Kurdistan: The Splintering of Iran

from Google AI:

An estimated 8 to 10 million Kurds live in Iran, making up approximately 10% to 12% of the country’s total population. They constitute the third-largest ethnic group in Iran after Persians and Azeris.

Geographic Distribution

The demographic weight of the Iranian Kurdish population is distributed across two primary zones:

• The Northwest (Eastern Kurdistan): This is the traditional home of Iranian Kurds along the borders of Iraq and Turkey. Their demographic concentration by province breaks down as follows:

Kermanshah: Contains roughly 30% of Iran's Kurdish population, serving as its largest demographic center.

Kurdistan Province (Sanandaj): Holds about 28% of the population.

West Azerbaijan: Accountable for roughly 25% of the population, specifically in its southern and western counties.

Ilam: Functions as the southern anchor of the region with about 10%.

• The Northeast (Khorasan Kurds): An isolated, sizeable community of close to 1 million Kurds lives in the northeast along the Turkmenistan border. They are descendants of fighters relocated there during the Safavid era to guard Iran's borders against nomadic invaders.
• Urban Centers: There is also a major urban diaspora, with approximately half a million Kurds residing in the capital city of Tehran.

Religious Diversity

Unlike the Kurdish populations in Turkey or Iraq which are overwhelmingly Sunni, Iranian Kurds are highly religiously diverse and split between major sects:

• Sunni Islam (Shafi'i school): Predominant among the northern and central Kurds, particularly in the Kurdistan Province and West Azerbaijan.
• Shia Islam: Concentrated heavily toward the south in the Kermanshah and Ilam provinces.
• Yarsanism (Ahl-e Haqq): A distinct syncretic religion practiced by a significant minority of Kurds, mostly clustered within Kermanshah.

Linguistic Dialects

The Iranian Kurdish community is multilingual; nearly all are bilingual in Persian and their regional Kurdish dialect. The language branches into three main geographic dialects:

• Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish): Spoken primarily by the isolated Khorasan Kurds in the northeast and in the northernmost parts of West Azerbaijan.
• Sorani (Central Kurdish): Spoken widely across the Kurdistan Province and parts of West Azerbaijan, anchoring the cultural literary tradition.
• Southern Kurdish (including Kelhuri and Laki): Spoken primarily in the populous southern provinces of Kermanshah and Ilam