(Ynet News) Guy Bechor - Iran is a country of minorities, where no one sect boasts a majority. The Persians themselves are below the 50% mark, and the other minorities are interested in joining neighboring countries and have no intention of supporting a regime that oppresses them. The second-largest minority is the Azeri people, some 20 million citizens who make up about one-quarter of Iran's population, including supreme leader Ali Khamenei and opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Many Azeris would like to be annexed by neighboring Azerbaijan, their cultural homeland. Another large minority are the Kurds, whose dream is to desert Iran and join the great Kurdish homeland, once it's established. Other minorities include the Tajik people, who wish to join Pakistan, and the Sunni Arabs, who dream of establishing a Sunni state within Iran to be called Ahwaz. Some 33% of Iranians are Sunnis, including the Arabs and Kurds.
2012-05-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive