The Kurdish Issue in Iraq: Tragedy and Hope

Abstract

The peoples of the Middle East shared a common history, religion, and political status for several millenniums. During that period, several types of bonds held them together. However, in the last two centuries these bonds have weakened due to the adoption of political principles and governing systems which are far from Islamic teachings. As a result, new problems have arisen, among them being the issue of ethnic minorities. Kurds are a victim of the new situation. They have been trying unsuccessfully for a century to achieve the same rights as other peoples in the Middle East. Their attempts and counter-actions by the states of this region are historically analyzed in this paper. Various approaches to resolve this issue are discussed along with the reasons for their failure.