What is the main religion in Kurdistan?
The majority of Kurds are Sunni Muslim, with Alevi Shi’a Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Yezidi communities. Religious divergences as well as varying political viewpoints account for a wide variety of Kurdish perspectives vis-à-vis the state, though political discourse is dominated by the Kurdish nationalist PKK.
Are Kurdish Shia?
Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims who adhere to the Shafiʽi school, while a significant minority adhere to the Hanafi school. Moreover, many Shafi’i Kurds adhere to either one of the two Sufi orders Naqshbandi and Qadiriyya. Beside Sunni Islam, Alevism and Shia Islam also have millions of Kurdish followers.
How are Kurds different from Sunni and Shia?
The Shiites and Sunnis are ethnically Arabs (that is, they speak Arabic and share a common culture). Kurds are not Arabs; they have their own culture and language. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims. The division between Shiites and Sunnis dates to the death of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, in 632 A.D.
What religion was Iraq before Islam?
Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism was one of the dominant religions in Northern Mesopotamia before the Islamic era. Currently, Zoroastrianism is an officially recognized religion in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran.
Does Iran support Kurds?
Iran never employed the same level of brutality against its own Kurdish population, but has always been staunchly opposed to Kurdish separatism.
Do Iraqi Kurds speak Arabic?
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The number of Iraqi Kurds who speak Arabic fluently has declined significantly since the 1990s, even though Arabic is the second official language in Kurdistan and the primary language of Iraq. The result is a generation where most people under the age of 35 cannot communicate in Arabic.
What religions are in Turkey?
Islam is the largest religion in Turkey. More than 99 percent of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunni. Christianity (Oriental Orthodoxy, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic) and Judaism are the other religions in practice, but the non-Muslim population declined in the early 2000s.