Iraqi Turkmen
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The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (April 2008) |
| Iraqi Turkmen |
|---|
| Total population |
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222,000 - 2,000,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Languages |
| a form of South Azerbaijani (spoken language), standard Turkish (written language) |
| Religions |
| Shia and Sunni Islam |
| Related ethnic groups |
| Other Turkic peoples, Oghuz Turks, Syrian Turkmen |
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The Iraqi Turkmen (also spelled Turkomen, Turcoman, and Turkman) (Turkish:Irak Türkmenleri) are a distinct Turkic ethnic group living in Iraq, notably in the cities of Arbil, Tal Afar, Kirkuk, and Mosul. Like the Assyrians, they claim to be the third largest ethnic group in the country (following the Arabs and the Kurds). However, estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, from 222,000[1] by western experts [2] to 2,000,000 by Turkish sources.[3][4]
The Turkmen of Iraq are not to be confused with the Turkmen of Central Asia who reside primarily in Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Iraqi Turkmen form a distinct group within the Oghuz Turk classification, which includes Ottoman Turks, modern Turks and Azeris.[5]
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[edit] Language
The Iraqi Turkmen speak a dialect of Turkish that is heavily influenced by Arabic and Ottoman Turkish.[citation needed] Ethnologue and Linguasphere classify their spoken language as a form of South Azerbaijani, thus making them linguistically closer of the Azeris of Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran. For their written language, they use the standard Turkish language and Latin-based Turkish alphabet.[5]
[edit] Religion
Some sources state that they are evenly split between Sunni and Shia Islam by faith.[6] According to Talip Büyük, Shiites make 65% of the population and Sunnis make the rest.[7] Juan Cole says that they practice a ghulat form of Shiism (cf. Turkey's Alevis).[8]
[edit] History
The origin of the Iraqi Turkmen dates back to the Al-Ma'mun and Al-Mu'tasim rules of Abbasid in 9th century. Most of the Turkmen living in the region settled in northern Iraq during the early Seljuk Empire period, when Turks migrated from Central Asia (Turkestan) to Anatolia, Iran and Iraq. A recent addition to this population was made by the Ottoman Empire who brought Turks from Anatolia to the region to secure and transport mail from Baghdad to Istanbul and vice versa in the 18th century. Others were sent to the region by the Ottomans to repel tribal raids.[9] These groups settled at the entrances of the valleys that gave them access to Kurdish-dominated areas. This historic role of pacification has led to the development of strained relations between the Turkmen and the Kurds.[1] With the rise of Saddam Hussein and Ba'ath domination over Iraq, a policy of Arabization was imposed on the Turkmen and the rest of Iraq's non-Arab minorities. It was declared in the constitution that schools were prohibited from using the Turkish language and banned Turkish-language media in Iraq. In the 1980s, Saddam prohibited the public use of the Turkish language completely.
The Turkmen of Iraq live mainly in the north and middle of the country; according to them, their number is severely underestimated, and approximates 2.5 million. The Turkmen of Iraq constitute generations of different Turkish clans who entered Iraq over thousands of years, for example, Oghus, Kipchak, Azerbaijanian and Mongols. The term Turkmen for Iraqi Turks seems to have been created during the course of the discussion on the Mosul issue in the third decade of the last century, in order to isolate the Iraqi Turks from the Turkey. This was used as a factor against Turkey during negotiations, in order to join this oil rich Ottoman province to the newly founded Iraq by Britain.
[edit] Present status
Although some have been able to preserve their language, the Iraqi Turkmen today are being rapidly assimilated into the general population and are no longer tribally organized.[1] With the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003, tensions between the Kurds and the Turkmen grew substantially. As a result, Kirkuk soon became the only violent non-Arab city in Iraq during the Iraq War.
Iraqi Turkmen have also emerged as a key political force in the controversy over the future status of northern Iraq and the Kurdish Autonomous Region. The government of Turkey has helped fund such political organizations as the Iraqi Turkmen Front, which opposes Iraqi federalism and in particular the proposed annexation of Kirkuk to the Kurdistan Regional Government.[10]
Tensions between the two groups over Kirkuk, however, have slowly died out and on January 30, 2006, the President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, said that the "Kurds are working on a plan to give Iraqi Turkmen autonomy in areas where they are a majority in the new constitution they're drafting for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq."[11] However, it never happened and the policies of Kurdification by KDP and PUK after 2003 (with non-Kurds being pressures to move) have prompted serious inter-ethnic problems.[12]
Between ten and twelve Turkmen individuals were elected to the transitional National Assembly of Iraq in January 2005, including five on the United Iraqi Alliance list, three from the Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITF), and either two or four from the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan.[13] [14]
In the December 2005 elections, between five and seven Turkmen candidates were elected to the Council of Representatives. This included one candidate from the ITF (its leader Sadettin Ergec), two or four from the United Iraqi Alliance, one from the Iraqi Accord Front and one from the Kurdistani Alliance. [15][14]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Helen Chapin Metz and the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Iraq: A Country Study, p. 86.
- ^ Turkey: Facing a New Millennium : Coping with Intertwined Conflicts, By Amikam Nachmani, page 11, Published 2003, Manchester University Press, 264 pages, ISBN:0719063701
- ^ Roraback, Amanda (2004). Iraq in a Nutshell (in English). Enisen Publishing, p. 36. ISBN 978-0970290861. Retrieved on 2008-05-05. “Most of the nearly 2000000 Turkomans in Iraq live in the Kirkuk and Mosul... web link”
- ^ Adherents.com - Iraq
- ^ a b The Iraqi Turkomans: Who They Are And What They Want, Radio Free Europe
- ^ http://iussp2005.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=50067
- ^ Kerkük, 'Kerbela'mız / Güncel / Milliyet Gazete
- ^ Juan Cole, "Iraq must be Kept together as a single state," from Informed Comment, 9/20/2003
- ^ Helen Chapin Metz and the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Iraq: A Country Study, p. 85.
- ^ Kurds Accused Of Rigging Kirkuk Vote, Al Jazeera
- ^ Cevik, Ilnur (2006-01-30). Talabani: Autonomy for Turkmen in Kurdistan. Kurdistan Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-05-20.
- ^ Stansfield, Gareth. (2007). Iraq: People, History, Politics. p71
- ^ Interesting Outcomes in Iraqi Election, Zaman Daily Newspaper
- ^ a b The New Iraq, The Middle East and Turkey: A Turkish View, Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, 2006-04-01, accessed on 2007-09-06
- ^ Turkmens Win Only One Seat in Kerkuk, Iraqi Turkmen Front
