33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

IRAQ 4 extremist movement (also known as ISIS, ISIL, or by its Arabic acronym Daesh). Since the abolishment of Saddam Hussein, Iraqis have made attempts to rebuild their government — approving a constitution to replace that of the Saddam Hussein era, and holding successive elections for parliament and provincial governments. However, governing institutions are still weak, and corruption and poverty remain prevalent. The ISIS threat and rising violence compelled U.S. military advisors to return to the country in 2014, after having withdrawn in 2011. The continued weakness of governance in Iraq along with ISIS’ seizure of much of north-western Iraq and adjacent parts of Syria, and its recruitment of young Muslims worldwide poses a long-term challenge to stability in the region and globally 9 . Additionally, the largest minority in Iraq, the Kurds, continually battle with the majority Arabs, and the sparring between these two cultural groups has contributed to a survivalist mentality for the Kurds. The Turkoman, who populate the northern mountainous areas, also have had strained relations with the Kurds due to their historical role as buffers between Arab and Kurdish areas. Other cultural groups who are sometimes subject to the will of the Arab majority are the Yazidi people, who are of Kurdish descent, but differ from the Kurds because of their unique religion. There are the Assyrians, who are direct descendants of the ancient Mesopotamian people and speak Aramaic. They are mainly Christian, and though they compose a significant minority in Iraq, the government does not officially recognise them as an ethnic group. Regarding relations with other countries, Iraq's Shias have been the traditional enemies of Persians for centuries; this contributed to Iraq fighting Iran in a costly war from 1980 to 1988 over a land dispute. The Iraqi Kurdish population is surrounded by fellow Kurds in the countries of Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Azerbaijan 10 . CULTURAL TRADITIONS: War is a part of daily life and following the beginning of the Iraq war, water and electricity shortages, demolition of infrastructures, unemployment, collapse of government facilities, and violence affect social interactions and traditions. However, rapid urban growth has been observed over much of the 20 th century, with a higher proportion of the population being exposed to modern, westernised, lifestyles. 9 https://www.usip.org/publications/2017/09/current-situation-iraq 1 0 http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Iraq.html