the religion extinct. Many Mandaeans have been forced to convert to Islam as well as have forced circumcision
Forced circumcision
Forced circumcision most commonly refers to the circumcision of a male who has not given his consent. In a biblical context the term is used especially in relation to Paul the Apostle and his polemics against the forced circumcision of gentile Christians...

s. “Mandaean women and girls have been forced to marry Muslim men. One cannot be a Mandaean without two Mandaean parents. Hence, the forced marriages are a means of forcing the religion out of existence”.

There is no plan to protect the Mandaean community within Iraq with much of the remaining population expected to seek asylum, which at present is the only viable assistance the coalition can offer.

“Since 2003 more than 80% of the Mandaean community has fled Iraq: 10,000 Mandaeans have fled to Syria, 3,000 to Jordan and some to Yemen and Egypt. Currently there are some 5,000 Sabean Mandaeans in Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...

 where many families have found shelter after being expelled from Baghdad, Basra and Baquba”.

At present the Iraq Mandaean refugees are mostly located in Syria, Jordan and Turkey and many are expected to join other small communities in Europe and the US. But with the huge number of Iraqi fleeing the country, the endangered Mandaeans must wait for asylum in the West since the US has only offered a few thousand places and the British will consider each case “on its merits”. This Diaspora coupled with the restrictive conversion and marriage traditions threatens to end the viability of the world’s oldest Gnostic religion.

Other groups

Iraq is also home to several other minorities, though their numbers have shrunk over the course of the country's rocky history.

Armenians

The Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

, like their Assyrian
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

 neighbours, are Christians. Most are Orthodox Christians. They are an Indo-European (Aryan) people who have their own written script. They have a long history of association with Mesopotamia, going back to the early Christian era. As a result of their religion and ethnicity, many have become targets for the insurgency as well, forcing many to flee to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

 or Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

. The Armenian community was once a thriving community with football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 clubs (Nadi Armeni) and other contribution to Iraq's young history. Today, there is only one Armenian village left in Northern Iraq, while most Armenians in live in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 or Mosul, their population is estimated at 20,000, though this may well be higher due to the former Baathist regime's policy of downplaying the size of ethnic minority populations.

Jews

Although historically significant, the Iraqi Jewish community of Iraq currently numbers only about 100 people. Many fled to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 during violent persecutions in the 1950s and '60s due to the Arab-Israeli Conflict (see also History of the Jews in Iraq
History of the Jews in Iraq
The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BCE. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most historically significant Jewish communities....

). Jews were first attested in Iraq as long ago as 1800BCE (and may be native Mesopotamians), the prophet Abraham living in Ur at this time. Jews were deported back into Mesopotamia in the 8th and 6th centuries BCE by the Assyrians and Babylonians and had a continuous presence ever since. They are a Semitic people, and Iraqi Jews predominantly speak Aramaic or a Hebraised version of Arabic.

Persians

There are very few Persians in Iraq, though they once constituted a sizeable number. For much of the period between the late 6th century BCE and mid 7th century AD, parts or all of Iraq were ruled by various Persian Empires. Many were expelled since the 1960s and even more so during the Iran–Iraq War. Many Iraqi Persians returned to Iraq after Iraq war in 2003. Those that remained during the Saddam Hussein era were those that were opposed to the Islamic Revolution in Iran, or members of religious minorities such as Zoroastrians, Christians or Baha'i. Those remaining have come under pressure from Shia Arab extremists who see them as collaborators with the Baathists. The Persian language belongs to the Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...

 language family.

Roma/Qawliya (Gypsies)

Iraq's Roma (Qawliya
Qawliya
The Kawliya or Qawliya or Kowawlah are a nomadic people from Iraq. Gypsy means Qawliya in Arabic. The Qawliya are known for their dancers and music....

) ethnic minority was looked down upon as second-class citizens under Ba'ath party rule. Qawliya had some protection from being persecuted, however. They are an Indo-European (Aryan) people, and Iraqi Roma speak a hybrid language containing elements of Roma, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Russian and Kurdish. They are not religious, some are either superficially Muslim or Christian, others practice Roma Folk religions. The small village safe havens of the Qawliya have vanished with Saddam's overthrow, making them an easy target for Iranian-backed Islamic Fundamentalist militia groups, such as the Badr Organization
Badr Organization
The Badr Organization previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps is an Iraqi political party headed by Hadi al-Amiri...

 or Muqtada al-Sadr
Muqtada al-Sadr
Sayyid Muqtadā al-Ṣadr is an Iraqi Islamic political leader.Along with Ali al-Sistani and Ammar al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Sadr is one of the most influential religious and political figures in the country not holding any official title in the Iraqi government.-Titles:He is...

's Mehdi Army. Many of their villages have been taken over by such militias, and this has forced Qawliya to flee to the north.

Yezidis

Today, there are around 650,000 Yezidis in Iraq. They have their own distinct religion which combines aspects of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Mithraism and Zoroastrianism. Most speak Kurdish, but some speak Arabic.

Yezidis are mostly Kurds, an Indo-European (Aryan) people, although some scholars believe they may also have Assyrian heritage to some degree. Historically yezidism arose among the Kurdish people of present day Iraq. Many Yezidis belong to the main Kurdish parties, KDP and PUK. These have funded major renovations of the Yezidi religious centre at Lalish and established a Yezidi cultural center at Dohuk. Still some yezidis in Iraq do not identify with the nationbuilding in the Kurdistan Region, seiing it as based om sunni-islam, and prefer to consider themselves a separate ethnic group.

Peshmerga
Peshmerga
Peshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...

 troops have controlled Yezidi areas near Mosul since 2003. A predominant Yezidi politician that spoke out against Kurdish leaders was assassinated in the spring of 2005. In 2006 Yezidi representatives complained that the $12 million approved for projects in Yezidi areas in Sinjar
Sinjar
Sinjar is the name of a town and district in northwestern Iraq's Ninawa Governorate near the Syrian border. Its population at the time of the 2006 census was 39,875....

 had been blocked by the intervention of Kurdish political leaders in Mosul and instead was used for a smaller Kurdish village.

Shabaks

There are about 60,000–400,000 Shabaks in Iraq. They are an ethnic and religious minority, retaining their own distinct Pre Islamic religion. They are an Indo-European (Aryan) people and speak an Indo-European language with elements of Turkish and Arabic infused. Despite having their own language and culture unique from other groups, Kurdish authorities have attempted to Kurdify
Kurdification
Kurdification is a term used to describe a cultural change in which something ethnically non-Kurdish is made to become Kurdish, usually in contexts of post-Saddam Iraq, in particular in relation to Assyrian Christians, Shabaks and Iraqi Turkmen.- See also :...

 the Shabaks by occupying Shabak villages and referring to them as "Kurdish Shabaks". In 2005, two Assyrians were killed and four Shabaks were wounded by the KDP during a demonstration organized by the Democratic Shabak Coalition, a group which wants separate representation for the Shabak community.

Circassians

Circassians are a North Caucasian
North Caucasian
North Caucasian may refer to:*North Caucasus*North Caucasian languages*North Caucasian peoples...

 people who are predominantly Sunni Muslim. They appear to have entered Iraq during Ottoman rule and live mainly in the north.

Numbers published in 1988 show the circassian population in Iraq at 8000.

Mhallamis

The Mhallami
Mhallami
The Mhallami, or Mhalmites, are a Semitic people originating from the Assyrian/Syriac people. They originally spoke Aramaic and were Eastern Rite Christians, but are now primarily speakers of North Mesopotamian Arabic and Sunni Muslims of Shafi`i madh'hab.-Origin:"A small minority of the Syriacs,...

 people are a Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...

 people who are closely related to Assyrians. They descend from the tiny minority of indiginous Aramaic speaking Christians who converted to Islam, though they retain an Assyrian/Syriac culture.

Afro-Iraqis

The small number of Iraqis of largely African descent live mostly around the city of Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

, having been brought to the region as slaves over one thousand years ago to work the sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

 plantations then in existence. Although they are Muslims
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 and Arabic-speakers
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

, Afro-Iraqis also retain some cultural and religious traditions from their ancestral homeland. They suffer considerable discrimination due to the color of their skin, and, as a result, are restricted to working as entertainers or menial laborers. Moreover, they are often addressed by other Iraqis as abd, meaning "slave".

In the mid-800s, black slaves around Basra rose in a rebellion, conquering their former masters and ruling the city for 15 years before being put down by forces sent by the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word   which means "successor" or "representative"...

 in Baghdad. After the fall of the Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

 regime, Afro-Iraqis have once again begun to struggle for an improvement in their condition.

Others

Iraq also has Palestinian Arab, Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...

 and Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...

 minorities, and very small numbers of Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....

, Azeris and Lurs
Lurs
Lurs are an Iranic people living mainly in south-western Iran. Their population is estimated at above two million. They occupy Lorestan, Bakhtiari, and Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed. "....

. Marsh Arabs
Marsh Arabs
The Marsh Arabs , also known as the Maʻdān , are inhabitants of the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands in the south and east of Iraq and along the Iranian border....

 are sometimes regarded as a separate ethnic group, however this is more to do with their culture than any proven ethnic characteristics.

Assaults on minority Groups since 2003

  • In total 40 churches have been bombed since June 26, 2004

  • August 10, 2009: Truck bombs kill at least 28 people in the Shabak village of Khazna, in Nineveh governorate

  • June 20, 2009: Truck bomb kills at least 70 people in a Turkmen village near Kirkuk

  • Chaldean
    Chaldean Christians
    Chaldean Christians are ethnic Assyrian adherents of the Chaldean Catholic Church, most of whom entered communion with the Catholic Church from the Church of the East, which was already Catholic, but most wanted to stray away from the Catholic Church, causing the split in the 17th and 18th...

     Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho
    Paulos Faraj Rahho
    Archbishop Mar Paulos Faraj Rahho was the Chaldean Catholic Archeparch of Mosul, in the northern part of Iraq.Also known as Paul Faraj Rahho and Paulos Faradsch Raho he was born into an ethnic Assyrian family, he lived almost his entire life in Mosul, Iraq, which has a long established community...

     was kidnapped on February 23, 2008. Three of his companions were also murdered during the kidnapping. His body was found in March and an Iraqi Al-Qaeda leader, Ahmed Ali Ahmed, known as Abu Omar, was sentenced to death in May for this crime.

  • January 9, 2008, 2 churches bombed in Kirkuk.

  • January 6, 2008, 7 churches bombed: three Chaldean and Assyrian churches in Mosul and four in Baghdad.

  • June 4, 2007, 2 churches attacked, Ragheed Ganni, a priest, and three men were shot dead in church.

  • October 2006, Orthodox priest, Boulos Iskander, kidnapped in Mosul and subsequently beheaded, and his arms and legs were cut off.

  • January 29, 2006, 4 churches bombed.

  • January 2005, Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Basile Georges Casmoussa
    Basile Georges Casmoussa
    Basile Georges Casmoussa is the Syrian Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of the Syrian Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul, Iraq. His Excellency, Archbishop Emeritus Casmoussa was transferred to the Syriac Catholic Patriarchal Curia...

    , kidnapped on January 17 and released.

  • December 7, 2004, 2 churches bombed.

  • November 8, 2004, 1 church bombed.

  • October 16, 2004, 5 churches bombed.

  • September 10 and 11th, 2004, 2 churches bombed.

  • August 1, 2004, 5 Assyrian and 1 Armenian churches bombed.

See also

  • Politics of Iraq
    Politics of Iraq
    The politics of Iraq takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the President of Iraq, and...

  • Demographics of Iraq
    Demographics of Iraq
    This article is about the demographic features of the population of Iraq, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

  • History of Iraq
    History of Iraq
    Iraq, known in Classical Antiquity as Mesopotamia, was home to some of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a cultural history of over 10,000 years. hence its common epithet, the Cradle of Civilization. Mesopotamia, as part of the larger Fertile Crescent, was a significant part of the...


External links

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