Ethnic groups of Iraq

Ethnic groups of Iraq

Introduction

Prejudice and discrimination have been a part of the history of the world, and have caused many conflicts. Both prejudice and discrimination have lead to a division in the people in a society. Prejudice is linked with unreasonable attitudes and opinions one group of people against another (Forman, 2005, p.43-66). Discrimination on the other hand is the behavior that is channeled against a group. Being prejudiced typically indicates assumed beliefs about a faction or practices in culture. Prejudices can either be constructive or destructive, and both are hard to change. There are many examples of the injustices and killings based on holding such beliefs. This paper looks at the ethnic conflicts in Iraq and also in the United States.

Discussion

Background

Iraq has an ancient cultural history and civilization. The country has had a history of multilingual people that can communicate in many languages. The identity of the people surpasses the language boundaries, and is more linked with geography. While there are many ethnic groups, the citizens belonging to the ancient civil culture and custom of multilingualism, have had healthy inter mutual relations, and advocated a common identity. Approximately 80 % of Iraqis are Arab, while some 15-20% of them are Kurds (Cordesman, 2008). The Kurds are a unique ethnic group with their own language, history and culture and are based in Northern Iraq. The country has two major religious sects namely Shiite and Sunni Muslims. During the tenure of Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni, the Shiite was a minority. This has changed currently; the Shiites are in power and the dominant group. The division in these two sects is the presently the most unpredictable.

The division between the Sunni and Shiite beliefs of Islam starts from the 7th Century when there was a conflict over who would be the leader of the Muslims after the passing away of Prophet Muhammad. The Shiites hold the belief that the Prophet has transferred the responsibility of leading the Muslims to his descendants, first to his cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali, who then transferred it to his son, Imam Hussein. The Shiites did not accept the first three Caliphs selected by the followers of the Prophet following his demise. They were accepted by the Sunni, who form a majority of Muslims around the world, and in its place recognized 12 imams who were the descendants of the Prophet. The division started a violent power resistance, with both Ali and Hussein martyred by opponents. Imam Hussein was martyred at the battle of Karbala in Iraq, which holds a significant importance in the Shiite tradition (Karon, 2006).

Shiite and Sunni Conflicts

The traditional clash between the Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq is based not only on the conflict that happened around 1400 years ago, but on the regime of Saddam Hussein. The Sunni Arabs, which comprised of the 15-20 % population, were the majority of the governing ranks under Saddam Hussein, while Shiites, who represented 60 % of the population, were ...