What is the main religion of Kurds?

What is the main religion of Kurds?

Nearly all Iraqi Kurds consider themselves Sunni Muslims. In our survey, 98% of Kurds in Iraq identified themselves as Sunnis and only 2% identified as Shias. (A small minority of Iraqi Kurds, including Yazidis, are not Muslims.) But being a Kurd does not necessarily mean alignment with a particular religious sect.

What percent of Iraq is Shia?

The data on the religious affiliation of Iraq’s population are uncertain. 95–99% of the population are Muslims. The CIA World Factbook reports a 2015 estimate according to which 29–34% are Sunni Muslims and 64–69% Shia Muslims.

Who are the Sunnis and Shias in Iraq?

Baghdad is mixed Sunni and Shia. And in the far north are ethnic Kurds, who are religiously Sunni, but their ethnicity divides them from Arab Sunnis. Iraq’s government is dominated by the Shia majority and has underserved Sunni Arabs; the extremist group that has taken over much of the country, ISIS, is Sunni Arab.

Where do the Kurds and Shiites live in Iraq?

Kurds make up 15 to 20 percent of Iraq’s population, between four and five million people. Kurds descend from Indo-European tribes. Iraqi Shiítes live primarily in central and southern Iraq, from Baghdad south between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to the city of Basra and the Persian Gulf.

What’s the relationship between Sunni and Shia Muslims?

Although all Muslim groups consider the Quran to be divine, Sunni and Shia have different opinions on hadith . In recent years, Sunni–Shia relations have been increasingly marked by conflict, particularly the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict.

What’s the percentage of Sunni Arabs in Iraq?

Shiíte Arabs make up 60 to 65 percent of the Iraqi population, or about 15.6 to 17 million people. Sunni Arabs represent 32 to 37 percent, about 8.3 to 9.6 million people. People of Arab ethnicity originated in Southwest Asia on the Arabian Peninsula. Kurds are also Muslims, the majority of whom are Sunni.