Arab-Kurds

Arab-Kurd intermarriages have existed since the 7th century and bolstered after the Spread of Islam in Iraq and Syria. Arabs introduced the Kurds to Islam, which is currently the majority religion for both ethnic groups, and many Kurdish Islamic dynasties, such as the Ayyubids, led by Saladin, also a Kurd, ruled over Arab areas and had a large amount of Arabs in their army.[7][8][9][10] Through out time, Arabs and Kurds continued to live together and intermarriages kept happening. Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, Kurds were arabized and assimilated and Kurdish women were forced to marry Arab men in order to make the offspring Arab, they also relocated many Kurds to live in Arab-populated parts of Iraq.[11][12] Arab nationalism and Kurdish nationalism has set this group back.

The displacement of Iraqi Arabs to Iraqi Kurdistan has also created more intermarriages and increased the Arab-Kurdish population.[1] Marriages between Iraqi Arabs and Feyli Kurds are even more popular as Feyli Kurds are mostly from Southern Iraq, Diyala, Baghdad, and not Iraqi Kurdistan, making them more geographically and culturally closer to Arabs. There is also no religious barrier between Feyli Kurds and most Iraqi Arabs, as they both follow Shia Islam.[13][14][15][16][17] Nearly all Arab-Kurds are from Iraq and Syria, a very small number of Arab-Kurds are from other countries. In Turkey, there’s a lot of Arab-Kurdish refugees from Iraq and Syria. Some Arab refugees even marry Kurds from Turkey.[18] In Iran, Iranian Arab and Iranian Kurd marriages are increasing.[19] Many people don’t know the existence of Jordanian Kurds, out of all 30,000 Jordanian Kurds, some of them are mixed with Arab.[20]

• Kurds in Palestine
• Kurds in Jordan
• Iraq
• Iraqi Kurdistan
• Syria
• Arab-Persians
• Arab-Berber
• Kurds
• Arabs