MP says Feyli Kurds are not minority

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: An Iraqi parliamentarian from the Solidarity Bloc on Monday said that describing Feyli Kurds as a minority is another example of injustice against them. “Feyli Kurds in Iraq exceed 1.5 million. They have been subject to injustice and forced displacement twice because of their Kurdish and Shiite identities,” according to a statement released by the bloc and received by IraqiNews.com, quoting Feyli MP Aamer Thamir as saying. “Feyli Kurds are a main constituent of the Iraqi people and are part and parcel of the Kurdish nation. They have been living for ages in the area stretching along the Zagros Mountains and on the east bank of the Tigris River…,” Thamir added. The parliamentarian added that Feyli Kurds categorically reject their labeling as a minority, which does not truly reflect their number or their sacrifice for their country. The Solidarity Bloc is one of the components of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), which holds 83 seats in the 275-member Parliament. Feyli Kurds are a group of southern Kurds living in Baghdad and around Khanaqin and Mandali. Feyli speak Feyli, a dialect of the Pahlawani. The roots of the Feyli go back to the Aryan immigrants of the first millennium BC, and more specifically, the Parthian/Pahlawi/Pahlawanid settlements of the 2nd century BD. They embraced Islam in the early stages of the Islamic conquest. SS (S) 3