Iranian Political Cleavages
The New York Times offered a graphic reminder of the ethnic cleavages in Iranian society. The article might be a valuable illustration of the generalizations and statistics in your textbook. Ask your students to identify the examples of political relevance.At Home, Tehran Deals With a Restive Arab Minority
"...Iran wants to be a leader in the Islamic world, spreading its reach and influence among Arabs and Indonesians, Sunnis and Shiites...
"But at home, Iran has often had to labor to unify its own people under one national identity, restricting the expression of ethnic variations — like languages — that it views as undermining that unity. The problem is often most apparent with its Arabs...
"Iran is a multiethnic nation. More than half of its 70 million people are Persian, and about 3 percent are Arabs. Other groups include the Azeris, Kurds, Turkmen, Baluchis and Lurs. Iran has recently faced strong protests from some ethnic groups, like the Azeris, with several demanding greater autonomy and cultural freedom...
"Iranian officials insist that there is no discrimination against Arabs or, for that matter, any of Iran’s ethnic minorities. They note, for example, that classical Arabic is taught in schools. They point out that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is of Azeri descent..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 10:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home