Sunni Iraqis

Sunni Islam in Iraq () is the second-largest sect of Islam in Iraq after Shia Islam. The majority of Iraqi Sunni Muslims are Arabs with the second largest being Kurds. Iraqi Sunni Muslims mainly inhabit the western and northern half of Iraq. Sunni Arabs primarily inhabit the Sunni Triangle, Upper Mesopotamia and the desert areas, such as Al-Anbar Governorate in the Arabian Desert and Syrian Desert. The Sunni Kurds inhabit the mountainous Iraqi Kurdistan region.

In 2003, the United States-based Institute of Peace estimated that around 95% of the total population of Iraq were Muslim, of which Sunnis made up around 40%. A CIA World Factbook report from 2015 estimates that 29–34% of the population of Iraq is Sunni Muslim. According to a 2011 survey by Pew Research, 42% of Iraqi Muslims are Sunni. There were about 9 million Sunni Arabs, 4.5 million Sunni Kurds and 3 million Sunni Turkmens in Iraq, according to a report published in 2015.

Sunni Iraqi Arabs are often mistaken by outsiders as simply a religious group but constitute a distinct Arab people that claim ties to the ancient Assyrian and Mesopotamian heritage of the region they inhabit that is distinct from other Mesopotamian heritage found in Iraq. Sunni Arabs primarily reside in the historic regions of Al-Jazira and Upper Mesopotamia, this area has long been culturally and socially separate from the now Shia-majority southern Iraq, historically known as Babylonia or Sawad, which, while remaining strongly Arab, has stronger Persianate roots compared to Sunni areas (most recently contributed by the rule of the Safavid dynasty). Sunni identity in Al-Jazira also reflects Arabian tribal traditions, following the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia and newer Ottoman-era connections to Levantine, Eastern European and Balkan cultures, contributing to a cultural background with different influences to that of the Shia-majority regions of the south.

History

In the early Islamic period, Iraq was a key center of the Abbasid Caliphate, with the city of Baghdad serving as its capital from the 8th to the 13th century. Sunni Arabs played a significant role in the administration (including the ruling Abbasid dynasty) and cultural life of the caliphate, and many important figures of Islamic scholarship and literature emerged from Iraq during this time and during the Islamic Golden Age.

During his reign, King Faisal I was keenly aware that his power-base was with the Sunni Arabs of Iraq, who comprised a minority.Masalha, N "Faisal's Pan-Arabism, 1921–33" pages 679–693 from ''Middle Eastern Studies'', Volume 27, Issue # 4, October 1991 page 679. Iraqi Sunni Arabs were also the backbone of Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist Iraq regime. President Saddam Hussein, greatly boosted Sunni political influence over the country and alleviated many Sunni communities. He is commonly seen as a heroic figure among Sunni Arab communities across Iraq despite the controversy surrounding him in other parts of the country.

Nouri al-Maliki's Shia-led government repressed Sunnis, stressing the Sunni Arab tribes' favourable disposition towards the Islamic State, although they did not share the Salafist beliefs. A number of Sunnis have now taken up arms against the Islamic State to stop its attempts at establishing hegemony. In a survey in 2015, only 13 percent of Iraqi Sunni Arabs believed that their central government in Baghdad was heading in the right direction.

Due to continued repression by the Shia-led government, Sunni Islamist and Ba'athist armed groups such as the Naqshabandi Army took up arms against the government during the 2012–2013 Iraqi protests. This led to the 2013 Anbar campaign and beginning of the War in Iraq against the Islamic State which lasted until December 2017.

Identity and separatism

Sunni Iraqis, often regarded as a distinct ethnosectarian group, have deep historical roots in Iraq's political order. Sunni dominance was reasserted in the region after the Sunni-dominated Ottoman Empire removed Iranian political control in the 16th century following the Ottoman–Safavid War, restoring Sunni rule and embedding it within the administrative and religious structures of Iraq for centuries.

In the modern era, particularly under the Ba'athist regime, Sunni Arabs were portrayed in propaganda as the closest to the rest of the Arab world, fostering unity between Iraq and the rest of the Arab world. This benefited the Sunni minority as Iraqi identity was pushed to be closely tied to Arab socialist and Pan-Arabist ideologies, heavily influenced by Nasserist views originating in revolutionary Egypt. The pre-2003 Iraqi state reflected Sunni norms and culture, positioning Sunni Iraqis as the standard of national identity and enforced during Shia revolts against the state, such as the 1991 Iraqi uprisings. This has led to certain Ba'athist symbols such as the former flag of the Iraqi Republic under Ba'athism being reinterpreted as a distinctly Sunni symbol following it's replacement in 2008.

During the Iran–Iraq War, Ba'athist narratives portrayed Sunni-led Iraq as the last line of Arab and Sunni defense against Shia Iran, reinforcing a sense of historical mission and communal pride. Following the 2003 U.S. invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein, Sunni Iraqis lost their dominant status, prompting a shift toward a more defined communal identity. This included opposition to growing Iranian influence, particularly through the Popular Mobilization Forces.

Many autonomist movements have been created for the Sunni minority, some militant such as the Free Iraqi Army and some intended to be created under democratic elections such as the proposed " Sunni Region" centered in Anbar and Tikrit, intended to mirror the poltical structure of the Kurdistan Region.

Demographics

Sunni Arabs

Sunni Arabs make up around 45% of Iraq’s population, and mostly live in the Sunni Triangle, a densely populated region of Iraq to the north and west of Baghdad. It extends from Tikrit (the southeast point), Ramadi (the southwest point) to Mosul (the north point). It also includes the cities of Samarra, Fallujah, Balad and Hīt. They also inhabit Upper Mesopotamia and the areas of the Arabian Desert and Syrian Desert.

Like other Iraqi Arabs, Iraqi Sunni Arabs are descendants of ancient population and the conquerors who invaded Iraq from the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century. Although a minority, Sunni Arabs dominated Iraqi politics until the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. There are many Sunni Arab tribes in Iraq, including Dulaim, Al-Bu Nasir, Al-Bu Nimr, Al-Ubaid, Otaibah, Shammar and Mutayr.

Kurds

98% of Iraqi Kurds are Sunni Muslims, while the remaining 2% are Shia Muslims. As a result of the spread of Islam, Sunni Islam (Shafi’i) became the dominant religion of the Kurdish people. There exists the Feyli Kurds who follow Shia Islam, namely Twelver Shiism. Islam is thought to be a religion of governance as well as spirituality, Kurds make sure to keep both their spiritual identity and national identity strong. Their practices and beliefs are very similar to those of Sunni Arabs.

Turkmens

Primarily Iraqi Turkmen are Sunni Muslims, most Iraqi Turkmen are politically secular yet remain practicing, having internalized the secularist interpretation of state–religion affairs practiced in the Republic of Turkey. The religious and tribal factors and tensions inherent in Iraq’s political culture do not significantly affect the Iraqi Turkmen.

References

{{Reflist

Ethnic groups in Iraq
Ethnic groups in the Middle East
Demographics of Iraq
Muslim communities in Asia
Ethnoreligious groups in Asia