Ajam of Iraq
Total population | |
---|---|
(~ 600,000 - 700,000) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Karbalā', Najaf, Baṣrah | |
Religion | |
Shīʿa Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Ajam of Bahrain |
Ajam of Iraq are Iraqi citizens of Persian Iranian national background or descent. Iranians have had a long presence in Iraq, dating back to antiquity.
Saddam Hussein deported many Iraqi Ajam in the 1970s and 1980s.
History
In the 1970s, Saddam Hussein deported between 350,000[1] to 650,000 Shia Iraqis of Iranian ancestry (Ajam).[2] Most of them went to Iran. Those who could prove an Iranian/Persian ancestry in Iran's court received Iranian citizenship (400,000) and some of them returned to Iraq after Saddam.[2]
Culture
Iraqi Persians belong to Twelver Shīʿa Islam . The same religion, sect, and school that most Iraqis belong. Even today there are millions of Iraqis that are of Persian descent.
See also
References
- ↑ U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI)
- 1 2 "Hamshahri Newspaper (In Persian)". hamshahri.org. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.