AUTHOR  :  Dr. Jawad Mella

Title: Kurdistan And The Kurds

A Divided Homeland and

a Nation without State

Publications: Western Kurdistan Association 2005

Introduction by: Dr. Jemal Nebez

WKA

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ISBN: 0 9529951 7 4

Acknowledgement

I thank everyone who participated in producing this

edition and mention specifically Dr. Jemal Nebez, Dr.

Jemal Rashid Ahmed, Dr. Ashti Nader, Dep. Ing. Bruska

Ibrahim, Mrs Irmgard Ibrahim and to the Trustees of

Awards For All.

Contents

Foreword by Dr. Jemal Nebez ..........................................9

Introduction..........................................................................11

Necessary Words................................................................17

Part One: Kurdistan and Kurdish Society.....................19

Part Two: The Kurds in History (up to the

Nineteenth Century)............................................................51

Part Three: The Kurdish Governments and

Revolutions (from the beginning of the 20th Century

to the Present)......................................................................81

Part Four: The Kurdish Cause Ideologically, Politically

and In Practice....................................................................147

Conclusion .........................................................................199

Appendixes..........................................................................203

Documents, Pictures and Maps......................................227

Foreword regarding this book and its author

The subject of this book is the Kurds and their homeland

Kurdistan. The Kurds are an ancient people with a past

full of political, scientific, literary, artistic and military

activities. They participated in building numerous states

and empires. Among them were born distinguished

philosophers and thinkers as well as great leaders that

served and are still serving the neighbouring peoples such

as Arabs, Persians and Turks. These people resided and

are still residing in a land that is considered the cradle of

the human civilisation. Their homeland Kurdistan is

rich with waters, oil, minerals, agricultural merchandises

and animal products. However, the luck betrayed these

people and the history dealt them a lousy deal so they

were denied not only their own national state, but the

simplest of human rights also. The devious powers divided

them according to their greedy materialistic ambitions

between artificial uncivilised states with barbaric

bloodthirsty rulers who do not know the meaning of human

rights or give any weight to justice or law. Thus the

Kurd is regarded a criminal as soon as he is born just

because he is Kurdish, because the rules of dictators and

laws of despotism would not allow the birth of humans

as Kurds, as they would be created with the word guilty

associated with them.

The author of this book, the scholar Jawad Mella is a

known Kurdish politician. He was born into a Kurdish

family thirsty for freedom and emancipation from

injustice; an educated family of literature and science.

He grew up within this honourable family and carried

out political activities since young age, so he became

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accustomed to imprisonment and detentions. My first

meeting with him was in 1970 in Berlin. I appreciated

him and befriended him since, and found him a man

with distinguished noble characteristics. He is loyal to

his beliefs, with extraordinary social skills, does not like

hypocrisy or false compliments, does not hesitate or

change his colours like a chameleon, he says and writes

what he sees as true and right, and does not fear critics

for that. In addition he is very humble and always searches

for the truth. These characteristics are difficult to find in

a modern political personality.

Jawad Mella was the first who called for a formation

of a Kurdistan government in exile and he invited all for

patient work in order to gather all spread forces of

Kurdistan in the multitude of parties and organisations

and unify the potential energies of independent scientific,

literary and artistic personalities, as well as different

original Kurdish schools of philosophical thought and

Kurdistan religions and sects, all under one covering

national umbrella, and to melt them all in one direction

by finding denominator for all of them while each keeping

their individuality and identity.

As a result of those gratifying efforts the Kurdistan

National Congress was born in 1985 working to achieve

the independence for Kurdistan, that elementary right

that does not need any evidence or proof.

Berlin on 1/7/2000

Dr. Jemal Nebez

Introduction

Although I have written this book of mine more than

twenty years ago, the issues I have stated and changes I

anticipated as well as my views regarding the international

and regional relations were all proven to be right. Also

the subject of the book remains important and temporary

as it is regarding the independence of Kurdistan, which

the Kurdish people are still struggling to achieve. The

non-achievement of the independence for Kurdistan up

to now is due to several internal and external factors.

Hence the question that I would like to ask our Kurdish

people is that why did the Vietnamese manage within

ten years of struggle to force their freedom and inflict

defeat upon the Americans who have the mightiest military

powers in the world? Why did the Algerians also manage

just within ten years of struggle to force their freedom

and inflict defeat upon the French who have one of the

mightiest military powers in the world? This is at a time

that the Kurdish people have not been complacent with

their duties and the sacrifices they have made were not

less than those of the Vietnamese and the Algerians.

That is why I am absolutely convinced that the main

problem of the Kurdish people is the fact that there is no

Kurdish leadership free and independent in its decisions

from the states that occupy Kurdistan. Indeed the

liberation of Kurdistan can never be achieved from Tehran,

Ankara, Damascus or Baghdad, and anyone who depends

on any of those Capitals would not get a result better

than the fate of the September Revolution under the

command of the late Mella Mustafa Barzani and his still

vivid experience. The revolution commanded by him,

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during its 14 years from 1961 to 1975, achieved a lot of

historical victories both politically and militarily.

Nevertheless, it dissipated on 6 March 1975, within 24

hours, as a result of the Treaty of Algiers between Iran

and Iraq. The reason was the late Mella Mustafa put his

trust in the Iranian state (in order to gain from the conflicts

between Iraq and Iran) despite the fact that the revolution

had more than 150 thousand armed fighters in 1975.

Unfortunately, Mr Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the

Kurdistan Workers Party, repeated the same mistake of

the late Mella Mustafa by putting his trust in the Syrian

state that colonises a part of Kurdistan. As soon as the

Syrian – Turkish agreement was signed in the city of

Adhana in November 1998, the revolution of the Kurdistan

Workers Party that also lasted for 14 years, 1984–1998,

fell. However, its fall was not quick and obvious but

gradual. That is because they did not have liberated

areas as was the case with the late Mella Mustafa. For

this reason, once again, I warn all organisations not to

distance themselves from the holy aim of the Kurdish

people: the independence of Kurdistan and reject any

patchy solutions for the Kurdish cause including

autonomy, federalism or confederacy and not to put their

trust in the colonisers of Kurdistan because they, however

different on the face of it, are always united on not allowing

the Kurdish people gaining even the smallest and the

most unworthy of rights, for they do not accept in principle

the existence of the Kurdish people. For the thousandth

time I repeat that the destiny has put us among savage

states that do not recognise the human and democratic

rights of their own people, so how can we then ask them

to recognise the national rights of another people!! The

only solution, with such people, is to put borders between

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our homeland and their homelands. Those who think

that the Turkish generals and Iraq’s nationalists or other

occupiers of Kurdistan could be democrats and then do

us a favour by giving the Kurdish people their national

rights are definitely dreaming!! Furthermore, suppose

those regimes colonising Kurdistan by a stroke of magic

became democratic regimes, who told the democratic

politicians that those colonisers would get rid of their

colonial ambitions… as the majority of empires and

colonising states in history were democratic or even the

philosophers of democracy. So, the demand for a Kurdish

state is not a fantasy but demanding anything else or less

is the real fantasy.

Since I was a leading member of the Democratic

Kurdish Party in Syria between 1964 and 1969 and a

comrade to my teacher the late Apo Osman Sabri, the

Secretary of the Party then, and later as a leading member

of the KAJYK Party in 1970 and a comrade to my teacher

Dr Jemal Nebez the founder of KAJYK thought, I have

been calling for the formation of a Kurdistan government

and parliament or a national assembly in exile. As I

have written in page 96 of this book, which was titled as

“Kurdistan, a Homeland and a Nation Without State” in

its first Arabic edition in 1985:

“Until that starting time the Kurdish liberation

movement should take first practical steps towards

the establishment of a Kurdish state by getting the

permission from a neutral country to act as a center

and headquarter for a Kurdish government in exile

for the time being. Also to take the responsibility for

all the questions and affairs that are intended to

liberate the Kurds and Kurdistan and from the date

of its announcement carry out all the functions and

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authority of a Kurdish government in the fields of

diplomacy, media and military. Until the time of the

decisive strike to end the unnatural circumstances in

Kurdistan, the Kurds must have the awareness to

observe all the changes and transformations in the

international and regional politics and create

conditions for those changes and transformations and

accelerating them to be used for the advantage of

initiating the moving of the Kurdish government in

exile to Kurdistan and announcing a Kurdish state

there.”

Had the Kurdish liberation movement carried out what

I said in the above paragraph of my book in 1985 they

would have been able by now to prepare the Kurdish

nation for practising power in Southern Kurdistan as it

was given to them by the international community in the

aftermath of the Gulf War of 1991.

In the years 1989 and 1991 with the cooperation of

the preparation committee the first and second Kurdistan

National Congress were held in London in order to form

a Kurdistan national assembly and a Kurdish government

in exile for all the parts of Kurdistan. This exactly as

Ghandi of India, Mandela of South Africa and many

other liberation movements of the world did and liberated

their peoples via a national congress. In 1996 the third

Kurdistan National Congress was held in Paris (1), which

was on time and successful despite the opposition of the

direct and indirect, open and covert enemies of Kurds

and Kurdistan. For the sake of the truth and history we

should emphasise that the success of this third Congress

was due to the efforts of the martyr Rahbar Jalal Mamesh,

the Secretary of the KNC in Finland.

In addition the fourth Kurdistan National Congress

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was held on 10-11 /10/ 1998 in London in the presence

of a massive audience from the representatives of Kurdish

and foreign organisations. The Congress received several

supporting letters from international political personalities

such as Boutros Boutros Ghali the general secretary of

the UN (third Congress) and Mr Tony Blair, head of the

British government (fourth Congress). The Congress

adopted the Kurdistan National Pact. The KNC holds

regular contacts with all parts of Kurdistan in addition to

international contacts in order to explain the national

cause of Kurdistan. One of such was the visit of a

delegation of the KNC to the Libyan Jamahiriya on 20-

29/1/1997 and meeting the leader of the Arabic revolution

brother Moamar Al-Qaddafi by an official invitation.

Brother Moamar showed a kind of understanding of the

Kurdish cause unprecedented by the Kurdish people. He

is the only head of state in the world calling for a Kurdish

state since a quarter of a century. When the Kurdish

delegation introduced the Kurdistan flag as a present to

the leader of the Arabic revolution, he stood to his feet

as a sign of respect to the flag of Kurdistan, then he hold

a side of it examining it warmly and then folded it and

kissed it, then put it on his head. These were wonderful

religious moments for Kurdistan in the presence of the

hero of Africa and the East Colonel Moamar Al-Qaddafi

that could not be described by any language.

The fourth Kurdistan National Congress held on 10-11

October 1998 in London was a great quality leap as the

first cornerstone was set on the path of a Kurdish state in

the presence of a massive audience from the

representatives of friendly Kurdish and foreign

organisations. The congress discussed the project of

constitution, amended and agreed it. A committee was

- 15 -

formed to follow up the question of forming a Kurdistan

government in exile that issued the congress’s

announcement in this regard and commenced its contacts

to announce a Kurdish government in exile. The KNC

is still continuing its efforts without any tiredness or

hesitation with all Kurdistan organisations and

personalities to hold a fifth Kurdistan National Congress

and declaration of a Kurdistan government in exile (for

all parts of Kurdistan). As only this would be the first

practical step towards the independence of Kurdistan and

liberation of the Kurdish people.

However, the Kurdish uprising in Western Kurdistan

on 11-12 March 2004 presented the opportunity to declare

the Western Kurdistan government in exile and the KNC

held a special conference in the German town of Herne

on 25/4/2004 in order to announce the Western Kurdistan

government in exile. The conference made several

decisions the most important of which was the declaration

of the Western Kurdistan Government in Exile.

And may God dispense success.

Jawad Mella

London 11 March 2005 A.C. = 2705 Kurdish

- 16 -

Necessary Words

The Kurdish Question is that of a persecuted people

aiming at forming an independent nation and lifting the

rule of persecution and social injustice. The Kurdish

Question has existed since the beginning of the nineteenth

century and has, at different stages, occupied the forefront

of events in the Middle East. It remains one of the earliest

national questions in the region without a resolution to

date due to its complexity and numerous external factors.

These are crude oil, strategic geographic position, water

supply, in addition to Kurdistan being divided between

five countries and political units (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria

and the Former Soviet Union). The break-up of the Soviet

Union has further divided our Kurdistan into two parts,

the first bordering the Republic of Armenia and the second

the Republic of Azerbaijan.

That is why the issues involving the identity of the

Kurdish people and its particularity had to be dealt with

in this book as a realistic background for the right of the

Kurdish people to build their own united and independent

nation state. In explaining the roots of the Kurdish

Question, the issues that take up much of the space in

this book are the geography of Kurdistan, the history of

the Kurdish people, its cultural and intellectual

characteristics and its political inclinations. Consequently,

we can identify the factors that have contributed in

preventing the social, economic and political development

of Kurdistan and its national liberation objectively and

subjectively, as well as the role of tribal leaders, thinkers

and scientists in this.

- 17 -

I present this modest work for the use of research and

study in good faith, judgement, conscience and belief for

the solution of the problem of the national liberation of

Kurdistan and the Kurdish people. I hope the readers

will come forth with suggestions, with further research

and study of a more complete and encompassing nature

including the bases and broad outlines proposed in my

book.

And may God bless Kurdistan.

Jawad Mella

Part One

Kurdistan and Kurdish Society

Chapter I

Kurdistan; Geography and Demography

Chapter II

Social and economic life in Kurdistan

Chapter III

Spiritual Life, Religious Creeds and their Sufi

ways in Kurdistan

Chapter IV

The Kurdish Language and Literature

Chapter I

Kurdistan; Geography and Demography

Kurdistan has been the Kurdish people’s homeland

since the dawn of history. It occupies a vast territory in

the Middle East. According to the Islamic Encyclopaedia:

“All territories where the Kurdish people have resided

and continue to reside until the present time are called

Kurdistan.”

Hence, we can specify the geographic position of

Kurdistan with respect to the following two points:

First: The areas where the Kurdish people live at

present.

Second: The definitions given by Scholars of Eastern

Studies and historians of territories characterised by

Kurdish presence throughout history.

Based on these two points, it can be said that Kurdistan

extends from the East between the Gulf and the Caspian

Sea. The Eastern Studies Historian Norman mentions in

his book The Ancient History of the East: “The dwellings

of the Kurdish people and its residence extended from

the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea”, including Lors and

Bakhtiaris in the extreme south to the northern Elam,

Kermanshah and Hamadan “which was the capital of the

Median Kurdish Empire in the 7th century BC.

The border lines of Kurdistan in the North going from

- 21 -

the Caspian Sea to the West towards the Black Sea passing

through the Ararat (Aghri) Mountains, as far as the

imagining line from Trebizon on the Black Sea shores

towards Adana and Alexandrite on the Mediterranean

Sea, represent the northern and western borders of

Kurdistan. As for the Southern borderline, it extends from

Alexandrite in wide shape angle, one of its sides gone

for Alexandrite in a straight line toward Mosul (2) and

the other side of the angle extending from Mosul to the

Persian Gulf passing by Mendeli, Badra, Zerbatiah and

Kut in the South East of Baghdad as mentioned by Al-

Mustawfi Al-Qazwini and Matthew the Orfali between

the 11th and the 12th centuries.

Kurdistan is characterised by its beautiful mountains

and fertile land and abundance of water springs and its

water supplies and the Tigris and Euphrates, the most

important rivers of the Middle East start from Kurdistan

in addition to a host of large natural lakes such as Lakes

Van and Urmia and those present in the mountain heights

and tops. The agricultural wealth is diverse including

fruit, vegetables, seeds, cotton and tobacco.

Forests cover around 6% of the territory from the North,

32% from the East, 8% from the South and 5% from the

West of Kurdistan. This relatively small proportion of

forest is a result of the planning aimed at the annihilation

of it by the colonising governments since it represents

natural Kurdish wealth and protects the environment

becoming an important helping factor in the struggle for

the liberation of Kurdistan.

Some of the important minerals in Kurdistan are

uranium, iron, copper, sulphur, silver, gold, mercury,

marble, coal in addition to seas of crude oil. Colonising

governments boast of their production of minerals which

- 22 -

in actual fact are Kurdistan’s raw material and products.

For example, crude oil is extracted by Syria, from the

part of Kurdistan, Jazeera, that falls within its territories,

the same can be said of Iraq and the oil extracted from

Mosul, Kirkuk and Khanaqeen. Turkey’s petroleum is

also extracted from Kurdistan within Turkish territory at

Batman, as is the case in Iran.

I recall when I was in the East of Kurdistan in 1982,

petrol (ejected all by itself) in the west of Urmia in the

area of Margawar, by some coincidence was ignited so

the land was on fire burning for over 4 months until the

winter snows came and extinguished the fire. This drove

some European politicians to say that the Kurdish question

is an economic crude-oil-related problem in addition to

being a national liberation movement.

In addition to all of these points, the geographic position

that Kurdistan is endowed with presents a special sensitive

point politically and strategically, as it lies between the

Soviet Union and Europe from its land and sea frontiers

such as the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea on one

hand and Asia and the East of the African continent

from the Gulf on the other hand. It is rare to find an area

as that of Kurdistan covering a surface of approximately

_ million square km with a unique strategic position in

the world.

It is difficult to make a clear evaluation of the population

of the Kurdish people at present. Kurdistan suffers from

a colonisation and division between 5 nations and

governments alien from it. Some of them deny its existence

amongst them let alone to accept its national rights. This

is in addition to millions of Kurds dispensed in different

parts of the world.

- 23 -

Turkey says Kurds are the mountain Turks. The Persians

say that Kurds are part of the Persian nation and the

Kurdish language is one of the Persian dialects. In that,

they have succeeded to a certain extent, dispersing that

myth among our nation’s people (Lors and Bakhtiaris),

exploiting the Shiite link they have with the Moslem

Persian faith. As for Iraq, it has followed a policy of

cutting off entire provinces and towns and population

relocation forcing the migrating of the Kurds from the

strategic and border towns near Turkey and Iran as part

of their Racial Project of Iraq known as the Green Belt.

The result was the forceful migration of the inhabitants

of more than 4,000 Kurdish frontier villages. And in

order to ascertain that the Kurds would not return to

their villages again they have been gathered by the Iraqi

authorities in special camps after burning down their

villages and pouring cement down their water wells. This

was part of what I witnessed during my tour of Kurdistan

throughout 1982 – 84. As for Syria, forced migration

and national persecution have always accompanied the

Kurdish people to become a form of patriotism for the

rulers.

For this reason it is difficult to assess the number of

the Kurdish population accurately. The only statistics are

those of the governments which colonise Kurdistan and

one has to take into consideration the fact that many

Kurdish tribes refuse to register themselves in any census.

In addition to this, census attempts made to count the

Kurdish population were faced with the different faiths

and sects…. An example of this is that the Yazidis and

the Christians were always set aside from Kurdish origins

and nationality.

Based on the above, the Kurdish population in Kurdistan

- 24 -

can be roughly estimated at 40 million divided as follows:

• Kurds in the Northern Kurdistan (and Turkey): 20 million

• Kurds in the Eastern Kurdistan (and Iran): 10 million

• Kurds in the Southern Kurdistan (and Iraq): 6 million

• Kurds in the Western Kurdistan (and Syria): 3 million

• Kurds in Red Kurdistan (and the former Soviet Union):

1 million.

In actual fact, the numbers of the Kurdish people and

the geographic surface of Kurdistan are bigger than what

we have cited above. The reason for this is that there has

been a great deal of forced assimilation into Arabic,

Turkish and Persian cultures and nations in the Kurdish

regions. Another factor, which contributes to the greater

numbers, is that many of the peoples who have emigrated

from Kurdistan at different times such as the Lan people

in the Caucasus, the Beluchistan people divided and

colonised between Iran and Pakistan and Afghanistan in

addition to millions of Kurds living in different countries

of the world as Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. In

Europe alone there are more than one million Kurds.

Kurds have become naturalized in their new countries of

residence bearing the passports of these countries, so if

we were to pick Syria for the sake of example (and not

as a statistic) – more than half of the old families based

in Damascus can trace their origins back to the Kurds.

Such families as the Khani, Zaiem, El Estiwani and

Yousef, Kamlmaz, El Abid, Elazim, El Kuatly and others.

The same is true in the case of other cities and areas in

Syria.

These families are not included in the 200,000 Kurds

officially counted as living in the Kurdish Quarters “Hay

Al-Akrad” and “Zorava” in Damascus in addition to the

- 25 -

Kurds in the Kurdish Mountain in the Lattakia region

(this is independent from the Kurdish Mountain in the

north of Aleppo which is considered as part of Kurdistan).

In addition to the many dozens of Kurdish villages in

Horan and Golan, and in the Ghouta of Damascus and

the hundred of thousands of Kurds who live in Syrian

cities such as Humos, Hamma, Edleb and others.

If we were to consider all those Kurds who are in

Kirdakh, Kubani and Jazeera as the original Kurdish areas,

the number of Kurds in Syria would reach 4 million and

Chapter II

Social and economic life in Kurdistan

The majority of the Kurdish people have Islam as their

religion, mostly the Sunnite creed, with some being

Shiites, specifically Lor Kurds and the Bakhtiaris. Some

follow the Alevite faith specifically in the Dersim region.

This, in addition to the Yezdis in Sheikhan and Sanjar

regions and the Red Kurdistan. There are also minority

religion groups amongst Kurds, the most important of

which are the Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian faiths as

well as the Ahl Alhaq (Kakaies), Sarahli.

The tribal affiliations are still very strong, specifically

in the villages in Kurdistan. The reason for this affiliation

is the lack of a Kurdish authority or government protecting

Kurdish affairs. In this respect, Kurdish tribes have always

played a very important role in the existence and protection

of their flock. Another important factor that has helped

the Kurdish people remain proudly on its ancestral lands

to this day despite the lack of a Kurdish government

authority, and in spite of all discriminatory efforts against

it, are the lofty mountains of Kurdistan. Their dangerous

passes and snow-covered peaks are impossible crossings

for the most powerful armies allowing but the strongest

of eagles to soar in their skies.

During his wars against Russia, Napoleon Bonaparte

said, “There are three invincible generals in the country

of the Russians; these are the vastness of the land, the

- 27 -

biting cold and the valleys”. Likewise, our homeland

and our people own three invincible generals.

The first one is that of the mountains, the second one

that of the snows and the third is Kurdayetî (the idea of

Kurdish identity) that will guarantee victory and

independence if the Kurds arm themselves with it,

understand it and are able to apply it practically.

These credos, together with the circumstances that have

characterised life in the snowy mountains, have played

an important role in the social and intellectual development

of the Kurdish people.

It would be relevant to mention that travellers and

oriental scholars who have known the Kurds and shared

their existence have expressed deep appreciation towards

Kurdish traditions and the Kurd’s noble and steadfast

character with its many positive traits. It is with pleasure

and great pride that I state the opinion within a circle of

foreign British acquaintances about our noble and devoted

people:

“Domestic and family matters amongst the Kurdish

people have attained a high degree of importance in

refinement and progress. The Kurd is good natured and

kind, proud and welcoming to his guests. The Kurdish

woman has a higher degree of innocent freedom compared

to her Turkish and Iranian counterparts, as she is not

veiled. Kurds do not advocate polygamy in general, with

the exception of few of the wealthy amongst them, and

they like music and dance to a great extent.”

Many oriental scholars have written various books

about the Kurds. I would like to cite a few of these such

as Alexandre Jaba in his book “A Collection of studies

and observations about Kurdistan”, 1860 and Basil Nikitin

- 28 -

in his book “Some observations about the Kurds”, and

the book of Major Soane “To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan

in disguise”, and the book “Kurdistan or Death” by Rene

Maurice (translated into Arabic by attorney Georgis Fathullah

with an introduction and analysis by Jawad Mella)

and likewise the book “The Kurdish National movement”

by the well-known French author Chris Cutschera

published in Paris in 1979 and “After Such Knowledge,

What Forgiveness” by the American author Jonathan C.

Randal, the Arabic language edition of which has been

published by Dar El Nahaar in Beirut in 1997.

The clash between circumstances throughout history

together with the unusual political conditions of which

our homeland still suffers have contributed to the slow

development of production forces within the Kurdish

community. Part of these factors and circumstances have

been the ongoing wars on Kurdish land and the systematic

acquisition by the region’s governments of our

Homeland’s bounty. The inefficiency of these

governments in economic management has not made

things any easier. In addition, the transfers of trade routes

to sea helped by the Suez Canal and modern air transport

have further isolated our homeland from the global trade

routes of the Old World.

The urbanisation phenomenon in the world has not

helped in development either. Urban crafts have replaced

agricultural ones. The import of foreign-manufactured

goods has contributed to the further deterioration of local

traditional Kurdish crafts while international trade has

taken another route through the intermediary of Persian,

Turkish and Arab merchants.

Moreover, Kurdish petroleum has attracted many

interests in the region and a petroleum industry has been

- 29 -

created becoming the only heavy industry on Kurdistan

without, however, the involvement of Kurdish workers

in it. This has been carefully devised in order to prevent

the creation of a socially more conscious Kurdish working

class than the farmers and the inhabitants of the region.

In order to realise this Turkey has set the example of

extracting the Kurdish petroleum and transporting it via

pipelines to Turkish ports where it is distilled and

processed away from the Kurdish work force. This led to

the absence of a Kurdish working class on the one hand,

and to the exploitation of petroleum by foreign petroleum

companies and colonising governments in Kurdistan. This

also prevented the emergence of a national Kurdish

industrial bourgeoisie.

Other industries such as mining did not experience

any noticeable growth while the same applies to the

traditional domestic industries with the exception of carpet

weaving industries and consumer industries. As for

agriculture, it constitutes the main economy in Kurdistan,

along with animal husbandry, whereby together they form

the most important part of agricultural production at 64%

of the national income and industry. While petroleum

production guarantees 26% of its income, the remaining

branches of economy together represent only 10%. These

percentages give us a clear idea about the weakness of

the industrial sector in Kurdistan and the extent to which

the Kurdish people is unable to benefit from its own

petroleum industry.

Therefore, it is possible to say that Kurdistan is an

agricultural land that has excellent quantities of raw

material and that it is governed by the exploitative

relationships of its colonisers ideologically, politically

and economically, whereby the Kurdish cities have

- 30 -

become profitable markets. Thus, they acquire the raw

materials from Kurdistan and sell the manufactured and

imported goods to its people.

This, in addition to what we have mentioned above in

terms of the different forms of unfair treatment, lack of

freedom and the exploitation of the wealth of the Kurdish

people have led to the emergence of the modern Kurdish

Liberation movement. This movement aims not only for

the political and national liberation of Kurdish society

but for its economic, social and ideological liberation

and freedom once and for all from all forms of exploitation

that have accompanied it for long years of darkness and

lack of justice.

It is on this path and for this lofty purpose that the

freedom fighters of Kurdistan forge their battle for the

sake of building an independent Kurdish homeland with

a new set of economic and social relationships concerning

the Kurdish individual’s quest to master of his own will

and national rule.

Since the major uprising in Southern Kurdistan in 1991,

new and concrete evidence has begun to point towards

the Kurdish will and determination and towards a new

beginning for the Kurds and Kurdistan. Southern

Kurdistan became an international solicitor for the Kurdish

cause, through a Kurdish administration that proceeded

by organising Kurdish parliamentary elections. As a result,

a governing body was formed with all the different

organisational divisions in which the different Kurdish

political parties and groups participated. The official and

practical withdrawal of Baghdad of its administration

from Kurdish territory was another important pointer

confirming the legality of this situation for Kurdistan.

More importantly, the international community backed

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up by the United Nations Resolution, has determined the

sale of a limited percentage of Kurdish petroleum

(extracted from the Arab and Kurdish regions) for the

purchase of food and medication as part of the exchange

of petroleum for food. Therefore the United Nations has

decreed the separation of Kurdistan from Iraq

economically. All Iraqi regions pay directly to Baghdad,

whereas the Kurdish regions pay directly to the Kurdish

people without the intermediary of Baghdad.

As a result, the administrative and legal independence

of Southern Kurdistan from Iraq, the declaration of

petroleum in exchange of food and the decision on an

independent economic plan for Kurdistan linked directly

to the United Nations, became additional pointers towards

the economic independence of Kurdistan.

Chapter III

Spiritual Life, Religious Creeds and their

Sufi ways in Kurdistan

Sufi ways have played an important role in the Kurdish

liberation movement since most of the Sufi Sheikhs were

leaders of the people whereby they defended the rights

of their followers and dependents from their cells and

helped them against the injustice caused by the colonising

countries to Kurdistan. Some of these Sheikhs are: Sheikh

Mahmoud El Hafid, King of Kurdistan (1919-1923), one

of the most well known Sheikhs of the Qaderiah way,

and the leader of the Kurdish liberation revolutions in

Southern Kurdistan after World War II.

Sheikh Said Piran leader of the Kurdish Revolution in

1925, Sheikh Ubeid Ullah El-Nahri leader of the Kurdish

Revolution in 1880 and the Barzan “Sheikhdom” that

led the Kurdish Revolutions during the thirties and forties

in the 19th Century were followers of the Naqishbandi

creed.

I will present some details about the struggles and

revolutions of the Barzan “Sheikhdom” as one of the

everlastingly glorious moments in the history of our

people:

The first Naqishbandi Sheikh in Barzan was the Mullah

Abdel Rahman ordained head of the following in the

thirties in the 19th Century. The main goals of the

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Sheikhdom at his time, and at the time of his predecessor

Sheikh Abdel Salam, were education, research, reading

and copying of books as well as the implementation of

the ways of the creed and the confirmation of its laws.

His era was characterised by a peaceful period free of

incidents worthy of any mention. His son Sheikh

Mohammad succeeded him following his death in 1884.

Sheikh Mohammed was known for his simplicity and

his rejection of superficial appearances and love of

ownership of real estate and financial wealth. He was

modest and did not feel superior over others. He refused

to eat wheat bread as he considered this the privilege of

the wealthy. He didn’t sleep on soft beds and his cottage

was no different from the huts of most of the villagers.

Moreover, he didn’t allow his women to adorn themselves

in gold and jewellery. This had attracted the attention of

foreign travellers who had visited Kurdistan such as the

priest Wiegrham had noted during his visit to Sheikh

Barzan 1907-1910 as follows:

“While most Kurdish Sheikhs, even those of a lesser

hierarchy than the Barzan Sheikhs, live in citadels this

Sheikh lives amongst his own people. This type of

behaviour, indicative of extreme simplicity, has made of

the Barzan Sheikh one of the greatest and most influential

leaders of the mountains and he is the most revered and

respected of them”.

When the Ottoman authorities realised the power and

influence of the Barzan Sheikhdom they convoked Sheikh

Mohammed to Mosul in 1885 and compelled him to stay

there. It was not too long before he ran away returning to

Barzan. This resulted in a series of battles and blood

shed between his supporters on the one hand and the

local feudal lords and leaders on the other. They

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collaborated on the side of the Ottoman government driven

by fear of their own personal gains and in protection of

their positions in view of the increasing influence of the

Sheikhdom, extending into worldly matters as well as

the spiritual ones.

In spite of the unification of the regional feudal lords

and their wars against Sheikh Barzan in 1893, they were

unable to conquer him. Finally, they were able to deceive

him and hand him over to the Ottoman authorities that in

turn imprisoned him in the city of Batlis. The Ottomans

released him towards the end of spring of 1894 because

of their politics of weakening one local leader at the

expense of another. However, when he returned to Barzan,

opposition grew against the Sheikhdom of Barzan and

the period between 1895-1896 was characterised with

battles and severe bloodshed that ended with the victory

of the Barzan Sheikhdom. This led to a new era of total

change in the Northern society and its tradition of feuds

giving way to forgiveness and forgetting. This is what

eventually facilitated unification and accord.

Sheikh Mohammed died in 1902 and was succeeded

by his son Sheikh Abdel Salam the second who began

his reign by establishing tight links with the leaders of

the Kurdish movement for the sake of a unified struggle.

Some of these leaders were: The General Sherif Pasha,

Sheikh Abdel Kader El-Nahri and Amin Ali Badirkhan.

Most worthy of mention is his report written in 1907

asking the Ottoman authorities to make Kurdish the official

language and the language of instruction in schools. In

addition, he asked for improvements in the administrative,

legal and fiscal apparatus.

Because of this report, the Ottoman government

convoked Sheikh Mohammed to negotiations. This

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invitation turned out to be nothing but a trap set for his

assassination in order to get rid of him. However, he

escaped thanks to the shrewdness of his heroic men, and

the battles were inflamed once again. The Battle of Piers

was the first of a series. Six thousand Ottoman soldiers

fought armed with six heavy artillery tanks. Sheikh Barzan

came out victorious in the first round, however, he chose

to withdraw from the second round in order to avoid

further bloodshed, and retreated to the mountains

disguised in the habits of dervishes and students of

philosophy. Once the army had retreated, he returned to

Barzan. The Ottomans prepared another attack and the

two sides confronted each other at the decisive battle of

Seribaz in 1909 where the Sheikh drove out a sweeping

victory and captured an entire Ottoman battalion together

with its three tanks. As a result, the Ottoman authorities

sent out a government delegation, in order to negotiate

with him, headed by Colonel Safwat Beg. The delegation

presented the government’s readiness to accept the

Sheikh’s victory, proposed compensation for the damage

caused in the region, promised to bring social services to

Barzan, guaranteed the retreat of the Ottoman forces from

the region and imposed sanctions against officials and

feudal lords in opposition to the Sheikh. In exchange,

peace would be established in the region and the heavy

artillery captured by Sheikh Barzan during the previous

battles would be returned. In 1910, the first official school

was inaugurated in Barzan.

In the year 1912, Colonel Safwat Beg who was one of

the foremost leaders of the Freedom and Equality Party

of Turkey assassinated the Turkish Prime Minister

Marshal Mahmoud Shawkat Pasha and took refuge with

Sheikh Barzan. In early 1913, the Ottoman authorities

- 36 -

discovered his hiding place and the Mayor of Mosul

demanded his hand over. Sheikh Abdel Salam helped

him escape to the Sheikhdom of Nahri in the mountains

of Hakari. As a result, the authorities launched a huge

military attack, armed with tanks and artillery, on Barzan.

The Sheikh confronted them together with his followers

and they fought the famous battle of Pilah. In view of

the great military superiority of the Ottomans, the Sheikh

ordered his followers with a cease-fire and a retreat to

Iran in April 1914.

After establishing communication with the Kurdish

leaders in Iran as well as the Russians for the sake of

supporting his just struggle against the injustice of the

Ottoman authorities, he set off to return to Barzan. On

his way there, he was captured and taken to Mosul where

the Mayor of Mosul ordered his execution by hanging in

the night of 1 January 1914 together with two of his men

and one of the Rekani's leaders.

The Ottomans hid their corpses by fear that they would

become a shrine and a symbol for the struggle. A few

hours following the execution, Britain mounted a military

campaign against Iraq in the Gulf of Basra. In view of

this incident, the author of “Barzan and the Movement

of Kurdish National Consciousness” (Perash ) related

the following:

“Although the word ‘if’ does not have a place in the

analysis of historical events and their effects on the

changes and human societies, and even though one cannot

reverse the clock and put back the time, one cannot but

help think of the important role that was assigned to

Sheikh Abdel Salam ‘if’ he had remained alive. What

will be the outcome of his people’s Question after the

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end of World War I.”

After Sheikh Abdel Salam’s martyrdom in 1914, his

brother Sheikh Ahmad governed his Sheikhdom. The

spirit of brotherhood and love established by the previous

Sheikhs of Barzan rendered the Barzans into a unified

force that helped Sheikh Ahmad in leading a number of

uprisings and revolutions in the thirties and forties in the

20th century. This also helped his brother Mullah Mustafa

gather a big group of supporters around him. These people

became the nucleus for the army of the Kurdish Republic

in 1946 while some of them became the core group of

the revolution of 11 September 1961. Had it not been for

their loyalty, Mullah Mustafa would have been

assassinated during the first year of the revolution. I met

with these heroes in 1972 in Haj Omran, which is where

the Iraqi authorities attempted the assassination of Mullah

Mustafa when an Iraqi criminal launched a hand grenade

in the direction of Mullah Mustafa. Thanks to his four

bodyguards who threw themselves at him and protected

him with their own bodies, he was saved, while the

shrapnel hit them.

At that time I remember having asked one of those

heroes, how could he explain such a rare kind of heroism

and he replied saying that they were loyal to Mullah

Mustafa not only because he was the leader of the Kurdish

Revolution, but more importantly, because he was Sheikh

Barzan’s brother.

Indeed these were the heroes who had fought against

the Iranian government in Mahabad in 1946, and who

had fought against the Iraqi government before that, and

also who had fought against the Turkish government

during the war retreating into the Soviet Union in 1947

where they stayed for twelve years and suffered much

- 38 -

specifically during Stalin’s Regime. After returning from

the Soviet Union, they took part in the Kurdish Revolution

from the 11th September 1961 until its end in 1975. I

visited them many times in 1984 in the Zewah camp in

the Eastern part of Kurdistan. Their life conditions there

were infernal as they were sleeping ten or fifteen to a

room, with inadequate sanitation attached to the rooms.

Daily existence was limited to bare minimums and culture

was banned altogether. This was indeed a very strange

and unusual condition in this nuclear age of space travel.

What was striking was the fact that not even one of them

ever complained or objected to the situation instead they

were loyal followers.

I found the answer to my surprise with one of the

followers of this long journey since 1942. He was sitting

on one corner holding tight onto his rifle (Brno). I

approached him and asked, “You are almost seventy years

old, and you have born your rifle since 1942. What is it

that makes you still bear it?” He answered me in all

simplicity; “I have made an oath to Sheikh Barzan.” He

said this; well aware that those he made his oath to have

long left this world. However, the tradition and the Sufi

training of the Barzan Sheikhdom was such that followers

kept oaths beyond any limits.

The spiritual loyalty towards the Barzan Sheikhdom

had attained such a degree that members of the

congregation would bring their annual agricultural

production and animals to the Sheikh in order for him to

divide it all equitably amongst the followers even if there

would be those who had no product at all. This led to the

equal distribution of good so that when one of them

needed something he would be able to take it from someone

else because the ongoing understanding was that their

goods belonged to Sheikh Barzan.

Chapter IV

The Kurdish Language and Literature

The Kurdish language is the national language specific

to the Kurdish people. It belongs to the pure and ancient

Indo-European group of languages. The Kurdish language

still contains Indian and Aryan words and units. And

like many world languages, Kurdish became independent

from the Indo-Aryan group of languages once its

components were complete. Then it was divided into the

different dialects because of geographic and human

factors. The absence of a Kurdish Nation unifying all of

Kurdistan geographically and historically on the one hand,

and the harsh mountainous nature making communication

difficult between the different parts of Kurdistan

especially during the snowy winters on the other,

contributed to the development of many different local

dialects. However, in spite of the existence of many

different dialects, they are all easy to understand between

themselves. Some of the most important ones are:

1. Northern Kurmanji: More than half of the Kurdish

nation speaks this dialect. It is spread over the North

of Kurdistan (with the exception of the Dersim region,

where it is the Zaza dialect that is spoken). Also, it is

spoken in the Western part of Kurdistan and the Soviet

Union, and the Badinan region in the Southern part of

Kurdistan and the region extending to the West of

Lake Urmia in the city of Shno until the farthest

- 41 -

Northern points in the Eastern part of Kurdistan.

2. Middle Kurmanji/Sorani: This is the second widest

spread dialect amongst the Kurds, however it is the

first in terms of linguistic development and it is the

language of instruction used in the schools for over

eighty years in the Southern parts of Kurdistan.

Everyone who is Kurdish speaks this dialect in the

Southern parts, except the region of Badinan where it

is the Northern Kurmanji that is widespread, as well

as the region of Horaman where it is the Horamani

dialect that is spoken and the region of Southern

Mandali where the Fayli Kurds live. The Sorani is

spoken by the Kurds in the Eastern part of Kurdistan

and the Middle region, which falls between Sinah and

Mahabad.

3. Southern Kurmanji including Lor with its different

branches Lik, Fayli, Bakhtiari. In terms of its speak

it's considered the third dialect of Kurdish. It is spoken

by the Kurds living in the region south of the Middle

Kurmanji/Sorani and extends until the Gulf.

4. The other dialect branches are the Horamy, Gorany

and the Zaza.

The Kurdish language is an independent language in

and of itself with its own grammatical rules and units

and its own specific developments. It is not a distorted

Turkish dialect or a Persian one as claimed by Turkish

and Persian chauvinists (see the report of League of the

Nations on the Mosul Governorate Cause).

Like the Persians and other nations in the region Kurds

have used the Arabic alphabet ever since they have

embraced Islam. The Kurds in Iran and Iraq still use the

- 42 -

improved Arabic alphabet while the Kurds in the Soviet

Union use the Cyrillic alphabet and those in Turkey and

Syria use the Latin alphabet. Linguists specialised in the

Kurdish language such as Aziz Akrawi, Osman Sabri

Faridun Rafiq Hilmi and Jemal Nebez agree on the

convenience of the Latin alphabet for the Kurdish

language.

The most well-known classic in Kurdish literature is

“Mem and Zein” written in verse by the Great Kurdish

poet Ahmadi Khani. Many other poems and epics exist

which however have been dispersed over the centuries

and have not been written down for our generation.

Kurdish literature has developed mostly in the seventeenth

century. However, poetry has been ever present in all

areas of Kurdish literature. The novel form is less

widespread as compared to the short story with many

more writers.

The Kurds have had many prominent poets throughout

the centuries such as the likes of: Ahmadi Khani, Mullah

Jazeeri, Ali Hariri, Mawlawi, Nali, Salem, Haji Qadir

Koii, Mawlana Khalid, and Ahmad Mokhtar. In the

twentieth century poets such as Piramerd, Fayiq Bekas,

Hajar Mokriani, Osman Sabri, Jegerkhuin, Kamil Jir,

Ahmad Hardi, Abdallah Peshew, Sabri Botani and others

emerged.

Many Kurdish writers also wrote about the Kurdish

people and its National rights such as Sharaf Khan Batlisi,

Mohammed Amin Zaki, Mohammed Ali Aouni, Jalal

Talbani, Jemal Nebez, Masoud Barzani, Osman Sabri,

Ismat Sherif Wanli, Hamresh Rasho, Kamal Mazhar,

Jamal Rashid Ahmad, Masoud Mohamad, Mohamad

Saleh Gabouri, Jalil Jalili, Abdel Rahman Kasemlou,

Khalid Younis Khalid, Izzeddin Mella Ali, Delawer Zengi,

- 43 -

Sabah Ghaleb, Abu Tara, Shahin Baker Sourekli, Serbest

Tawfiq, Rahbar Jalal Mamesh, Ako Mohamed, Khalil

Rashou, Zoheir Abdel Malek, Salah Jamour, Aziz Akrawi,

Ali Jafar, Hoshang Sabri, Sirwan Kawosi, Hawre

Bakhawan, Marwan Ali, Nizar Mohammed, Ali Sido

Gorani, Mahabad Kurdi, Muhammad Barzinji, Sheikh

Omar Gharib, Samal Shali, Mihrdad Azadi, Georges Fat

Hullah, Sabir Kokayi, the author and many others that it

will take many pages to mention.

The purpose in this research is the evaluation of Kurdish

literature and the definition of its national role as well as

the analysis of its current state and what it should do in

order for it to play a decisive role in the Kurdish Liberation

movement. Some people think that literature is not

important in a general way and it is only for the few with

a special taste for it. The truth is that this opinion is an

erroneous one, and it has been cultivated by the colonisers

to confine literature to a small circle of intellectuals and

prevent it from expressing the emotions and complaints

of the population at large. The fact remains that literature,

any literature, has a strong influence in the existence of

societies and the political development of civilisations.

Literature can thus be considered a measure of the degree

of civilisation attained by any society.

In that respect, poetry, prose, folklore and other forms

of literature do not come to exist by mere coincidences

and they do not represent magic accessible to some and

not to others. Literature is a direct result of the development

of civilisations and a reflection of their reality. In addition,

it is the foundations of their existence and of the political

currents that come out of this existence.

Different currents throughout the centuries have

influenced the literatures of different nations. The

- 44 -

literature of national liberation movements has passed

through different stages of the struggle of nations. In

most cases, literature is linked to contemporary politics

or national interests, or in any way dependent of the

social struggles of any nation or its liberation movements.

Literature has always been an important and indivisible

part of these struggles throughout the centuries.

When the authors, the poets or the novelists write there

is no doubt that they are recording ideas they believe in.

These ideas are the direct result of a belief system, of

principles, of a stand from national and social issues and

a certain body of knowledge. In this manner, writers

who advocate colonial ideas and write in opposition to

the peoples’ revolutions stress in their writings that

societies cannot be equal and that people are different

like the five fingers of the hand are from each other.

They also advocate that masters and slaves have always

existed and that the small and the big co-exist side by

side. They also present a picture of the Feudal Lords and

Governors as though they are deities, while they refer to

the people as cattle and sheep who do not understand

anything and are good at nothing. In contrast to this we

find freedom writers describe the people as the workers

who labour in constructing history and in changing the

world and they expose the unnatural state of affairs

whereby smaller nations suffer because of national

persecution.

In the same way the colonising forces advocate that

literature is universal and that it belongs to all of humanity.

They also say that confining the author to his national

expression is a form of intellectual terrorism that leads

to the confinement of his creative energies. The aim of

these policies is to keep literature within the confines of