'Ajam of Kuwait

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ayam
العيم
Abdulhussain Abdulredha 2009 (cropped) version.jpg
Abdulhussain Abdulredha is the most famous Kuwaiti of Iranian origin.
Regions with significant populations
Kuwait
Languages
Kuwaiti Persian, Kuwaiti Arabic
Religion
Predominantly Shi'a Islam;
minority Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Ajam of Bahrain, Ajam of Iraq

Ajam of Kuwait or Ayam of Kuwait[1][2] are Kuwaiti citizens of Iranian origin, who migrated to Kuwait over the past 300 years.[3][4][5] Historically, Persian ports provided most of Kuwait's economic needs.[4] Marafi Behbahani was one of the first merchants to settle in Kuwait in the 18th century.[6]

The majority of Shia Kuwaiti citizens are of Iranian ancestry.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Some Kuwaitis of Iranian origin are Sunni Muslims such as the Al-Kandari and Al-Awadhi families of Larestani ancestry.[14] Iranian Balochi families first immigrated to Kuwait in the 19th century.[15] Some Kuwaitis of Iranian Balochi origin are Sunni.[16][14] Although historically the term Ajam included both Sunni and Shia in Kuwait, nowadays in modern-day Kuwait, the term Ajam almost exclusively refers to Shia only; which is partly due to political sensitivities following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

Pre-oil Kuwait City[]

Most Ajam (both Sunni and Shia) resided in the Sharq historical district in the old Kuwait City, thereby forming a linguistic enclave which preserved the language for generations until the discovery of oil. They communicated in Persian between each other, and did not frequently mingle with Arabic speakers who resided in other districts of Kuwait City until after the industrialisation of Kuwait City which scattered people who lived in the districts of Kuwait City to the suburbs. The linguistic enclave was not present any longer therefore the Ajam had to learn Kuwaiti Arabic to survive in the new environment.

In the pre-oil era, Ajam introduced many new things to Kuwait.[17] For instance, the first hotel in Kuwait in the later years of pre-oil era was built by Yusuf Behbehani;[17] the first telephone in Kuwait was brought by M. Marafie;[17] the first radio agency in Kuwait was established by M. Marafie in 1935;[17] and the first refrigerator in Kuwait was imported by M. Marafie in 1934.[17] Murad Behbehani was the first person to officially introduce television to Kuwait.[18] He was the founder of Kuwait Television (KTV) before the company was nationalized by the government.[19]

Failaka Island[]

The majority of Kuwaitis from Failaka Island are of Iranian ancestry.[20] They originally migrated to Failaka from the Iranian coast, mainly Kharg Island and Bandar Lengeh.[20] These people are commonly known as the Huwala in the GCC states.[20] They are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak Arabic fluently, although prior to the discovery of oil they also spoke Persian fluently.[20] The most important Huwala settlement in Failaka Island pertained to 40 families who migrated from the Iranian island Kharg to Failaka in the years 1841-1842.[20] The most recent settlement occurred in the early 1930s after the imposition of the unveiling law by Reza Shah.[20] A minority of Failaka Island's Kuwaiti families are Shia Persians, they were noted as having their own hussainiyas and the older generations were frequent Arabic speakers, unlike the Kuwaiti Shia of Persian origin in mainland Kuwait City at the time.[20]

Language[]

Historically, the Ajam in Kuwait spoke the Kuwaiti Persian language fluently. The Persian sub-dialects of Larestani, Khonji, Bastaki and Gerashi have influenced the vocabulary of Kuwaiti Arabic.[21] The Ajam of Kuwait originate from different Iranian ethnic groups including Lurs, Iranian Arab, Azerbaijani, and Kurd. There are also Kuwaiti Ajam of Sayyid origin especially those from the Al-Musawi family.[22]

Notable people[]

Further reading[]

References[]

  1. ^ Article in AL-AAN online newspaper Archived 15 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in Arabic) November 2010
  2. ^ Article by Waleed aj-Jasim in Al-Watan daily newspaper Archived 15 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in Arabic). 25 May 2013
  3. ^ "Policing Iranian Sanctions: Trade, Identity, and Smuggling Networks in the Arabian Gulf" (PDF). pp. 25–27.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Peterson, John (2016). The Emergence of the Gulf States: Studies in Modern History. J. E. Peterson. p. 107. ISBN 9781472587626.
  5. ^ Taqi, Hanan (2010). Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait (PDF) (PhD). Newcastle University. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  6. ^ Mohammad E. Alhabib (2010). The Shia Migration from Southwestern Iran to Kuwait: Push-Pull Factors during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries (Thesis). Georgia State University.
  7. ^ Butenschon, Nils A.; Davis, Uri; Hassassian, Manuel (2000). Citizenship and the State in the Middle East: Approaches and Applications. Nils August Butenschøn, Uri Davis, Manuel Sarkis Hassassian. p. 190. ISBN 9780815628293.
  8. ^ Binder, Leonard (1999). Ethnic Conflict and International Politics in the Middle East (PDF). p. 164. ISBN 9780813016870. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Unlike the Shi'a of Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, the Kuwaiti Shi'a mostly are of Persian descent.
  9. ^ Hertog, Steffen; Luciani, Giacomo; Valeri, Marc (2013). Business Politics in the Middle East. Rivka Azoulay. p. 71. ISBN 9781849042352.
  10. ^ Ende, Werner; Steinbach, Udo (2002). Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society. Werner Ende, Udo Steinbach. p. 533. ISBN 0801464897.
  11. ^ Potter, Lawrence G. (June 2014). Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf. Lawrence G. Potter. p. 135. ISBN 9780190237967.
  12. ^ Louër, Laurence (2011). Transnational Shia Politics: Religious and Political Networks in the Gulf. Laurence Louër. p. 47. ISBN 9781849042147.
  13. ^ Dénes Gazsi. "The Persian Dialects of the Ajam in Kuwait" (PDF). The University of Iowa.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Rivka Azoulay (2020). Kuwait and Al-Sabah: Tribal Politics and Power in an Oil State. p. 40. ISBN 9781838605063.
  15. ^ The Shia Migration from Southwestern Iran to Kuwait: Push-Pull Factors during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. Georgia State University. 2012. pp. 71–72.
  16. ^ "The Baluch Presence in the Persian Gulf" (PDF). 2013. pp. 742–743.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Waleed A.A. Al-Munais (1981). Social and ethnic differentiation in Kuwait: A social geography of an indigenous society (PDF) (Thesis). SOAS University of London. p. 151. According to Al-Hatim, 1961, Ibid, the Persian-Kuwaitis, have brought many new things to the society, i.e. the first hotel in Kuwait in the later years of preoil era was built by Y. Behbehani; the first telephone in Kuwait was brought by M. Marafie; the first radio agency was established by M. Ma'arafi in 1935; the first refrigerator in Kuwait was brought by M. Ma'arafi in 1934, see pp. 249, 282, 346, etc.
  18. ^ Ahmad Hamada (2015). The Integration History of Kuwaiti Television from 1957-1990: An Audience-Generated Oral Narrative on the Arrival and Integration of the Device in the City (Thesis). Virginia Commonwealth University. p. 192. Similarly to television, the Behbahani family, particularly the merchant Murad Behbehani, is acknowledged by historical sources as the first to have officially brought television into the city (Al-Mudhaf, 2015). Murad was the son of the prominent merchant Yousef Behbehani, who opened the first hotel in the city of Kuwait in 1947, and imported weapons and cigarettes (Al-Habeeb, 2012; Al-Hatim, 1980). In the testimony below, Mubarak Al-Mubarak (75) remembers how the Behbehani house was a frequent destination for the neighborhood kids.
  19. ^ Ahmad Hamada (2015). The Integration History of Kuwaiti Television from 1957-1990: An Audience-Generated Oral Narrative on the Arrival and Integration of the Device in the City (Thesis). Virginia Commonwealth University. p. 1. It is generally known that Kuwaiti television (KTV) started as the private initiative of the Kuwaiti merchant Murad Behbehani in 1957, before being quickly governmentalized on November 15, 1961 (Al-Mudhaf, 2015; Dajani, 2007).
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Zubaydah Ali M. Ashkanani (June 1988). Middle-aged women in Kuwait: Victims of change (Thesis). Durham University. pp. 309–310. The Social Composition of Failakans
  21. ^ Al-Tajir (2013). Lang & Linguistic in Bahrain Mon. Al-Tajir. p. 11. ISBN 9781136136269.
  22. ^ Murtadha Mutahhari, Majmu'at al-Athaar, Part 18. Qum, Tehran. p. 124
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