Shabaks

Shabaks (, ) are a group native to the Nineveh Plains in Iraq. Their origin is uncertain, although they are largely considered Kurds by scholars. They speak Shabaki, a branch of the Zaza–Gorani languages, one of the main Kurdish variants alongside common Kurdish. Shabaks largely follow Shia Islam.

Origins

The origins of the word ''Shabak'' are not clear. One theory is that ''Shabak'' is an Arabic word that means ''intertwine'', indicating that the Shabak people originated as a confederation of many tribes of different ethnicities. Others claim that the word Shabak came from the Persian "shah" and Turkish " bek", meaning "master of kings", eventually being Arabized to "Shabak". Austin Henry Layard considered Shabaks to be descendants of Kurds who originated in Iran, and believed that they possibly had affinities with the Ali-Ilahis. Anastase-Marie al-Karmali also argued that Shabaks were ethnic Kurds. Another theory claimed that Shabaks were local ethnic Kurds who were influenced by many cultures due to the ethnic and religious diversity of the Nineveh Plains, which was historically one of the most diverse regions in Iraq. In 2019, Hussein al-Shabaki, a Shabak politician, claimed that the Shabaks were simply Kurds of various Kurdish tribes, and that the term "Shabak" in reality was the historical name of the region they lived in. Another theory suggests that the Shabaks originated from Anatolian Qizilbash Turkomans, who were forced to settle in the Mosul area after the defeat of Ismail I by the Ottomans at the Battle of Chaldiran. Other theories supported the Qizilbash theory, although claimed that the Shabaks specifically descended from Qizilbash Kurds, as the Qizilbash confederation did include Kurds and other Non-Turkic minorities.Leezenberg, M. (2014). The end of heterodoxy? The Shabak in post-Saddam Iraq. Studies in Oriental Religions, 68, 247-268. pp. 3. Historians also stated that it was possible that the Shabaks descended from an ancient Kurdish tribe known as "Shanbakiyya", and also added that it was possible that the Shabaks had affinities with Shabankara. In the 1990s, Turkish sources began denying the existence of the Shabaks, claiming they were simply part of the Iraqi Turkmen.

Most Shabaks belonged to the Kurdish tribes of Zangana, Bajalan, Rojbayani, Dawudi, Lak, Omerbal, Shekak, and Zirari, among others. Some individual Shabak families were of Arab or Turkmen origin who assimilated due to living in close proximity.

Deportation and forced assimilation

After the 1987 census, the Iraqi regime declared Shabaks to be Arabs. Many Shabak community leaders protested, insisting that they were Kurds, after which the Iraqi regime began a campaign against Shabaks. Many Shabaks chose to abandon their traditions, stop identifying with Kurds, and assimilate into the Arab identity to avoid being targeted. The Iraqi government fabricated lineage documents to portray the Shabaks as Arabs. The campaign included both deportation and forced assimilation, and many Shabaks were relocated to concentration camps near the Harir area located to the north of Erbil. An estimated 1,160 Shabaks were killed during this period. In addition, increasing efforts have been made to force the Shabaks to suppress their own identity in favour of being Arab. The Iraqi government's efforts of forced assimilation, Arabization, and religious persecution put the Shabaks under increasing threat. A researcher interviewed a Shabak survivor, who stated that "the government said we are Arabs, not Kurds; but if we are, why did they deport us from our homes?" Shabak politician Salim al-Shabaki, a Shabak representative in the Iraqi parliament, openly declared that "the Shabaks are part of the Kurdish nation." Furthermore, he claimed that Shabaks were direct descendants of the original Kurds.

After the end of Baathist Iraq, the newer Shia-dominated Iraqi government maintained the practice of attempting to distance Shabaks from Kurds.

Politically, the Shabaks who identified as Kurds supported the Kurdistan Region and mostly supported the KDP, while the Shabaks who identified as a distinct group supported the central Iraqi government and mostly supported Iran-backed militias. Hunain al-Qaddo, a Shabak politician who advocated that Shabaks were a distinct ethnic group, claimed that "the Peshmerga have no genuine interest in protecting his community, and that Kurdish security forces are more interested in controlling Shabaks and their leaders than protecting them." Meanwhile, Salim al-Shabaki claimed that it was actually the Iraqi Shia militias who had no interest in protecting the Shabaks and only wanted to distance Shabaks from other Kurds. He also accused the Shia militias of committing atrocities against Shabaks who did not benefit their agenda.

After the decline of Shabakism during the Iraqi civil war, most Shabaks were Muslims, with a significant Yarsani minority and a small Christiaj minority. Shabak Muslims were around 70% Shia and 30% Sunni.Religious Minorities in Iraq: Co-Existence, Faith and Recovery After ISIS, Maria Rita Corticelli, 2022, pp. 130, Religion was a factor in the identification of Shabaks. The Shia Shabaks were divided between those who identified as Kurds and those who identified as a separate group, while the Sunni and Yarsani Shabaks identified as Kurds. Some of them migrated to the KRG and integrated well. The Shabaks who identified as Kurds sided with the KRG and mostly supported the KDP. The Shabaks who identified as a distinct ethnic group supported the Iran-backed militias.

In the 1990s and 2000s, Shabaks were also targets of Turkification by Turkish groups and their Iraqi Turkmen allies. The Iraqi Turkmen National Party (ITMP) actively ran a campaign aimed at convincing Shabaks that they were Turks. In addition to Shabaks, the ITMP claimed that all Yarsanis were Turks, and that Yarsanism was a Turkic religion. After the Anfal campaign, the ITMP received aid consisting of food packages from Turkey. The ITMP caused controversy as they did not give any aid to the Shabak victims unless they signed documents agreeing that they were Turks. By 2003, the Turkification attempts had stopped, as they never had a lasting effect on the Shabaks.

Shabaks had tensions with Sunni Arabs, which was worsened by Saddam Hussein, and further worsened by the rise of the Islamic State in 2014.

The situation of Shabaks and Feyli Kurds in Iraq was identical, and both groups complained about being alienated from Sunni Kurds who saw them as Shia, and from Shia Arabs who saw them as Kurds.

During the 2017 Kurdistan independence referendum, there were Shabaks who supported independence and called for their native region in the Nineveh Plains to be included.

Settlements

List of Shabak–majority settlements in the Nineveh Plains:

As of March 2019, all of the above settlements are under federal control and are disputed territories of Northern Iraq.

References

Further reading

* Ali, Salah Salim. ‘Shabak: A Curious sect in Islam’. '' Revue des études islamiques'' 60. 2 (1992): 521-528. ()
* Ali, Salah Salim. ‘Shabak: A Curious sect in Islam’. '' Hamdard Islamicus'' 23. 2 (April–June 2000): 73-78. ()

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Ethnic groups in Iraq
Iranian ethnic groups