Sunni, Shia, and Kurd: A Brief History of Islamism in Kurdistan

Abstract

The tumultuous events that gave rise to modern Kurdish identity generate two important questions. Both relate to “Islamism” in Kurdistan, Islamism being a group’s reference to Islam for political purposes. First, what type of a relationship has the Kurdish population maintained historically vis-à-vis political Islam in Iranian Kurdistan (and Kurdistan generally), and how does this relate to the sentiment of Kurdish nationalism in that same population? Second, given Islam and Islamism’s role in Kurdistan, what type of conclusions can we draw between these sentiments and the development and rise of Islamism in the populations and governments of the sovereign (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria)?