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The Shia Arabs of Khuzestan

(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Mehdi Khalaji - In Iran's Khuzestan province, where dozens were killed in an attack on a Revolutionary Guards parade on Sep. 22, the Arab residents of the area are predominantly Shia. Yet tribal identity supersedes religious affiliation in this community. Under the Shah, oil-rich Khuzestan had become one of Iran's most developed and prosperous provinces, but the eight-year war (1980-1988) with Iraq wreaked widespread destruction in the province. Borders drawn in the twentieth century divided major Arab tribes in Khuzestan and in Basra province in Iraq. But over the last decade, the opening of borders has facilitated widening interactions within families and tribes.
2018-09-28 00:00:00
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