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February 2005
World
View
Kurds of Iraq
| Imagine not being recognized for who
you are. |
| Instead you are automatically included
with everyone else. That’s what it’s like
to be a Kurd. It is estimated that there are between
13.5
and 25 million Kurds, making them the largest minority
in the world without their own country. The exact estimatesare
not known because most governments
do |
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| not consider Kurds a separate group, and most
Kurds, to fit in, do not officially identify themselves
as
Kurdish. |
| |
| Imagine not being recognized for who you are. Instead
you are automatically included with
everyone else.That’s what |
| it’s like to
be a Kurd. It is estimated that there are between 13.5
and 25 million Kurds, making them the largest minority
in the world without their own country. The exact |
|
| estimates are not known because most
governments do not consider Kurds a separate group,
and most Kurds, to fit in, do not officially identify
themselves as Kurdish. |
| The Kurds are believed to be descendents of the ancient
Medes (like King Darius in the Old Testament book of
Daniel). They inhabit an area of rugged mountains and
high plains near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The
area is known as Kurdistan, the land of the Kurds,
but is not a state or country, yet it encompasses parts
of several countries, including Turkey, Iraq, Iran,
and Syria . Their desires and battles for any type
of autonomy has not been successful. What happened
on Bloody Friday? |
What happened on Bloody Friday?
The brutal massacre of the oppressed Kurds of Halabja,
Iraq, began before sunrise on Friday, March 17, 1988.
On that day, Halabja was bombarded more than twenty
times with chemical and cluster bombs by Sadaam Hussein's
warplanes.
In the streets of Halabja, corpses piled up over
one another. In virtually every house there were
some killed and wounded. More than five thousand
people were killed and over seven thousand more were
wounded. Women and children comprised 75 percent
of the dead and wounded on that Bloody Friday in
Halabja.
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The brutal massacre of the oppressed
Kurds of Halabja, Iraq, began before sunrise on Friday,
March 17, 1988. On that day, Halabja was bombarded
more than twenty times with chemical and cluster bombs
by Sadaam Hussein's warplanes.
In the streets of Halabja, corpses piled up over one
another. In virtually every house there were some killed
and wounded. More than five thousand people were killed
and over seven thousand more were wounded. Women and
children comprised 75 percent of the dead and wounded
on that Bloody Friday in Halabja.
Despite being such a large group, the Kurds have been
all but unheard of until the early 1990’s when
their land was invaded by Saddam Hussein in an attempt
at genocide of the Kurds of Iraq. This event put both
them and their oppression and survival for ethnic identity
on the national spotlight. The survival of the Kurds
is a strong testimony to their courage and refusal
to assimilate. |
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| Traditionally Kurds are nomadic agriculturalists
and shepherds. They migrate to different places between
the summer and the winter. Today most have settled
in small towns or cities. Since they do not have a
state of their own, Kurds are very tribal and loyal
to their tribal leader. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims.
The remainder are mostly Alevi Muslims or Yezidis—a
secretive faith combing parts of Paganism, Islam, Christianity,
Judaism and Zoroastrianism.The Kurds traditionally
have been an oral people. They pass folklore and tradition
through stories, dance, and song. The Turkish government
has outlawed the use of Kurdish language in public
settings such as school and publications and radio.
During the 1970’s and 1980’s the Iraqi
government, however, allowed the Kurdish language to
be used in the education of children. The use of Kurdish
language allowed for the prospering of Kurdish literature.
Despite being oppressed by governments, the Kurds struggle
amongst themselves to unite. Kurdish language is made
up of many dialects and written language uses Latin,
Arabic, and Cyrillic. Even though Kurds may be speaking
Kurdish, their dialect may not be understood by other
Kurds, and Kurds remain loyal to their tribal leaders
which can also be a hinderance. Read
more about the Kurds of Iraq . . . |
More about Kurdish Groups:
Prayer Points for the Kurds
- Pray for the Christian work among the Kurdish people,
including the development of audio and video presentations
of the Gospel for those who are illiterate.
- Pray for peace in their homeland and for more global
awareness of their plight.
- Pray that the Prince of Peace would bring spiritual
peace to their hearts.
- Pray for the fair treatment of the Kurds by the various
governments where they reside.
- Pray for
peace in their homeland and for more global awareness
of their plight.
- Pray that the Prince of Peace would
bring spiritual peace to their hearts.
- Pray for the
fair treatment of the Kurds by the various governments
where they reside.
- Pray that God would draw their hearts
to Himself, the only Just and Merciful Judge.
- Ask God
to reveal himself in the person of Jesus to the Kurds
in dreams and through messengers
sent to tell the Gosepl.
- Ask God to send more people
to tell the Kurds about Jesus.
More info at thekurds.net Order a 7-day prayer guide for the Kurds from Resource.Center@imb.org.
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