How Iraq became a Shia majority

[StonyArabia]

This topic shows how and why the originally majority Sunni Iraq became majority Shia, but it should be noted that most Shia Arabs in Iraq are descendants of Bedouin tribes who migrated to Iraq following the Mongol/Timur devastation, most of them lived in nomadic setting until the 19th century. It's interesting when these tribes became settled most of them converted to Shiaism, but the still nomadic tribes are Sunni to this day, especially in the Syrian Desert region. Although he says the noncivil which he means nomadic tribes are Sunni to this day, but Northern Iraq was all Sunni and never nomadic, and often Shia clerks had met little success to convert those folks.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXx6AetuQGg

[Wadaad]

Thanks for the video, watching it now. Totally surprising, since the Shia holy shrines are 90% in Iraq I thought it was always a shi'ite center. Thanks alot, this just might be a subject that will occupy me for some time. BTW, Iran was Sunni land, until the Safavids, while Egypt was Shia until the Mamelukes and apparently there are crypto shi3i still in Egypt and North Africa today. Fascinating topic...btw I've met an anti-Khomeini shiite man from Iraq, I wonder how many Arab Shias are anti-Iranian regime, and are forced to ally with Persians (who hate and look down on Bedouins) because of takfiris like ISIS and a qaedA.

[Diërker]

Thanks for the video, watching it now. Totally surprising, since the Shia holy shrines are 90% in Iraq I thought it was always a shi'ite center. Thanks alot, this just might be a subject that will occupy me for some time. BTW, Iran was Sunni land, until the Safavids, while Egypt was Shia until the Mamelukes and apparently there are crypto shi3i still in Egypt and North Africa today. Fascinating topic...btw I've met an anti-Khomeini shiite man from Iraq, I wonder how many Arab Shias are anti-Iranian regime, and are forced to ally with Persians (who hate and look down on Bedouins) because of takfiris like ISIS.

Many are.

[StonyArabia]

Thanks for the video, watching it now. Totally surprising, since the Shia holy shrines are 90% in Iraq I thought it was always a shi'ite center. Thanks alot, this just might be a subject that will occupy me for some time. BTW, Iran was Sunni land, until the Safavids, while Egypt was Shia until the Mamelukes and apparently there are crypto shi3i still in Egypt and North Africa today. Fascinating topic...btw I've met an anti-Khomeini shiite man from Iraq, I wonder how many Arab Shias are anti-Iranian regime, and are forced to ally with Persians (who hate and look down on Bedouins) because of takfiris like ISIS and a qaedA.

What you say is true indeed. Shiaism existed in Iraq but it was small minority only confined to shrine cities mostly by the Arab tribes of Ashari and Banu Assad. The rest of the population was nominal Sunni, until the 19th century when there was these massive tribal conversions. Actually Shiaism was much more an Arab byproduct than a Persian/Iranic one as it's often believed. All the Shia states were Arab originally. Also the people who helped bring the seed of Shiaism to Iran were Arabs from the Ashari tribe, and in Safavid times it was Southern Lebanese Arabs. Iraq became majority Shia, when the Persian clergy took refuge in the shrine cities and began to missionaries to the Bedouin tribes. However before that there existed a Shia Bedouin state in Iraq and Ahwaz, the Musha'sha'iyyah.

Most often ethnic and tribal affiliation trumps sectarianism. The alliance is often weak and superficial. Ahwazis are Shia Arabs for example yet the majority of them are no fans of Iran and want to secede. Iraqi Shias a lot of them are like that as well, only the clerks really are tied to Iran but they often come at odds with tribal leaders at times.

[Drawing-slim]

I'll watch it later.

[StonyArabia]

I'll watch it later.

It's very informative and accurate info.

[Yaroslav]

Before Islam Iraq and most of Middle East and North Africa were Christian. Although heavily infested with Nestorian and Monophysite heresies.

[random]

This topic shows how and why the originally majority Sunni Iraq became majority Shia, but it should be noted that most Shia Arabs in Iraq are descendants of Bedouin tribes who migrated to Iraq following the Mongol/Timur devastation, most of them lived in nomadic setting until the 19th century. It's interesting when these tribes became settled most of them converted to Shiaism, but the still nomadic tribes are Sunni to this day, especially in the Syrian Desert region. Although he says the noncivil which he means nomadic tribes are Sunni to this day, but Northern Iraq was all Sunni and never nomadic, and often Shia clerks had met little success to convert those folks.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXx6AetuQGg


Shias were in Iraq since the time of Ali, and not all Iraqis were wiped out by the Mongol invasion.

[The Lawspeaker]

Before Islam Iraq and most of Middle East and North Africa were Christian. Although heavily infested with Nestorian and Monophysite heresies.

And it should be restored to its former glory.

[Yaroslav]

And it should be restored to its former glory.

It will when Christ returns. All Muslims will descend to Hell and all good Semite (Arab, Aramean, Assyrian, Babylonian) Catholics will be resurrected and will inhabit Iraq, which is where the Garden of Eden was, and the rest of the Middle East/North Africa. The good Catholic Israelites will inhabit the Promised Land, with Jesus and Mary reigning over the New Heaven and Earth from New Jerusalem for all eternity. Amen.

[TheForeigner]

Khuzestan arabs of Iran also arrived there after mongol invasion? If they are late comers, they don't have the right to independence. Kurds and azeri turks too, because they never had states of their own before. I meant iranian azeris of course. Moder Azerbaijan is also a kind of artificial soviet creation. They are just turks, but they don't have rights over ancient lands of Iran.

[random]

Khuzestan arabs of Iran also arrived there after mongol invasion? If they are late comers, they don't have the right to independence. Kurds and azeri turks too, because they never had states of their own before. I meant iranian azeris of course. Moder Azerbaijan is also a kind of artificial soviet creation. They are just turks, but they don't have rights over ancient lands of Iran.

Azeris had a lot of states, some even were from New delhi to the north caucasus. You just need to open a history book son.

[TheForeigner]

Those were multiethnic turkic empires and modern azeri nationality didn't exist. Even the name was taken from old iranian/persian province.

[random]

Those were multiethnic turkic empires and modern azeri nationality didn't exist. Even the name was taken from old iranian/persian province.

Most great empires were multi ethnic. The ruling families + their armies were mainly turkic. The current Azeris are called Azeri Turks Just like Turks in Turkey are called anatolian turks. The people there still call themselves turks, they only use Azeri when they encounter other Turks.

Most modern day nationalities didn't exist in the last 3 centuries. Thad doesn't mean that Turks in Iran and Azerbaijan didn't have a strong turkic identity.

[TheForeigner]

Ok, but they are just fine in Iran and no reason to dismember more states for every little tribe. Northwest Iran was always part of Iran and doesn't need to be partitioned between turks and kurds. Same with Khuzestan that should also stay iranian. And kurdish areas of Turkey should stay with Turkey and let them have north Iraq too. Kurds never had their own state for sure. All these peoples mentioned are not the first inhabitants of their current regions of habitation.