| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1.3–2.1 million[1] (2014, est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Khuzestan,Khorasan,Hormozgan,Bushehr,Qom | |
| Languages | |
| Arabic (Khuzestani,Khorasani,Gulf,South Mesopotamian),Persian | |
| Religion | |
| TwelverShi'a Islam (majority),Sunni Islam (minority)[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherArabs (Huwala,Marsh Arabs, Arab-Persians,Iraqis,Kuwaitis,Bahranis) |
Iranian Arabs (Arabic:عرب إيرانʿArab-e Īrān;Persian:عربهای ايرانArabhā-ye Irān) are the citizens ofIran who are ethnicallyArab.[3] In 2008, their population stood at about 1.6 million people.[4] They are primarily concentrated in theKhuzestan province.[5][full citation needed][6][7]
The presence of Arabs in Iran dates back to the 7th-8th centuries AD, where under theSasanian Empire, Mesopotamian Arabs were an important segment of the empire's population along and west of the lowerEuphrates river in southern Iraq and between the Tigris and Euphrates in northern Iraq. This stretch includedArvand Rud, which meets at the current Iran–Iraq border, down to its mouth, where it discharges into the Persian Gulf. The Arabs of the Sasanian empire included nomads, semi-nomads, peasants, and townsmen. Some Arabs followed polytheistic religions, and a few adopted Judaism, but most appear to be Christians.[8]
The historian andIranologistElton L. Daniel explains that for centuries, Iranian rulers maintained contacts with Arabs outside their borders, dealt with Arab subjects and client states such as those of theLakhmids andHimyarites, and settled Arab tribesmen in various parts of theIranian Plateau.[9] The Arab expedition to Iran began before the Muslim conquests and continued with joint exertions of the civilized Arabs (ahl al-madar) and desert Arabs (ahl al-wabar).[9]
According to theMinorities at Risk Project 2001, about 40 percent of Arabs are unskilled workers living in urban areas. The Arabs in the rural areas are primarily farmers and fishermen. The Arabs living along the Persian Gulf coastal plains are mostly pastoral nomads. Tribal loyalties are strong among rural Arabs, but also influence urban areas, impacting Arab socialization and politicization.[10]
Multiple human rights groups, includingMinority Rights Group International andUnrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, have listed the population of Arab citizens in Khuzestan between 4-7 million.[11][12]
Shapur II the Great (309–379 A.D.) of theSasanian Empire, after apunitive expedition across the Persian Gulf early in his reign, transplanted several clans of theTaghleb to Dārzīn (Daharzīn) nearBam, several clans of theAbd al-Qays andTamīm to Haǰar (the Kūh-e Hazār region) southeast ofKermān, several clans of theBakr ben Wāʾel to Kermān, and several clans of theHanzala toTavvaz, near present-dayDālakī inFārs.[13]
Although after theArab conquest of the Sasanian Persian empire in the 7th century, many Arab tribes settled in different parts of Iran, it is the Arab tribes ofKhuzestan that have retained their identity in language, culture, and Shia Islam to the present day. But ethno-linguistic characteristics of the region must be studied against the long and turbulent history of the province, with its own local languagekhuzi, which may have been ofElamite origin and which gradually disappeared in the early medieval period. The immigration of Arab tribes from outside the province was also a long-term process. There was a great influx of Arab-speaking immigrants into the province from the 16th to the 19th century, including the migration of theBanu Kaab andBanu Lam. There were attempts by the IraqiHussein regime during theIran–Iraq War (1980–88) to generateArab nationalism in the area, but without any palpable success.[14]
According to various genetic studies, Iranian Arabs are genetically similar to other Iranian citizens and their genetic affinity "might be the result of their common ancestry".[15] Hajjej et al. found that Khuzestani Arabs have close relatedness withGabesians.[16]Haplogroup J1-M267 reaches 33.4% in samples from Khuzestan, slightly higher than in other parts of Iran. It also reaches a frequency of 31.6% in Khuzestani Arabs.[17] SamplingNRY diversity, it was determined that theY-DNAhaplogroups F andJ2 such as haplogroup J1 are carried at high frequency among the Iranian Arabs, accounting for more than half of Iranian Arab haplogroups.[18] The high ratio ofhaplogroup F genetically relates Iranian Arabs toEastern Mediterraneans and the people of theBarbary Coast. An elevated frequency of haplogroup J-M172 is typical ofNear Eastern people and reflective of the genetic legacy of early agriculturalists in the Neolithic Near Eastc. 8000–4000 BCE.[19][20][21]Haplogroup R1a1, andR1, typical ofIndo-Iranian groups, occurred in more than 11 percent of the sample andhaplogroup G was present in more than 5 percent.[18][22]
Most Iranian Arabs inKhuzestan province are bilingual speakers ofArabic andPersian. TheArabic spoken in the province isKhuzestani Arabic, a mixture ofGulf Arabic andSouth Mesopotamian Arabic.
Hamid Ahmadi noted that the Arabs of Khuzestan province are direct descendants of the ancient population of the area, having adopted the Arabic language and identity with thespread of Islam.[23] However, there are numerous immigrant Arab tribes of Khuzestan with origins from theArabian Peninsula,[24] such as theBanu Ka'b atDawraq, the later Fallāhīya and present-dayShadegan, theMusha'sha' atHoveyzeh,[25]Banu Tamim, and more from southern Iraq.[24]
TheBani Turuf tribe is settled in theDasht e Azadegan (formerly Dasht-e Mīshān) around the town of Hūzagān (formerlyHoveyzeh). It consists of seven tribes: the Sovārī, Marzaā, Shorfa, Banī Sāleh, Marvān, Qāṭeʿ, and Sayyed Nemat. North of the lands of the ʿAnāfeja of the Āl Katīr, in the area called Mīānāb, between the Kārūn andKarkheh Rivers, dwell several Arab tribes, of which the best known are the Kaab (probably an offshoot of the Banī Kaʿb of southern Khuzestan), the ʿAbd al khānī, the Mazraa, the Al Bū Rāwīya, and the Sādāt. These tribes gradually immigrated into Iran during and after the early years of the Qajar period.[25]
Strong blood relation, one of the peculiarities of Iranian Arab society, results in cooperation between Arabs in hardship as well as the intensification of hostilities between tribes. Iranian Arabs are also well known for their hospitality.[26]
Women wear various types of scarves. Theaba is a black robe-like dress with long sleeves from which hands are only exposed from the wrist. Another is the asabe, a turban-like scarf; the quality of the cloth denotes the social rank of the woman. The pooshie is a mask-like silk cloth that covers the face. Dresses also come in different types. The nefnef is a long loose dress, and the thoub is a loose, gauzy dress that is worn on the nefnef. Ne'al and Kabkab, or Karkab, are two kinds of footwear.[27]
Khamseh Arab nomads live in easternFars province (From Lar and close surrounding areas to Khorrambid and Bavanat). Arabs that live in eastern Fars province and Hormozgan mostly belong to the tribes ofBanu Tamim,Banu Kaab and Banu Hammed.
Khorasani Arabs are descendants of Arab migrants from Arabia.[23] MostKhorasani-Arabs belong to the tribes ofSheybani,Zangooyi,Mishmast,Khozaima andAzdi. According to a 2013 article in peer-reviewed journalIran and the Caucasus, the Khorasani Arabs, numberingc. 50,000, are "already almost totallyPersianised".[23] Very few speak Arabic as their mother tongue.[citation needed] Khorasani-Arabs in the citiesBirjand,Mashhad andNishapur are a small ethnic group, but most are Persianized.[28]
Elton Daniel inThe History of Iran (Greenwood Press, 2001) states that the Arabs of Iran"are concentrated in the province of Khuzistan and number about half a million."[29] TheHistorical Dictionary of Iran puts the number at 1 million.[30] Iranian Arabs form 1–2% of Iran's population.[4]
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