Ethnic politics of Khuzestan: Encyclopedia II - Ethnic politics of Khuzestan - Historical background

Ethnic politics of Khuzestan - Historical background

Ethnic politics in Khuzestan revolves primarily around the issue of local control of resources. Unlike most other Iranian provinces, Khuzestan is ethnically diverse, home to a number of distinct peoples and tribal groups.

Aside from the measures taken by the Pahlavi governments and the Islamic Republic of Iran, there is no historical precedent for conflict between the Iranian peoples amongst themselves, and the grievences held by minority groups have, in general, only been towards the central governments and their policies. As such, conflict in Khuzestan should be seen in the context of modern Iranian ethnic politics, not only within Khuzestan, but also in other provinces such as Sistan and Baluchistan, Lorestan, Iranian Kurdistan, and Iranian Azarbaijan.

Ethnic politics of Khuzestan - Early history

From 15th century on, there have been accounts of Arab resistance to Persian rule which were primarily focused on land, trade and taxes. Local Arab rulers also sought alliances with Lurs and Bakhtiari, indicating the importance of the indigenous population. However, at times of strong political and trading relations between Khuzestan and Tehran, Arab leaders maintained an allegiance to Persian rulers.

Ethnic politics of Khuzestan - Autonomy

Local Arab autonomy in Khuzestan began during the middle of the 15th century under the Msha'sha'iya, a Shi'a sect founded and first led by Muhammad ibn Falah (1400-1461), an Iraqi theologian who believed himself to be the earthly representative of Imam Ali and the Mahdi. Falah and his followers captured the city of Hoveizeh in 1441, which became his primary base of ideological dissemination. His spiritual teachings were later set down in the text, Kalam al-Mahdi. The Arab population in western Khuzestan thereafter began increasing significantly, and the region thus came to be referred to as Arabistan. By the time of Mozaffareddin Shah, the name Arabistan had come to completely refer to all of Khuzestan (also see Origin of the name Khuzestan#Arabistan), as ibn Falah and his son, Ali ibn-Muhammad Msha'sha'iya, increased their influence over the area, including Lorestan, Kahgolia, Kermanshah, Bahrain and southern Iraq.

Beginning in the 16th century, the Bani Kaab, an Arab tribe originating from what is now Kuwait, came to settle western Khuzestan. By the mid-18th century, they dominated much of the area. After Nader Shah's death in 1747, they refused to pay taxes to the Persian and Ottoman empires alike, blockading the Arvand/Shatt al-Arab and attacking Basra; Karim Khan Zand, the Ottoman army, and the British East India Company all responded by attacking them in in the 1760s. However, following the death of their strongest leader, Sheikh Salman, the tribe declined.

In 1837, the city of Mohammarah, the center of a local sheikhdom, was taken and in 1847 the Second Treaty of Erzurum between the Ottomans and Iran, confirmed it and all territory on the east bank of the Arvand/Shatt al-Arab as Iranian. Sheikh Jabir al-Kaabi, the Sheikh of Mohammerah, effectively became a provincial ruler under the command of Nassereddin Shah Qajar, the Shah of Persia. Under orders from the Shah, Sheikh Jabir fought the British to maintain Iranian sovereignty over the region. Upon Sheikh Jabir's death, his son, Sheikh Maz'al, succeeded him as tribal leader and Sheikh of Mohammerah. He strengthened and expanded commercial and political ties with Tehran. In 1897, Maz'al was murdered (some accounts state he was assassinated) by his brother, Sheikh Khaz'al Khan, who then not only assumed the position of Kaabide tribal leadership, but also proclaimed himself the ruler of the entire province. This was soon accepted by the Qajar court of Tehran, and his position as Sheikh was made official.

The rest of the province (the eastern and northern regions) remained dominated by Bakhtiari Khans, Lur tribal leaders, and other Persian groups. Several of the Bakhtiari Khans, in particular, had entered into alliances with Khaz'al.

Ethnic politics of Khuzestan - The Pahlavi era

In 1925, having dissolved the Qajar dynasty and establishing himself as the new Shah of Iran, Reza Shah had Sheikh Khaz'al arrested, who had by this time lost the support and protection of the British colonialists. Khaz'al was sent to Tehran and spent the rest of his life there under house arrest until his death in 1936. It is said that he did not die of natural causes, but was murdered by a low-level guard on the orders of Reza Shah. The areas which had comprised his emirate were returned to the province, and the name of Mohammerah was changed to Khorramshahr, while Naseriyeh reverted to Ahvaz.

Reza Shah then embarked upon a campaign to forcibly settle the Arab, Bakhtiari, and Luri nomadic tribes of southwestern Iran. This created great resentment amongst tribal leaders who viewed such actions as an attempt to suppress and destroy their cultures and way of life. Reza Shah countered their arguments by claiming that some of these nomadic tribes were dangerous and had engaged in criminal activities such as highway robbery and banditry. The Lurs, in particular, were considered to be one of the fiercest Iranian tribes. Similar claims were used to justify actions taken against the Baluch tribes of eastern Iran. These initial attempts by the central government to settle the nomadic peoples were ultimately unsuccessful, as when the era of Reza Shah ended, many of the tribes returned to their nomadic ways. Under the reign of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, attempts were again made to settle these tribes using less forceful methods and which met with greater success.

In addition to the nomadic issue, Reza Shah had also promoted an aggressive campaign to bring the whole of Iran into the modern age, and to accomplish this it was felt that the entire nation would have to be brought under a single cultural and linguistic banner. Persian language and modern dialect were stressed over minority languages such as Azeri, Baluchi, Khuzestani Arabic and Kurdish, and over distinct Persian dialects such as Bakhtiari, Behbahani, Dezfuli, Luri, and Shushtari. The Arabs of southern Iran were, in particular, singled out by the Pahlavi governments for increased scrutiny in these efforts, which they widely considered as constituting evidence of state-sponsored racism and cultural suppression. As with other Iranian ethnic groups, the Arabs of Iran wished to retain not only their Iranian identity, but also the identity of their own distinct languages, cultures and heritage, though in recent decades increased migration to the urban centres and assimilation into Persian culture has tended to reduce these sentiments.

Ethnic politics of Khuzestan - Iran-Iraq War

In 1980, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi dictator, tried to take advantage of the revolution in Iran. Gambling that the new government would be too weak to resist him, and that the Arabic-speaking minority of Khuzestan would support Iraq, his armies invaded Khuzestan, initiating the Iran-Iraq war. He was proved wrong when the Iranians successfully defended the province, and the Arab minority remained firmly with Iran. Around 16,000 Khuzestanis died fighting in the war, 12,000 of them Arabs. The brutal eight-year-long war devastated Khuzestan, most especially the important port city of Khorramshahr, and the province is still recovering.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Historical background", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki