Thursday, September 20, 2007
Report: An Outline of Kurdish Islamist Groups in Iraq
Report
(Jamestown Foundation)
Abstract: This article outlines the history and genesis of Kurdish Islamist groups in Iraq. Based on fieldwork and personal interviews conducted in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, this study presents a significant amount of never-before published details about these movements. Particular attention is paid to the links between various groups, their transformation or splintering into new organizations, and the role of the non-Kurdish Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood in spawning these movements. The conclusion to this study addresses possible strategies for containing radical Islamist movements, and the dilemmas inherent in constructing such strategies.
Abstract: This article outlines the history and genesis of Kurdish Islamist groups in Iraq. Based on fieldwork and personal interviews conducted in Iraq in 2003 and 2004, this study presents a significant amount of never-before published details about these movements. Particular attention is paid to the links between various groups, their transformation or splintering into new organizations, and the role of the non-Kurdish Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood in spawning these movements. The conclusion to this study addresses possible strategies for containing radical Islamist movements, and the dilemmas inherent in constructing such strategies.
Executive Summary:
A great number of Iraqi Kurdish Islamist groups, including militant Islamist movements, have emerged in the last 20 years. Despite the fact that politicized Islam never seemed to enjoy as much broad popularity in Iraqi Kurdistan as it has amongst some neighboring Arab populations, a number of small Kurdish Islamist groups keep multiplying, splintering and occasionally reuniting.
This study pays particular attention to links between various Iraqi Kurdish Islamist movements, their history, their transformation or splintering into new organizations, and the role of the non-Kurdish Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood in spawning these movements in the first place. A historical "map-tree" of the movements is presented in order to better understand various groups’ roots and their relationships with other Islamist movements in Iraq. In some cases, the support of outside states and foreign Islamist organizations appears crucial to explaining what success political Islam in Iraqi Kurdistan has enjoyed.
Labels: Iraqi Kurdish Islamist movements, Iraqi Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist movements, Jamestown Foundation, Kurdistan
