KURDISH LURI IDENTITY DISPUTE
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Middle EastThe Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western European nations in the early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East (both were in contrast to the Far East). The term "Middle East" has led to some confusion over its changing definitions. Since the late 20th century, it has been criticized as being too Eurocentric. The region includes the vast majority of the territories included in the closely associated definition of West Asia, but without the South Caucasus. It also includes all of Egypt (not just the Sinai) and all of Turkey (including East Thrace). Most Middle Eastern countries (13 out of 18) are part of the Arab world. The most populous countries in the region are Egypt, Turkey, and Iran, while Saudi Arabia is the largest Middle Eastern country by area. The history of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, and it was long considered the "cradle of civilization". The geopolitical importance of the region has been recognized and competed for during millennia. The Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) have their origins in the Middle East. Arabs constitute the main ethnic group in the region, followed by Turks, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen, Yazidis, and Greek Cypriots. The Middle East generally has a hot, arid climate, especially in the Arabian and Egyptian regions. Several major rivers provide irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas here, such as the Nile Delta in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates watersheds of Mesopotamia, and the basin of the Jordan River that spans most of the Levant. These regions are collectively known as the Fertile Crescent, and comprise the core of what historians had long referred to as the cradle of civilization; multiple regions of the world have since been classified as also having developed independent, original civilizations. Conversely, the Levantine coast and most of Turkey have relatively temperate climates typical of the Mediterranean, with dry summers and cool, wet winters. Most of the countries that border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of petroleum. Monarchs of the Arabian Peninsula in particular have benefitted economically from petroleum exports. Because of the arid climate and dependence on the fossil fuel industry, the Middle East is both a major contributor to climate change and a region that is expected to be severely adversely affected by it. Other concepts of the region exist, including the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which includes states of the Maghreb and the Sudan. The term the "Greater Middle East" also includes parts of East Africa, Mauritania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and sometimes the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Zand dynastyThe Zand dynasty (Persian: دودمان زندیان, romanized: Dudemāne Zandiyān) was an Iranian dynasty, founded by Karim Khan Zand (r. 1751–1779) that initially ruled southern and central Iran in the 18th century. It later expanded to include much of the rest of contemporary Iran (except for the provinces of Baluchestan and Khorasan) as well as parts of Iraq. The lands of present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were controlled by khanates which were de jure part of the Zand realm, but the region was de facto autonomous. The island of Bahrain was also held for the Zands by the autonomous Al-Mazkur sheikhdom of Bushehr. The reign of its most important ruler, Karim Khan, was marked by prosperity and peace. With its capital at Shiraz, arts and architecture flourished under Karim Khan's reign, with some themes in architecture being revived from nearby sites of pre-Islamic Achaemenid (550–330 BC) and Sasanian (224–651 AD) eras. The tombs of the medieval Persian poets Hafez and Saadi Shirazi were also renovated by Karim Khan. Distinctive Zand art which was produced at the behest of the Zand rulers became the foundation of later Qajar arts and crafts. Following Karim Khan's death, Zand Iran went into decline due to internal disputes amongst members of the Zand dynasty. Its final ruler, Lotf Ali Khan Zand (r. 1789–1794), was eventually executed by Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (r. 1789–1797) in 1794. As noted by The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, "Karim Khan Zand holds an enduring reputation as the most humane Iranian ruler of the Islamic era". When, following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, names of Iran's past rulers became taboo, citizens of Shiraz refused to rename the Karim Khan Zand and Lotf Ali Khan Zand streets, the two main streets of Shiraz.
Laki languageLaki (Kurdish: لهکی, romanized: Lekî, Persian: لکی) is a vernacular that consists of two dialects; Pish-e Kuh Laki and Posht-e Kuh Laki. Laki is considered a Kurdish dialect, by most linguists and is spoken chiefly in the area between Khorramabad and Kermanshah in Iran by about 680,000 native speakers.
Kurds in IranKurds in Iran (Kurdish: کورد لە ئێران, romanized: Kurdên Îranê, Persian: کردها در ایران) constitute a large minority in the country with a population of around 9 and 10 million people. Most Iranian Kurds are bilingual in Kurdish and Persian.
LursThe Lurs, Lors or Luris (Persian: لر) are an Iranian people living in western and southern Iran. The four Luri branches are the Bakhtiari, Mamasani, Kohgiluyeh and Lur proper, who are principally linked by the Luri language. Lorestan province is named after the Lurs, but some Lurs live in other provinces including Fars, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Khuzestan, Hamadan, Isfahan, Tehran southern Ilam province, and Genaveh county in Bushehr province.
Ethnicities in IranThe majority of the population of Iran (approximately 80%) consists of Iranian peoples. The largest groups in this category include Persians, mostly referred to as Fars (who form 61% of the Iranian population) and Kurds (who form 10% of the Iranian population), with other communities including Semnanis, Khorasani Kurds, Larestanis, Khorasani Balochs, Gilakis, Laks, Mazandaranis, Lurs, Tats, Talysh and Baloch. Turkic peoples constitute a substantial minority of between 18–19%, with the largest group being the Azerbaijanis. They are the second largest ethnicity in Iran. Other Turkic groups include the Turkmen, Afshar, Qashqai, Khorasani Turks, Shahsevan, Khalaj and Kazakhs peoples. Arabs account for about 1-2% of the Iranian population. The remainder, amounting to about 1% of Iranian population, consists of a variety of minor groups, mainly comprising Iranian Iraqis, Iranian Assyrians, Iranian Jews, Iranian Armenians, Iranian Georgians, Circassians and Mandaeans. In addition to its ethnic diversity, Iranian society is also not uniform in terms of religion, and some ethnic groups are both Shia and Sunni. The largest number of Shia Muslims come from the Gilaki, Mazandarani, Fars, and Lor ethnic groups, followed by the Azerbaijanis. The largest number of Sunni Muslims is from the Turkmen and Baloch ethnic groups. The Kurds and Larestanis show a more balanced distribution between the two sects, with approximately half of each being Shia and the other half Sunni. In Iranian society, there is a prevalent sense of social cohesion in which the various ethnic groups of the country, including the Luristanis, Mazandaranis, Kurdistanis, Azerbaijanis, Baluchistanis and Semnanis, are not considered minorities, but are instead regarded as integral parts of the majority of the Iranian population. At the beginning of the 20th century, Iran had a total population of just below 10 million, with an approximate ethnic composition of: 4 million Persians (40%), 2.5 million Azeris (25%), 1.2 million Kurds and Baluchs each (12% each). Many of the traditional tribal groups have become urbanized and culturally assimilated during the 19th and 20th centuries, so that ethnic identity in many cases is less than clear-cut. There have also been considerable intermarriage rates between certain groups, and nearly all groups are fluent in Persian, in many cases marginalizing their traditional native tongue. Some groups may identify with their status as "ethnic minority" only secondarily, or cite multiple ethnic affiliation.
Kurdish-Luri identity disputeThe Kurdish-Luri identity dispute refers to disputes regarding the relationship of the Luri people to the Kurdish people. The Lurs and Kurds, and especially the Lurs and Kurds in bordering regions, were affected by the dispute and divided among the Luri, Luri-Kurdish, and Kurdish identities. Although sharing common origins with Kurds, and historically being classified as Kurds, the Lurs were later classified as a distinct nation. Among the Lurs, most identified as a distinct ethnic group, although many identified as a subgroup of Kurds, and others identified solely as Kurds, rejecting the Luri designation. Among Kurds and Lurs, many also advocated for a Zagrosian pan-ethnicity which transcended the Kurdish and Luri identities, aimed at reviving the tribal unity of the Zagros before the creation of the Luri and Kurdish designations.
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