Kurds in Iraq

Saladin, of Kurdish origin, who founded Ayyubid dynasty, was born in Tikrit in present-day Iraq.

Several Kurdish dynasties such as Annazids (990/1–1117)[6][7] and Hasanwayhids (or Hasanuyids, 959–1015)[7] ruled in northern Iraq. The Kurdish[8][7][9] Marwanid dynasty (983–1096) temporarily ruled over Mosul.[10] The Ayyubid dynasty, a powerful Islamic dynasty of Kurdish origin[11] and also ruled northern Iraq.

In the 1500s most Kurds fell under Ottoman Rule. Iraqi Kurds developed as a subgroup of the Kurdish peoples when Great Britain created the state of Iraq out of the Sykes–Picot Agreement of World War I.[12] The Kurdish people were expecting to soon gain independence from what they were promised in the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, but this was quickly overturned in 1923, when the Treaty of Lausanne established the Republic of Turkey over Kurdistan's borders.[13] Also the Anglo Iraqi treaty of 1929 which outlined the Iraqi independence, didn't see any provisions for a Kurdish autonomy.[14]

In 1946 the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) was founded by Mulla Mustafa Barzani which pushed for Kurdish autonomy under the Iraqi government.[15] In the year 1958 Abdul Karim Qasim made a coup against the British and the Republic of Iraq was established. The Kurds had hoped that now they would receive their promised rights, but the political environment was not favorable. So the KDP began an insurgency against the Government in Baghdad in 1961.[16] Their insurgency was in part successful as in 1966 official Kurdish groups gained some rights with the Bazzaz Declaration and with the 1970 Peace Accord a principle of Kurdish autonomy was reached. In the 1970 Peace Accord, Kurdish cultural, social and political rights were recognised within fifteen points. But these rights were not implemented due to the willingness of the Arabs but rather because of political developments. Nevertheless, the Kurds had a period of greater liberty from 1970 to 1974. But in March 1975 the Iraq and Iran reached an agreement and within a few hours after the agreement, Iran stopped all support to the KDP, whose members and their families had the choice between go to exile to Iran or surrender to the Iraqi authority. Most KDP members chose to live in exile and the KDP declared the end of their insurgency.[17] Therefore, in 1975, another political party emerged in Iraqi Kurdistan, led by Jalal Talabani—the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).[15] Since the PUK was established, it lacked cooperation and engaged in violent conflict with the KDP over differing philosophies, demographics, and goals.[18] From March 1987 until 1989 the Anfal campaign lasted, with which the Kurds were supposed to be arabized. During the Anfal campaign the Iraqi military attacked about 250 Kurdish villages with chemical weapons and destroyed Kurdish 4500 villages and evicted its inhabitants. The campaign culminated in the Halabja massacre in March 1988.[19]

After the Gulf War and an unsuccessful Kurdish uprising in 1991, Kurds fled back to the mountains to seek refuge from the government forces.[18] The United States established a no fly zone initiative in Iraqi Kurdistan for the Kurds as an asylum away from the Iraqi government.[18] United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 in 1991 condemned and forbade "the repression of the Iraqi civilian population... in Kurdish populated areas."[18] After many bloody encounters, an uneasy balance of power was reached between the Iraqi forces and Kurdish troops, ultimately allowing Iraqi Kurdistan to function independently. The region continued to be ruled by the KDP and PUK and began to establish a stable economy and national identity. Iraqi Kurdistan built a socioeconomic infrastructure from scratch, completely independent from the centralized framework of Ba'athist Iraq.[20] Though civil war broke out in the north between Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party and Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan from 1994 to 1998, Kurds were still able to maintain a democratic and prosperous foundation for their region.[21]

When the US invaded to oust the Iraqi government in 2003, the northern Kurdish border with Iraqi central state was moved considerably southward.[21] This gave Kurds more access to water and oil resources, therefore increasing priorities within the region to establish steady relations with the Kurds.[21] This new access also encouraged more investment within the region, softening political tensions and polarization.[21] The US invaded Iraq in order to take down Saddam Hussein and dissolve any threats of weapons of mass destruction. After the invasion, however, no evidence of mass destruction weapons was found to prove the US claim. After the fall of the government, the United States government, with the help of ethnic leaders had to confront three issues: the nature of the future Iraqi government, how Shia representation was to be achieved in the government, and how Sunni re-enfranchisement was to be managed.[22] Different opinions emerged on whether the Iraqi government should be centralized or not, how the US should respond to civil conflict between the Arabs and Kurds, and how previous promises to the Kurdish and Iraqi people would be achieved in a future state.[21]

Flickr – The U.S. Army – 1st 'Panthers' Battalion prepares to replace 'Warriors,' assume mission in east Rashid

Kurdish people have played an important role in Iraqi state-building since the United States invaded in 2003. Many Kurds seek to build an autonomous federal state in the post-Hussein era, however, a solution for Kurdish problems in Iraq was not even mentioned in the 2004 UN resolution that established Iraq's interim government.[21]

Disputed areas in Iraq prior to the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive.

  Disputed and part of the Kurdish Regional Government since 1991.

  Disputed and under the control of central government.

During the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, Iraqi Kurdistan seized the city of Kirkuk and the surrounding area, as well as most of the disputed territories in Northern Iraq.[23]

Article 140 of the 2005 Iraqi constitution vowed to place disputed areas under the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) by the end of 2007.[24] The three phases that were going to aid this process were normalization, census, and referendum. The normalization phase was supposed to undo the 'Arabization' policies Kurds faced from 1968 to 2003 that were designed to alter the demographic in the city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas to favor the Arab population.[24] These policies included deportation, displacement, house demolition, and property confiscation.[24] Institutionalized boundaries as a result of past gerrymandering were also to be reversed. After this normalization process, a census would talk place and the populous would choose to be governed by either the KRG or Baghdad.[24]

Article 140 was not implemented by 2007. At this time the Presidency Council also recommended to reattach all previously detached districts of Kirkuk.[24] The Chemchamal and Kalar districts that were allocated to Sulaymaniyah Governorate in 1976 were to be returned to Kirkuk.[24] Kifri, annexed to the Diyala governorate in 1976 was to be reattached, although it had been under Kurdish control since 1991. Lastly, the Tuz district would be reattached from the Salah ad-Din district. In 2008, the 140 Committee announced inaction on these initiatives.[24]

In 2008, the Iraqi, Kurdish and US governments came to the consensus that these types of reparations to the Kurdish people would not be able to be carried out without further negotiations and political agreements on boundaries.[24] The US government faced many problems trying to implement Article 140. This was not an ideal form of reparation for many Kurds. After being displaced, many formerly Kurdish regions lacked in development and agricultural upkeep.[24] Educational and economic opportunities were often greater for Kurds outside of these disputed territories, so many people did not want to be forced to return.[24]

Yazidi temple

Before the spread of Islam, many Kurds were followers of Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, or local pagan beliefs. Kurds were assimilating these religious practices into their cultural domain as early as 800 BCE. Arab conquests, however, began in the seventh century AD, eventually overpowering Kurdish resistance.[4] Over time, Sunni Islam became the dominant religion of the Kurdish people, following the Shafi school. There is a very small minority Shia population, called the Feylis who live in central and south-eastern Iraq. Their population is estimated to be around 500 000 to 700 000 in Iraq. Unlike the other sunni Kurds the feylis speak the southern Kurdish dialect.[4] [25]Islam is thought to be a religion of governance as well as spirituality, Kurds make sure to keep both their spiritual identity and national identity strong.[4] Today, many Muslim Kurds consider themselves religious when it comes to adhering to the call to prayer as they often try to keep up and pray all five prayers, also secondary practices of Islam have a stronghold in Kurdish culture.[4] Such as, following Islamic food restrictions, refraining from the consumption of alcohol, circumcising male newborns, and wearing a veil are all very popular customs and rituals among Kurds.[4]

In May 1931 the Kingdom of Iraq, still a part of the British Empire, issued a Language Law declaring Kurdish language of instruction in elementary and primary schools and the official language in several Qadhas in the Liwas Mosul, Arbil, Kirkuk and Suleimanya[26] But the Language Law was not fully implemented, in the Governmental Offices in the Liwas of Kirkuk and Mosul the law has never been applied[27] and following the release in independence of the Kingdom of Iraq by the British Empire in 1932, schools and Governmental Administration were arabized in the Qadhas of Kirkuk and Mosul.[28] In Arbil of the 15 issues of the official gazette eight issues were in Arabic, six in Turkish and only one in Kurdish.[27] By 1943 protests broke out either demanding the acknowledging of Kurdish as an official language or the independence of Kurdistan.[29] Language has been foundational to the building of a national identity in Iraqi Kurdistan, for the vast majority of Kurdish peoples speak Kurdish. Kurdish belongs to the Iranian language group and is rooted in the Indo-European family of languages.[4] Sorani and Kurmanji are the main two Kurdish dialects, so internal language factions are not common.[4] Kirmanji was the favored dialect up until the World Wars, but by the 1960s Sorani became the dominant dialect among Iranian and Iraqi Kurds.[4] A problem among Kurdish people is that they do not have a unified script for their language. Iranian and Iraqi Kurds have modified the Perso-Arabic alphabet, and Turkish Kurds use a Latinized alphabet.[4] This creates unity within modern political borders but strains relations and effective communications transnationally. This lack of unity in scripture parallels Kurdish cultural history, for isolated Kurdish mountain tribes were often nomadic and therefore had a very limited written tradition.[4]

After political changes in Iraq in the 1990s, however, Kurdish was increasingly used in the regional administration and education system, given their greater autonomy.[4]

PDK Kurdistan

KDP and PUK-controlled areas of Kurdistan

A major weakness of Kurdish national cohesiveness has been the strength of tribal and regional factions, often resulting in strong breaks between political parties.[20] The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), founded by Masoud Barzani, leans toward conservative nationalism and has a strong presence in the north.[20] Given their geographic location, they have historically relied on Turkey for international leverage. Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has aligned itself with Marxist ideals during their liberation struggle and has a stronghold in the southern Iraqi Kurdistan.[20] They have tended to seek support from Iran and Syria. Throughout the 1990s a continuous power struggle ensued over political representation in parliament and oil revenues, resulting in an armed conflict in 1994.[20] Fighting again broke out in 1996, the KDP looked for assistance from the central Iraqi government and the PUK sought out support for the United States. This clash divided the two rival zones into "Barzanistan" and "Talabanistan", establishing two administrations, cabinets, parliaments, and state flags.[20] Political party infighting ruined a chance for the Kurdish peoples to unify and establish an autonomous state, completely separate from the Iraqi central government.[20] Within a factionalized atmosphere, other groups established a presence, such as the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), radical Islamist groups, and other Turkish political groups. The PKK has been a major party seeking state autonomy and cultural, linguistic, and ethnic rights for Kurds in Turkey.[30]

Kurdish leaders in Iraq have pushed for the prosperity of divided local governments rather than an independent state; this is because leadership is derived from tribal legitimacy, rather than political institutions. Talabani and Barzani, for instance, did not come from the most populous Kurdish tribe, but rather from well-organized tribes.[21] This could be an inhibitor to democracy in the region since those trying to preserve the status quo hold power but do not represent the majority.[21]

From 1986 to the present, Turkey has held different alliances with the KDP and PUK parties of Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkey has protected the KDP from the PKK and PUK. Turkey has also attacked the political parties PUK and PKK, while keeping good relations with the KDP, partially for access to cheap Iraqi oil.[21] The KDP holds the representation of tribes along the Turkish border, so favorable relations with them ensures trading for Iraqi goods.[21] Turkey then shifted its relationships to favor the now social-democratic PUK party. Since this party sat in the southern region of northern Iraq, it had stronger relations with the central Iraqi government.[21] After the independence referendum of 2017 the relations between Turkey and political parties in the KRG cooled down.