The term or word Arabization, by definition, is the changing of the demography and character of an area inhabited by other peoples and nations into an Arab-inhabited area, this is due to increasing the proportion of the Arab population and imposing the Arabic language and the gradual changing of the folklore character, customs and traditions of the region within the framework of a long-term policy based on racism,[1] settling Arab people in the land of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and creating Arab residential communities, changing the names of cities, villages, residential neighborhoods, offices and official and semi-official institutions from Kurdish to Arabic, with the aim of changing the demography in favor of the Arabs [2] also forcing individuals of non-Arab nationality to change their national identity.

History of Arabization

In the first millennium BC, there is no indication of the presence of Arabs in the region, only in Assyrian writing in the eighth or ninth millennium did that name appear. At the beginning of the Christian era, the arrival of Arab tribes to the banks of the Euphrates River in western Iraq and the Arab tribes of Quda'a, Tanukh, Iyad, Rabi'a, Bakr and Taghlib who were advancing towards the east towards the Tigris River in Iraq appeared. In the years 224- 637 AD, Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula settled on the western banks of the Euphrates River in the area of present-day Iraq and recognized the Hira region as their capital, in the third millennium AD the city-state of Hatra appeared on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in the Sinjar mountains in the north and near the city of Madain in the south [3].

The greatest event in the history of Iraq was the arrival of Islam, which had a great impact on the formation of the race of the population and resulted in a flood of Arab arrivals to Iraq [4]. On the other hand, the Arab tribes living west of the Euphrates River who were cooperating with the Islamic army continued their successes and crossed towards the east of the Tigris River, and also went to the banks on the left side of the river which became their border with other peoples.[5]

The wave of Arabization of Iraq continued strongly during the Abbasid era, to the extent that Hamawi says in the book Mu'jam al-Buldan: Most of the people of Erbil were Arabized,[6] which is a clear indication of the promotion of the Arab race and the Arabic language in that region and it is stated in the book History of Jahan-nama, the people of the city of Mosul are Kurds and speak Kurdish and also know other languages such as Arabic, Turkish and Persian.[7]

After the Mongol invasion, the migration of Arab nomads to the Jazira (between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) increased and large Arab tribes were able to occupy a vast area of land and pastures, including the Tayy, Jubur, Dulaim, Ubaid, Hadidi, Shammar and Anazzah tribes [8].

It is no secret that the history of the Arab land is the history of the floods of Arab arrivals from the heart of the Arabian Peninsula towards Iraq and other areas that are currently Arab-inhabited. A large part of the Arab tribes migrated from Najd towards the north in the year 1650 AD and on the way they demanded tribute and property from those tribes and settled groups near the Euphrates River, they destroyed the city of Palmyra, the small tribes easily surrendered to them and later for 20 years they fought with other large tribes, until they occupied their fertile lands.[9] A part of them settled in the current Shammar mountain and another part, especially the Dulaim tribe, pitched their tents between Anah and Fallujah, the Zubaid tribe settled on the banks of the Tigris River up to Hilla, the Shammar and Tuqa tribes went between Diyala and Kut, another part of them made some areas of Sham their place of residence, the Zoba' tribe set off on the left bank of the Euphrates River towards Baghdad.[10]

In addition to this, these tribes also had other new migrations towards the north of their place of residence, for example between the years 1869- 1872 AD, Midhat Pasha, the Wali of Baghdad, made a great effort to settle the nomadic Arab tribes that were on their way from the Arabian Peninsula towards Iraq. The most important of these tribes are Shammar and Anazzah, whose migration to the region continued until after the Second World War.

Also after the issuance of the Agrarian Reform Law in the year 1958, agricultural land was distributed among many nomadic Arab tribes, which led to their settlement and in this direction 16 residential communities were built in the Rabia area in the year 1960, 12 communities in Tal Afar and 15 in Sinjar and 8 in the Atba sub-district and other sub-districts.[11]

Similarly, between the years 1951- 1965 in the Hatra-Sinjar area 400 residential communities, 326 other communities in the north and north-east of the Sinjar mountain and including 152 communities within the Tal Afar district and 174 of them were built in the Sinjar sub-district and the number of settlers was 59،676 people. These changes led to the creation of the districts of Sharqat, Hamdaniya, Hatra and Ba'aj and later resulted in the establishment of several sub-districts and the Iraqi government made several changes to its administrative units, including the Zibar district being removed from Mosul administratively and added to the Erbil governorate, the separation of the units of Duhok, Zakho, Amedi and Akre and their collection into a new governorate called Duhok and its removal from the Mosul governorate, an act that led to an increase in the proportion of Arabs in the Mosul governorate (Arabization of Mosul).[12] Also in the second half of the last century a new phase of settling Arab tribes in Mosul occurred and for each household 150 dunams of agricultural land were given [13].

The official documents regarding the decisions, laws, and recommendations of the Iraqi government authorities reveal a special focus on the Arabization of the areas of Mosul Governorate from three sides: the Mosul-Sheikhan front, the Mosul-Faida front, and the Mosul-Makhmur front. The Mosul-Sheikhan front had special importance in recent years, and this is clear in the Nineveh Governor's letter number 2868 of 7 May 1994, based on the procedures of the Northern Committee, that the Mosul-Sheikhan front is the primary and main front for Arabization, and Arabs must remain in this area forever. In light of this decision, a committee in Mosul Governorate began investigating the tribes and places where they would be settled. Also, with the signature of Taha Yassin Ramadan, the head of the committee and Vice President, in letter number 21/1992 dated 7 May 1994, they agreed to distribute 1100 plots of land and build houses for the Arab nation in the center of Sheikhan district, on the condition of transferring their personal identity records to Sheikhan and registering those lands in their names after 15 years of their residence in that city for the Azawi, Hadidi, and Tay tribes, and military employees and retirees. The Governor of Nineveh, in letter number 22/2334 dated 24 December 1994, asks the district commissioners of Sheikhan, Makhmur, Telkaif, and the sub-district of Faida to hurry in sending the names of their borders. Also, the letter of the Mosul Agriculture Directorate number 17/16/1122 dated 26 January 1995 requests the appropriation of all areas of Sheikhan district according to the decision of the Revolutionary Command Council of the Ba'ath Party in Iraq number 358 of 16 March 1978 for Arabs.

The government in Mosul Governorate tried to Arabize Kurdish land through these methods:

1- Building residential complexes for Arabs.

2- Registering land and agricultural land.

3- Displacement and deportation campaigns.

4- Changing identity and nationality.

5- Changes in administration and the formation of directorates.

Sources:
  • Walid Sharika, Human Rights and the Policy of Displacement and Arabization in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Turkmen as a Model, research presented to the conference on the policy of chronic Arabization as a knot in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, published.
  • Ahmad Susa, History of Mesopotamian Civilization, Vol 2, Al-Hurriya Printing House, Baghdad - 1983.
  • Khalil Ismail Muhammad, The Kurdistan Region of Iraq, University Press, Erbil - 1339 AH.
  • Nouri Khalil Al-Barazi, Bedouinism and Settlement in Iraq, Institute of Arab Research and Studies, Cairo, 1969.
  • Nafi Al-Qassab, Geographical Features Regarding the Settlement of Nomadic Bedouin Tribes, Journal of the Iraqi Geographical Society, Vol 5 for the year 1969, Asaad Press, Baghdad.
  • Muhammad Amin Zaki, Summary of the History of the Kurds and Kurdistan, Muhammad Ali Awni, Salahaddin Press, Baghdad, 1961.
  • Yaqut al-Hamawi, Dictionary of Countries, Vol 1, Dar Al-Sader, Beirut - 1977 AD, p. 138
  •  Stephen Hemsley Longrigg, Four Centuries of Modern Iraq History, Jaafar Tayyar, Edition 6, 1985.