(Estimated Pub Date) the Challenge of Ethnic Conflict to National and International Order in the 1990S: Geographic Perspectives- October 1995

Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268
It must be remembered that this aspiration derives
from awareness of linguistic affiliation rather than any
realistic assessment of Turkey's political influence or
economic power.
“Nations” in the Middle Eastern Context
“Nation-states,” although often alluded to, are rarely
found in the modern world. Perhaps only Iceland can
be regarded as a perfect example. In the Middle East,
Tunisia (minus its several communities of Berber
speakers) is an approximate example. Most Middle
Eastern countries include more than one linguistic or
religious group and so can be described as multina-
tional states. For example:
' Syria has Kurdish and other non-Arab ethnic minor-
ities, and—besides its Sunni Muslim majority—has
significant Christian, Druze, and Alawite religious
groups.
' Iran has both Shia and Sunni Muslims and a number
of non-Persian linguistic groups, including Azeri,
Arabs, Kurds, Baluchi, Luri, Basseri, Bakhtiari, and
Turkmen.
- Lebanon has six major religious groups—Maronite,
Greek Catholic, and Greek Orthodox Christians;
Sunni and Shia Muslims; and Druze.
' Egypt has a large population (about 10 million) of
Coptic Christians.
' Tllrkey has several million Kurds and many smaller
minority groups, including Arabs, Laz, Greeks,
Tatars, and Circassians.
The idea that the Arabic or Turkish languages might
be the basis of a multistate nation has already been
alluded to and dismissed as having only tentative or
hypothetical meaning. “Arabistan” and “Turkistan”
are debatable concepts rather than geopolitical reali-
ties. The same can probably be said of the idea of a
“multistate nation of Islam.” More important in the
context of the Middle East are nonstate nations, of
which Palestine and Kurdistan are the most conspicu-
ous examples. Finally, the linguistic complexity of
Afghanistan and the religious complexity of Lebanon
are so striking that these countries might be described
as nonnation states.
Significant Minorities
In addition to the major groupings that create the
impression of a three-part linguistic division (Arabic,
'Ilurkish, Persian) or a two-part religious division
(Sunni and Shia Islam), the Middle East has numerous
minority groups, and some of these have political
agenda that are in conflict with national policies. The
tension between substate identity and national affilia-
tion, evident in most ofthe world, has several clear
manifestations in the Middle East.
Minority—or otherwise unempowered-—-groups that
have expressed separatist ideals or at least a desire for
an enhanced degree of national recognition include
Uzbeks and Tajiks in Afghanistan; Baluchi in Iran;
Shiites in Iraq and Lebanon; Christians in Egypt,
Syria, and Iraq; and Arabs in Israel and Israeli-occu-
pied tenitory. Each of these groups has aspirations
that are in conflict with policies formulated by ruling
groups in the respective countries. The rcgion’s most
serious conflict along these lines is in southem Sudan
where Arab or Arabized Muslims have been fighting
linguistically diverse Christians and animists for sev-
eral decades.
The largest minority group within the Arabic realm is
not politically significant. About 40 percent of the
people or Morocco and about 20 percent of the people
of Algeria speak Berber rather than or in addition to
Arabic. I-Iowever, the scattered distribution of these
people, mainly in mountain areas, the numerous dia-
lects they speak, and the lack of any written or stan-
dardized form of their language have precluded the
development of any separatist movement among Ber-
bers. .
Some other minority groups are too weak numerically
to pose a threat to national authorities or compel rec-
ognition of their linguistic or religious identity. The
Assyrians (Aramaic-speaking Christians) of northern
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Approved for Release: 2018/06/01 C00123268