I. Introduction
In the northern section of Iran lies an ethnic group, which takes up 10 percent of its modern population, known as the Kurds (Purdy, pg. 3). Originating from the Persians and the Ancient Medes, the Kurds, ever since the nineteenth century, have been settled in the western province of Iran alongside other ethnic groups such as the Lurs and Arabs (Price, pg. 94). The predominantly Kurdish provinces in Iran include the Kordestan Province, the Kermanshah Province, and the West Azerbaijan Province (“Learn About Kurdish Culture”). For more than five centuries, they have remained stationed in those provinces between Turkey and Iran serving as a buffer since the aftermath of World War I (Price, pg. 126). However, the Kurd ethnicity extends beyond Iranian borders. Found in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and other parts of the world, the Kurds can be characterized as a people without a country nor a fixed boundary (Price, pg. 256). However, their inability to establish a country is not due to a lack of trying. Throughout Kurdish history, the political, economic, religious, and cultural aspects of their society led them to be a people without a homeland.
II. Politics
In the early years, leadership within the Kurds belonged to the members of “prestigious lineage.” Although the central government in Iran had a major influence over which leaders were chosen in the two non-tribal Kurdish states, Ardalan and Guran (Price, pg. 126). This system of giving all the power to ruling families was abolished by the end of the nineteenth century resulting in the dissolution of prominence in Ardalan and Guran. Instead, they were held by provincial appointees. This breakdown led to the development of lesser chiefs in the lower levels of Kurdish. In addition, it resulted in the emergence of shaikhs as the main Kurdish political leaders who operated outside of tribal loyalties as well as the appearance of the Shakaks (Price, pg. 127).
Following the Iranian Constitutional Revolution as well as the First World War, the Pahlavi regime led by Reza Shah attempted to consolidate the Kurdish tribal by stripping tribal leaders of their position and replacing them with governors. This led to a strong opposition by multiple Kurdish tribes (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 12). One of the main Kurdish leaders that opposed the centralization was Ismal Agha Simko of the Shakak tribe. He was very successful in uniting multiple Kurdish tribes and was eventually lured and assassinated by Iranian authorities. Simko’s success inspired the development of Kurdish nationalism (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 13). Eventually the British, sensing the Kurds’ restlessness as a result of this change as well as the Soviets agenda, stepped in. They advised the Iranian central government to appease the Kurds by restoring tribal leaders land and title. Unsuccessful compromises led to more Kurdish attacks and raids in Iran. Eventually, the Iranian authorities released the tribal leaders, however, the transition was not as smooth since chief authority lost its relevancy (Price, pg. 186).
Due to the beginning of World War II, British and Soviet influence over the government grew a stronger foothold over Reza Shah’s. Their presence led to the development of the Society for the Revival of the Kurds, or more commonly known as JK, in 1942. The JK’s goal was to form a Kurdish homeland but was held back by the ever-present tribal traditions. It was not until they joined with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), who were led by Qazi Mohammad, that the possibility of a Kurdish homeland gained footing (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 14). In 1946, the Mahabad Republic was established in northwestern Iran with assistance from the Soviets who were desperate to see a divided Iran (Purdy, pg. 3). However, no one except the Soviets recognized it as a country, so when the Soviets became weaker throughout World War II the Kurdish Republic was left vulnerable to the Iranian government who ended their rule in 1946 (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 15).
After the collapse of the Mahabad Republic, the Kurds struggled to reunite the nationalist movement in Iran. With the KDP, who represented the Kurds politically, leaderless, it took until 1955 for them to reassert their dominance after spending years relying on the Tudeh Party. This newfound independence, however, brought the Iranian government to enact oppressive policies on KDP members. It was so bad that some were forced to seek refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 15). The Kurds refused to give up though. In 1967, the KDP led by Ahmad Tofiq organized the Revolutionary Committee. The committee, although eventually defeated, held small military victories over the Iranian military (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 16).
In the wake of political unrest in Iran in 1978, the KDP set up the Zagros committee to send Kurds to participate in the protests against the Pahlavi regime known as the Islamic Revolution. Following the fall of the Pahlavi regime and the rise of this new form of government, the Kurds searched for democratic rights (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 17). However, negotiations between Kurds and Iranian authorities failed thus resulting in escalation five weeks after the revolution took place where 450 people died in the Bloody Newroz of Sanandaj. Even after the assault, the Kurds attempted to democratically settle their disagreements via boycotting the referendum that named the new Iranian government. However, it did not last long as while they were attempting to draft a new constitution, the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared jihad against the Kurds thus putting a large target on their heads. In the wake of increased Iranian casualties, the war lasted only a few months after Dr. Qasimlu, who was General Secretary of the KDP, accepted Kohmeini’s declaration of solving the Kurdish question on August 17, 1979 (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 18).
However, the battle for recognition in the Iranian government continued to be rejected for the Kurds. Even in the Iran-Iraqi War, the Iranian government rejected any aid from the KDP and instead imposed more assaults. Then after allowing the KDP to join the National Council of Resistance in Paris which granted the Kurds in Iran autonomy, they expelled them for their inability to solve their problems with the Iranian government. As their failure to negotiate continued, the Kurdish resistance began to deteriorate with conflict in 1984 between the KDP, now known as the KDPI, and Komala, the end of the Iraq-Iran War, and the assassination of two of the KDPI leaders in 1989 and 1992 (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 19-21). With the help of the Iraqi government, the Iranian government further weakened resistance by pinning Kurdish tribes against each other (Emadi).
When Muhammad Khatami became President of Iran in 1996, the Iranian Kurds were given more political freedom. They were allowed to establish their views via TV, books, and journals as well as attend Iranian universities. This resulted in a new generation with a differing political outlook than the older parties such as the KDP and Komala (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 21). New parties such as the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) and Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) were formed. However, this brief advancement for Iranian Kurds ended after Khatami was replaced by Mahmud Ahmadinejad in 2005. After the Iranian forces killed Shwane Seyyed Qadir, a young Kurdish activist, the Kurdish political and cultural suppression by the Islamic Republic in Iran reignited (Ahmadzadeh and Stansfield, pg. 22). The relationship between the Kurds and Iranian government continues to be antagonistic and strained as the Kurds continue to fight for their political rights.
III. Economy
In the early stages of the Kurdish economy, they were both merchants and agriculturists. Kurds were both nomadic and semi-nomadic as well as a part of tribal or non-tribal groups (Price, pg. 126). The Kurds that were not part of tribes were typically tenants, laborers, and sharecroppers with little land. However, non-tribal Kurds would rent land from land-owning tribal Kurds as well as rely on them for protection. In the wake of intertribal conflicts, nontribal Kurds would become mobile and move between tribes (Price, pg. 127-128).
The Kurds in Azerbaijan, northwestern Iran, did not have a strong economy. Relying entirely on grazing herds and illegal trade with Turkey, the Kurds were vulnerable to exploitation. With land under the control of tribes, tribal leaders would hand out pieces of land needed for herds to graze on for a fee (Price, pg. 178-179).
After the Constitutional Revolution in Iran, the Kurds were given an opportunity to strengthen their economy. Kermanshah, a primarily Kurdish inhabited city, became an important trading stop. It became a stop on an extensive trading route between Iran and Baghdad. There was also a religious stop in the Shi’ism pilgrimage. To profit from this popularity, the Kurds would charge road and protection fees. This led to an increase in banditry to solidify the Kurdish monopoly over the fees. The Kurds even attacked the government forces to protect this flow of income (Price, pg. 180).
At the beginning of the Pahlavi regime, Reza Shah enacted a land regulation scheme. By making tribal groups sedentary, he heightened the division between tribal members and tribal leaders (Price pg. 183). This division strengthened since the individuals, who were typically the tribal leaders, that registered the land holdings under their names put the peasants and nomads at an economic disadvantage since they used to use the land and now could not (Price, pg. 185). Today their economy still centers around agriculture and livestock breeding (Price, pg. 256).
IV. Religion
Regarding religion, the majority of the Kurds were Sunni Muslim. The Sunni Kurds, however, did not use their Sunni religious beliefs to form alliances with other ethnic groups. This was mostly because the Kurds were the followers of Shafi’i School of Islam as opposed to the non-Kurd Sunnis who practiced Hanafi school of jurisprudence (Price, pg. 179).
There were some Shi’ite Kurds too. Most of the Kurds that practiced Shi’ism were located in the southern part of Iran. Around 15% of the official Shi’ite sect followed Iran’s official Shi’ite sect. They lived around Kirmanshah and spoke the southeastern dialect. (Price, pg. 95). Others followed the Alevid religion, which was a militant Shi’ite group. The Alevids evolved around the fifteenth century and incorporated a combination of Zoroastrian, Shi’ite, pre-Islamic, and Turkmen shahman ideas (Price, pg. 179).
During the breakdown of prestigious lineages came the appearance of the unorthodox Islamic religious leaders known as the shaikhs. Shaikhs were Sufi leaders who channeled Sufi beliefs and spread the idea of magical powers. In spreading those beliefs of miraculous and powerful abilities, people that followed the shaikhs were subject to participate in dangerous communal acts, such as swallowing fire (Price, pg. 127).
The final Kurdish religious group was the Yazidis. A very small portion of the Kurds followed the Yazidi religion. The Yazidi dialect was Kurmanji. Although most of the Yazidi Kurds lived in Iraq, there were some found in Iran and Turkey. With a combination of Zoroastrian, Jewish, Manichean, Christian, old pagan and Muslim beliefs as well as just being a minority, the Yazidis were subject to persecution in both Iraq and Turkey, but not in Iran (Price, pg. 179).
V. Culture
Because of the ethnic heterogeneity of the Kurds themselves, they have developed a culture with various similarities to other modern and ancient cultures. Specifically, during the existence of the Mahabad Republic, the Kurds have established their own script and dialect as a result of literature in the form of a daily newspaper as well as periodicals (Price, pg. 188-9). In Iran, the Kurdish language is spoke in two different dialects – Sorani and Southern Kurdish. Both of these dialects have Arabic origins (“Learn About Kurdish Culture”). After the collapse of the Mahabad Republic, the Iranian government had banned the Kurds from speaking as well as writing in their official language. This included burning any current literature they had in the Kurdish language (Price, pg. 188). However beginning in the later 1980s, publications, radio and television programs began to appear in the Kurdish language although they were censored. Add in the formation of Internet cafes as well as satellite TV and the Kurdish culture began to reach further rather than be oppressed (Price, pg. 326-327).
Music, as well as dance, has always been important to the Kurdish identity (Price, pg. 258). Notably, in the city of Kermanshah, music is central. Most music in Iran originates from tribal Kurds in the Kermanshah religion. Some traditional Kurdish instruments include the drums, flute, and a guitar-like instrument known as an ut-ut. Since, generally, most Kurds speak Sorani, their dance is simple. Dancers have fluid-like movements during which their shoulders rise and fall continuously. This is known as Kurdish folk dancing that includes men and women dancing in the same line, which is uncharacteristic in comparison to other Middle Eastern cultures. When they dance, the Kurds wear elaborate, individualized costumes that are layered with various colors and garments (“Learn About Kurdish Culture”). Even in a climate where Kurdish culture was constantly suppressed, their music was able to flourish as long as there were no solo female singers due to the lack of restrictions (Price, pg. 325).
Similar to other parts of Iran, carpet-weaving is an important part of art to the Kurds. Typically, Kurdish designs involve a spectrum of colors such as blue, green, saffron, terracotta, and orange hues. With those colors, they would weave floral, geometric, and medallion patterns. These rugs they weave are symbolic of the individuality of the weaver as they are decorated with sequences of symbols (“Learn About Kurdish Culture”).
During the traditional Kurdish meal, they sit on the floor. Their food which typically involves vegetables, dairy products, staple meats, and pilaf is stationed in the center of the room on top of a small cloth. Some other foods found include dolma, flatbreads, and black tea (“Learn About Kurdish Culture”).
VI. Conclusion
The Kurds in Iran have faced many years of political and cultural oppression in search of a united country. The Iranian government has refused to negotiate and even placed jihads on them. The Iraqi government had helped the Iranian Kurds as well as play a part in suppressing their defense against the Iranian regime. Even the other Kurdish tribes have been their own worst enemy having been pitted against each other. Although there is little evidence of a United Kurdistan ever existing, the Kurds have fought hard and longed for it (Price, pg. 255). Hopefully, in the near future, the Kurds scattered between Iran, Turkey, Syria, and other nations worldwide will finally be given the country they have desired for over a century.