Khuzestani Arabs
Khuzestani Arab girl from Ahvaz
Total population	c. 500,000 to 4 million (estimates vary)
Regions with significant populations	Khuzestan Province:   1,200,000 [1] (other estimates vary) Image File history File linksMetadata Arabgirl. ... The city of Ahvaz, sometimes has mistakenly transcribed as Ahwaz (Persian: اَهواز ahvāz) , is capital of the Iranian province of Khuzestan. ... Map showing Khuzestan in Iran Domes like this are quite common in Khuzestan province. ...
Language	Arabic, Persian
Religion	Shi'a Islam, Sunni Islam, Christianity, Judaism
Related ethnic groups	Arabs

The Arabs of Khuzestan are one of the ethnic groups of Iran inhabiting the province of Khuzestan. Khuzestani Arabic is a dialect of Arabic spoken in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. ... Persian is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Shia Islam, also Shiite Islam, Shiite or Shiism (Arabic: ‎ , translit: ) is the second largest denomination of the religion based on Islam. ... Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are an ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are an ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... Map showing Khuzestan in Iran Domes like this are quite common in Khuzestan province. ...

People and culture

Many Khuzestani Arabs identify themselves as members of the following tribes:

• Bani Kaab (the largest)
• Bani Lam
• Bani Saleh
• Bani Torof
• Bani Tamim
• Bani Marvan
• al-Khamiss
• Kassir
• Bavi
• Kenane

Many tribes share a common heritage and a number have retained their original customs. A small percentage continue to adhere to the nomadic way of life. They are primarily concentrated in the western region of the province. The vast majority are Shi'a Muslims. There are also small Sunni, Christian and Jewish minorities. The Bani Kaab are an Arab tribal group of Kuwaiti origin which settled in western Khuzestan, a province in southwestern Iran, during the 16th century CE. Categories: Ethnic group stubs | Arab groups ... The Bani Tamim is a large and powerful Arab tribe primarily located in Najd, central and southern Iraq and the Iranian province of Khuzestan. ... Communities of nomadic people move from place to place, rather than settling down in one location. ... Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ... Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ...

Traditions

The tribal groups of Khuzestan have a very rich and detailed oral tradition, a practice which has survived despite the encroachment of the modern world. The oral literature of the Arab tribes has been uniquely influenced by the mystical poetic legacy of the Msha'sha'iya in previous eras. Oral tradition or oral culture is a way of transmitting history, literature or law from one generation to the next in a civilization without a writing system. ... Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken (oral) word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. ... Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is an... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... The Msha’sha’iya were an extremist Shia sect founded and led by Muhammad ibn Falah. ...

Ahmad Kasravi (The Forgotten Kings and The Five Hundred Year History of Khuzestan) and Yusef Azizi Bani-Torof (The Arab Tribes of Khuzestan) have been among the very few Iranian writers to document in detail the history and traditions of the Khuzestani Arab tribes. Ahmad Kasravi Tabrizi (b. ... Yusef Azizi Bani-Torof (b. ...

Language

Most Khuzestani Arabs are bilingual, speaking Arabic as their mother tongue, and Persian as a second language. The variety of Arabic spoken in the province is Khuzestani Arabic. As with other Mesopotamian dialects across the border in Iraq, it has significant Persian influence and is not understood by most other Arabic-speakers. The term bilingualism (from bi meaning two and lingua meaning language) can refer to rather different phenomena. ... The Arabic language ( ), or simply Arabic ( ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Persian is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... The Arabic language is classified as a Semitic language. ... Khuzestani Arabic is a dialect of Arabic spoken in the Iranian province of Khuzestan. ... Iraqi Arabic is a dialect of Arabic used in Iraq. ...

However, Khuzestani Arabic dialect is not taught or offered as an optional course in public elementary schools, which have ethnically diverse student populations, and there are currently no private schools specifically for Khuzestani Arabs.^{[citation needed]} However, Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, which differ to a degree from Khuzestani Arabic dialect, are taught across Iran to students in secondary schools, regardless of their ethnic or linguistic background. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

History

Origins

Ethnic groups in Iran

The Iranian Arab journalist and writer Yusef Azizi Bani-Torof, in a speech given in 1999, claims that the historical ancestry of Khuzestani Arabs "goes back to 6 main tribes. They consider themselves to have sprung from a common ancestry and we see this in the Aalam al-Insab." Bani-Torof has also said that "the Arab people of Khuzestan are not Arabic-speakers. By that I mean they were not Persians, Kurds or Lurs who changed their language to Arabic and are now referred to as Arab-speakers." [2] He further believes that "the indigenous Arabs of Khuzestan used to live in the area before the coming of the Aryans to the Iranian plateau." Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (980x970, 307 KB) (portion of Iran Country Profile) Source: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at The University of Texas at Austin [1] License: Above a list of maps available for download, the web site has the text: The following maps... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (980x970, 307 KB) (portion of Iran Country Profile) Source: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at The University of Texas at Austin [1] License: Above a list of maps available for download, the web site has the text: The following maps... Yusef Azizi Bani-Torof (b. ... Aryan () is an English language word derived from the Sanskrit and Iranian terms ari-, arya-, ārya-, and/or the extended form aryāna-. The Sanskrit and Old Persian languages both pronounced the word as arya- () and aryan. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bani-Torof writes in the preface to the published speech, "Also after delivering this speech I found new sources that prove that the indigenous Arabs of Khuzestan used to live in the area before the coming of the Aryans to the Iranian plateau. These sources include “A Pause and Reflection on History of Iran- 12 Centuries of Silence” by historian Nasser Pourpirar and “The Complete History of the Pre-Islamic Arabs” by Professor Javad Ali. Two volumes of the 10 volumes of the latter work have been translated into Persian by the late Dr.Mohammad Hussien Rohani."

According to the Encyclopedia Iranica, Arab tribes such as the Bakr bin Wael and Bani Tamim began settling in Khuzestan sometime during the Sassanid era. During the Umayyad period, large groups of Arab nomads from the Hanifa, Tamim, and Abd al-Qays tribes crossed the Persian Gulf and occupied some of the richest Basran territories around Ahvaz and in Fars during the second Islamic civil war in 661-665/680-684 A.D.(see Encyclopaedia Iranica, p.215, under Arab Tribes of Iran). In 10th century CE, an Arab tribe named Asad moved into Khuzestan(see Encyclopaedia Iranica, p.216). In the latter part of the 16th century, the Bani Kaab, originating from what is now Kuwait, settled in Khuzestan and during the succeeding centuries many more Arab tribes moved from southern Iraq to the province, and as a result, Khuzestan became "extensively Arabized." (see J.R. Perry, "The Banu Ka'b: An Amphibious Brigand State in Khuzestan", Le Monde Iranien et L'Islam I, 1971, p133) Also see Khuzestan#The Arab Conquest of Khuzestan. Encyclopædia Iranica is a project of Columbia Universitys Center for Iranian Studies to create a comprehensive and authoritiative English language encyclopedia about the history and culture of Iran and Persia. ... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate... The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads. ... It has been suggested that Persian Gulf States be merged into this article or section. ... Location of Basra Basra (also spelled BaÅŸrah or Basara; historically sometimes written Busra, Busrah, and the early form Bassorah; Arabic: , Al-Basrah) is the second largest city of Iraq with an estimated population of c. ... The city of Ahvaz, sometimes has mistakenly transcribed as Ahwaz (Persian: اَهواز ahvāz) , is capital of the Iranian province of Khuzestan. ... Fars (Persian: فارس) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ... Encyclopædia Iranica is a project in Columbia Universitys Center for Iranian studies, to create an English language encyclopedia about Iran and Persia. ... Encyclopædia Iranica is a project in Columbia Universitys Center for Iranian studies, to create an English language encyclopedia about Iran and Persia. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Arabization is the gradual transformation of an area into one that speaks Arabic and is part of the Arab culture. ... Map showing Khuzestan in Iran Domes like this are quite common in Khuzestan province. ...

Ahmad Kasravi writes in The Forgotten Kings that the "Arabs immigration to Iran postdates that of to Syria and Iraq, what is certain and there is proof for, is that the date of that immigration is centuries before Islam, and from the early days of the Sassanid. In the Parthian era the gates of Iran were open to the Arabs ... but it is certain and there is proof for it that during the Parthian era Arab tribes were living in provinces of Kerman, Khuzestan, Bahrain and Fars." [3]

The Pahlavi era

Throughout the 1930s Reza Shah Pahlavi and his successor, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, implemented policies designed to suppress nomadism and tribal customs, and destroy any possible resistance on the part of the local inhabitants. Khuzestani Arabs were, in particular, singled out by the Pahlavi governments for increased scrutiny over other groups. Many Khuzestani Arabs grew increasingly angry at the central government as a result of being forbidden to publish local newspapers in Arabic and their children unable to learn Khuzestani Arabic in public schools, as well as due to tribal groups having been pushed off their lands in order to clear the way for facilities for the oil industry and government institutions. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Shah Reza Pahlavi Reza Pahlavi (Persian: رضا پهلوی), (March 16, 1877–July 26, 1944), called Reza Shah the Great after his death, was Shah of Persia (later Iran) from December 15, 1925 to September 16, 1941. ... His Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (اعلیحضرت محمدرضا شاه پهلوی; October 26, 1919 – July 27, 1980) also knows as Aryamehr, was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 until...

The Iran-Iraq war

The Iran-Iraq war was cast by Saddam Hussein as yet another episode in a millennium long conflict between Arabs and Persians (see Battle of al-Qādisiyyah). Iraqi government propaganda claimed that Saddam's intentions were to "liberate" the Arabs of Khuzestan from oppression under the Persians. While some Khuzestani Arabs fled into Iraq to escape the war and a minority separatist faction aligned itself with Saddam, most stayed and defended the province alongside other Iranians against Iraqi forces. Combatants Iran Iraq Commanders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Ali Shamkhani Mostafa Chamran† Saddam Hussein Ali Hassan al-Majid Strength 100,000+ (Plus Civilians, Militias) 100,000+ (Plus Civilians, Militias) Casualties Est. ... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (Arabic: , [1]; born April 28, 1937[2]), was the President of Iraq from July 16, 1979 until April 9, 2003, when he was deposed in the United States-led invasion of Iraq. ... The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (in Arabic: معارك القادسيّة, alternate spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was the decisive engagement between the Arab Muslim army and the Sāsānian Persian army during the first period of Islamic expansion which resulted in the Islamic conquest of Iran. ...

Contemporary status of the Arabs of Khuzestan

Before the 1908 discovery of oil in Khuzestan, most of the province's inhabitants were settled or semi-nomadic Arabs. The growth of the oil industry, and later Iranian government policies tipped the demographic balance. There was much immigration into the province of people from other parts of Iran. Arabs may now be a minority group in Khuzestan (see ethnic politics of Khuzestan). Map showing Khuzestan in Iran This article focuses on the ethnic politics of Khuzestan, an oil-rich province in southwestern Iran Ethnic groups in Iran // Historical background Ethnic politics in Khuzestan revolves primarily around the issue of local control of resources. ...

There are no reliable statistics as to the exact proportion of each ethnicity or language community. The Iranian government has not collected such statistics for some time. The CIA World Factbook estimates that 3% of Iran's 68,017,860 citizens are Arabs, which would put the Arab population at 2,040,540, of whom the majority live in Khuzestan, while Elton Daniel in The History of Iran (Greenwood Press, 2001), states that the Arabs of Iran "are concentrated in the province of Khuzistan and number about half a million" (pg. 14). The Historical Dictionary of Iran puts the number at 1 million. (J. Lorentz, 1995, p172)

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "More than half the population are Arabs who live in the plains; the rest are Bakhtyaris and other Lurs (peoples of West Persia), with many Persians in the cities. Some of the Bakhtyaris and Lurs are still nomads." [4] 1913 advertisement for the 11th edition, with the slogan When in doubt — look it up in the Encyclopædia Britannica The Encyclopædia Britannica (properly spelled with æ, the ae-ligature) was first published in 1768–1771 as The Britannica was an important early English-language general encyclopedia and is still...

According to Human Rights Watch, "precise figures on the ethnic composition of Iran's population are impossible to obtain. The last census in which such data was compiled was carried out in 1956." [5] HRW, in a report from 1997, further states that "Arabs make up 70 percent of the three million inhabitants of Khuzestan Province". [6] Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ...

However, according to Yusef Azizi Bani-Torof in a lecture at the Industrial University of Isfahan in 1999, based on information from unofficial provincial census data gathered in 1996 by the Centre for Iran Studies and published in 1997, "the population of Arabs in southwestern Iran is 4,548,240. And the ratio to Iran's total population is: 4,548,240/65,000,000 = 6.997%." [7] Yusef Azizi Bani-Torof (b. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

In its 2006 human rights report on Iran, the US State Department stated that the number of Ahwazi Arabs "could range from two to four million or higher"[8]

References

• Ansari, Mostafa -- The history of Khuzistan, 1878-1925, unpublished PhD. dissertation, University of Chicago, 1974.

See also

• Ethnic minorities in Iran
• Ethnic politics of Khuzestan
• History of Khuzestan
• Khaz'al Khan
• Msha'sha'iya
• Origin of the name Khuzestan

This article focuses on ethnic minorities in Iran and their related political issues and current realities. ... Map showing Khuzestan in Iran This article focuses on the ethnic politics of Khuzestan, an oil-rich province in southwestern Iran Ethnic groups in Iran // Historical background Ethnic politics in Khuzestan revolves primarily around the issue of local control of resources. ... Khuzestan is a province of the Islamic Republic of Iran, located in the area between the Tigris-Euphrates delta and the Zagros Mountains (border of the Iranian plateau). ... Sheikh Khazal Khan Lieutenant-General Sheikh Khazal Khan ibn Haji Jabir Khan (1863?-1936), styled His Eminence, Muaz us-Sultana, and Sardar-e-Aqdas (Most Sacred Officer of the Imperial Order of the Aqdas), was the ruler of a virtually autonomous sheikhdom (officially called the Sheikhdom of Mohammerah... The Msha’sha’iya were an extremist Shia sect founded and led by Muhammad ibn Falah. ... Another map from the same author, Khuzestan is overlined in red. ...

External links

• Minorities At Risk: Assessment for Arabs in Iran
• Mesopotamian Dialects of Arabic
• Arab Music in Khuzestan Province
• Ethnic minorities singled out for attack in Iran