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This study examines the complex correlation between warfare and individual identity as depicted in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's literary work, "Half of a Yellow Sun." and a movie entitled "the wall". The novel explores the effects of the Nigerian-Biafran War on personal and group identities, providing a captivating narrative within this historical context. The movie also tackles the issue of identity by providing viewers with situations pertaining to the issue of identity formation. This research aims to explore the impact of war on the transformation and reinterpretation of identity, encompassing ethnic, national, and personal ties. It achieves this by closely analyzing the experiences of the individuals involved. This paper explores the characters' reactions to the societal disruption resulting from the war, scrutinizing their efforts to navigate their sense of self amidst the presence of aggression and forced relocation. Furthermore, this study critically examines the influence of memory, trauma, and storytelling on the development of the characters' changing perception of their own identity. Through an exploration of these thematic elements, a more profound comprehension of the ways in which war may both shatter and form identities is attained, thereby illuminating the intricate nature of human experiences within periods of conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines ethno‐symbolic and instrumental explanations of ethnic and sectarian identities placed within the constructivist turn in the study of political identity, both in the abstract and how they have been deployed to explain the increasing contemporary influence of ethnosectarian mobilisation in Iraq and the wider Middle East. The paper identifies explanatory value in these approaches but finds their focus on either ideational structures or individual rationality too narrow to provide a comprehensive explanation of what happened to political identities in Iraq after 2003. Instead, the paper deploys what can be termed a 'Bourdieusian method', in an attempt to get beyond the polarities of structure and agency. It uses Bourdieu's conceptions of political field, principles of vision and division and symbolic violence to understand the influence that de‐Ba'athification, the creation of the Muhasasa Ta'ifia or sectarian apportionment system and national elections had on political identities in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a small-scale qualitative research project with Iraqis living in Jordan, this paper aims to shed light on how ethnic identity and social class intersect to shape Iraqi experience of displacement. It focuses on two major themes. First, it discusses the relationship between the shifting social and political landscape in Iraq and ethnoreligious identity of Iraqis in Jordan. Second, it explores the ways in which ethnicity and class intersect to affect the dynamics of Iraqis' integration into their host society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the impact of the ethnic group of the Iraqi population on political stability after the change in the system of government in 2003 due to the importance of this structure in the power of the state. The study showed that Iraq includes a group of national and religious ethnicities, and that there is a peaceful coexistence between them. It fulfills all its aspirations, and these ethnicities have an extension with neighboring countries that contributed to external interference and posed a threat to political stability, which necessitates work to solve ethnic problems in Iraq through the formation of permanent committees in the House of Representatives and the political participation of all those ethnicities. The application of administrative decentralization, comprehensive and sustainable development Conducting an accurate population census, spreading the culture and arts of all components of the Iraqi people, and confronting the plans of Western countries and Salafi currents to consecrate the spirit of national, religious and sectarian division with the sole Iraqi discourse in a manner that guarantees the interest of Iraq and the Iraqi people with all its components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kakaism, a minority religion primarily found in Kurdish regions of western Iran, and eastern and northern Iraq, is a case of ethno-religious struggle. Kaka'is practice is an ancient faith, deeply rooted in the Metric religion, which can be traced back to 5,000 years B.C.E. Followers of the faith have been exposed to violence, armed conflicts, and atrocities, and deprivation from the four pillars of the minority rights: the right to exist, the right to non-discrimination, the right to protection of identity, and the right to civic participation. Although the focus of this paper is on the struggle of Kaka'is in Iraq, the comments and conclusions might be relevant for similar contexts in which ethno-religious minorities are oppressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The destruction of Mosul's Old Town has led to sudden and unmanaged displacements of different ethnic, cultural and professional communities who departed northern Iraq's medieval trade and cultural centre. While the reconstruction of historic monuments was prioritised for the post-ISIS recovery process, the disappearance of trade, culture, and communities had a more lasting impact on the erasure of memory, traditional practices and social interactions in the Historic Centre. Moving away from the conventions of planned and structured return in post-conflict cities, this paper investigates the growing and unstructured spontaneous processes of displacement, relocation, and rebuilding as an unmanaged process where the central government and the local authority had limited impact on the daily and active return of displaced communities and craftsmen. We argue that the active and interconnected networks of trade, craft communities and livelihoods in the Old City can be activated by individualistic efforts to trigger a spontaneous, yet effective and decentralised approach to post-conflict return in Iraq. This paper navigates local narratives, spaces of memory and spatial patterns of displacement and return, using the observations, spatial mapping, first-hand local narratives and flows of displacement. • Cultural heritage practices in Mosul are spatial and locational. • Displacement of shop owners and artisans impacts the Old Town's cultural heritage • The practices and interactions in the markets are vital for Mosul's economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the Iraq ‘liberation’ in 2003, many asked, ‘Could Sunni, Shi'a and Kurdish factions be brought together, or is it likely that ethnic conflicts would lead to civil war?’ This pilot project addressed: 1) How do Iraqis' self-reported ethnic/religious identities (their membership in their personal in-groups) relate to their perceptions of other unlike groups (out-groups)?, and 2) How does a place of residence relate to Iraqi perceptions of out-groups? My team collected 479 surveys of Iraqi opinions in Iraq, Jordan, and The Netherlands, asking for perceptions of Those Other Groups, their out-groups. I found that background items of religion, ethnic origin, and location, taken by themselves, did not relate strongly to respondents' attitudes towards out-groups. But, some combinations of background items did give significant differences in perceptions towards other groups. For example, moderate Arabs (with respect to ethnic importance) in Iraq were the group most opposed to foreigners, and were the group most opposed to expatriate Iraqis returning to Iraq. In this paper I explain important terms (out-group and wiki); report on my findings in the midst of a period of regime change in Iraq; mention the use of an alternate way to disseminate research findings over the internet via a wiki; and describe follow-up projects on social capital among Iraqis. My hope is that this will contribute to a base from which researchers and fieldworkers can develop theories to explore and explain elements of civil society in Iraq and other societies. This paper presents the following major sections: Abstract; Introduction; Purpose; Background; Methodology; Results; Conclusions; Further; Work; Appendixes; and End Notes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings of a longitudinal study of life events in refugees belonging to different language groups from Iraq. Eighty-six individuals were included in the study. Data regarding life events and self-reported health measurements were collected after baseline assessment with 3-monthly intervals on three occasions. Posttraumatic stress disorder was diagnosed by means of a structured interview at baseline. The results indicate that the subjects were influenced to a great extent by political events and the situation of significant others in the home country. Further, the number of negative life events in the host country showed a significant association with self-rated deteriorated health. In subjects with posttraumatic stress disorder, the effects of certain life events were more pronounced.

Northern Mesopotamia is the source for numerous ethnicities and religions. Each has played a role in forming a fragile, beautiful, yet sometimes painful cultural, religious and social montage in the region. Over the course of millennia, under numberless rulers and regimes, and through successive conflicts, many of these once historic majorities gradually faded into the ascending Arab and Islamic milieu. Within this ethnic and religious mosaic comprising Iraq, one finds a relatively large Christian community. Digging deeper still one discovers a small remaining remnant of Armenians. Long ago this ancient Christian people dominated the Armenian Highland, territory now located in Eastern Turkey. Historical evidence indicates an Armenian presence in Mesopotamia for well over several thousand years. With this as background, the paper is a brief consideration of the Christian minorities—chiefly the small Armenian community—located in Iraqi territory officially under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), generally based on the author's field-work in Iraqi Kurdistan from December 2009 to March 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kuwait has a cosmopolitan population of 1.7 million, mostly Arabs. This population is a mosaic of large and small minorities representing most Arab communities. In general, Kuwait's population is characterized by a rapid rate of growth, large family size, high rates of consanguineous marriages within the Arab communities with low frequency of intermarriage between them, and the presence of genetic isolates and semi-isolates in some extended families and Bedouin tribes. Genetic services have been available in Kuwait for over a decade. During this time it has become clear that Arabs have a high frequency of genetic disorders, and in particular autosomal recessive traits. Their pattern is unique and some disorders are relatively common. Examples are Bardet-Biedl and Meckel syndromes, phenylketonuria, and familial Mediterranean fever. A relatively large number of new syndromes and variants have been delineated in Kuwait's population, many being the result of homozygosity for autosomal recessive genes that occurred because of inbreeding. Some of these syndromes have subsequently been found in other parts of the world, negating the concept of the private syndrome. This paper provides an overview of autosomal recessive disorders among the Arabs in Kuwait from a personal perspective and published studies, and highlights the need for genetic services in Arab countries with the goal of prevention and treatment of genetic disorders.

Indigenous healing is commonly practiced in Middle East. Little is known about trends of indigenous therapies among patients with psychiatric disorders in Iraq. To determine and compare rates and predictors of indigenous healings by individuals with psychiatric disorders, and the practiced rituals among Arabic and Kurdish ethnicities in Iraq, patients aged 18 year and older attending outpatients in Erbil and Najaf were assessed for their prior contacts with indigenous healers. About 48.9 % had indigenous healer's consultations before visiting their psychiatrists; the figure was three times higher among Arabs than Kurds. Higher consultation rate was detected among younger and less formally educated patients. Fourteen types of religious therapeutic rituals have been practiced. Indigenous healing is widespread in Iraq. It is more common among Arabs, younger and less educated people with psychiatric disorders. Participants consider indigenous healing for their psychiatric more than non-psychiatric disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Middle Eastern immigrants to Europe represent a high risk population for type 2 diabetes. We compared prevalence of novel subgroups and assessed risk of diabetic macro‐ and microvascular complications between diabetes patients of Middle Eastern and European origin. Methods: This study included newly diagnosed diabetes patients born in Sweden (N = 10641) or Iraq (N = 286), previously included in the All New Diabetes in Scania cohort. The study was conducted between January 2008 and August 2016. Patients were followed to April 2017. Incidence rates in diabetic macro‐ and microvascular complications were assessed using cox‐regression adjusting for the confounding effect of age at onset, sex, anthropometrics, glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and HbA1c. Findings: In Iraqi immigrants versus native Swedes, severe insulin‐deficient diabetes was almost twice as common (27.9 vs. 16.2% p < 0.001) but severe insulin‐resistant diabetes was less prevalent. Patients born in Iraq had higher risk of coronary events (hazard ratio [HR] 1.84, 95% CI 1.06–3.12) but considerably lower risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) than Swedes (HR 0.19; 0.05–0.76). The lower risk in Iraqi immigrants was partially attributed to better eGFR. Genetic risk scores (GRS) showed more genetic variants associated with poor insulin secretion but lower risk of insulin resistance in the Iraqi than native Swedish group. Interpretation: People with diabetes, born in the Middle East present with a more insulin‐deficient phenotype and genotype than native Swedes. They have a higher risk of coronary events but lower risk of CKD. Ethnic differences should be considered in the preventive work towards diabetes and its complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the development of the Yazidi identity in Iraq after 2003, and the subsequent escalation of the controversial Yazidi identity after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) invasion of Sinjar in 2014, an invasion that has caused great division among the Yazidi community. Furthermore, the study identifies the political trends that continue to influence the Yazidi's ethnic, religious and ethno-nationalist identity as a whole. The debate at the core of the controversy is rooted in Kurdish and Arab political parties' agendas. Meanwhile, the emergence and crystallization of the Yazidi identity can also be observed in spheres quite removed from majority politics. Internal political developments and the Yazidi movement outside of Iraq, have also contributed to this development. Irrespective of such influencing factors, it seems that the development of the Yazidi identity into a distinct ethno-religion (which is still a matter of dispute) is imminent in the medium- to long-term future. The arguments of this study are mostly based on social media platforms and interviews with Yazidi politicians and activists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Middle Eastern societies, Christians traditionally define themselves as religious communities or churches. This is a continuation of the Ottoman millet system, where religion determined the place one had in society and the patriarch was responsible for the insertion of his community into the state. It not only preserves the traditional ecclesiastical divisions based on dogmatic divergences and church politics but also transposes them to the political field. For a few decades, many lay politicians in Syria considered this system as detrimental to Christian interests. They developed the idea of a common ethnic identity for all churches using Syriac. New political circumstances in Iraq made it possible to give a political translation of this idea by the creation of Christian political parties, defending common ethnic minority rights. Despite some positive results, attempts at creating unity failed, not only because a lack of unanimity about certain political choices but also about the idea of ethnic identity itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's comment on the ethnic identity problem among the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac People of Iraq. According to the author, the actual identity of Syriac language speaking people such as Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syriacs and Chaldo-Assyrians is still open to debate. The question of ethnic identity persists because it is not easy to distinguish between elements of Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, or Assyrian civilizations.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate and compare pain experience and expectations of physiotherapy among patients with chronic pain coming from different cultures. In total, 74 subjects from Sweden, Iran and Iraq participated, with equal numbers in each group. Pain was assessed by the McGill Pain Questionnaire Short Form and by the Margolis pain drawing and scoring system. One-way ANOVAs showed that the groups differed significantly in sensory ( p <0.001) and affective ( p <0.001) pain, and in pain intensity ( p <0.01). Tukey's HSD post hoc tests showed that subjects from Iran and Iraq reported significantly higher levels of sensory and affective pain as well as pain intensity than the Swedish subjects did. No difference between the groups was found in pain distribution. Regarding expectations of physiotherapy, the Swedish group had larger confidence than the Iran group and especially the Iraq group in physiotherapy as a treatment and as a method of improvement. Another difference between the groups was that subjects from Iraq considered rest a good treatment towards their problems more than subjects from the other two groups did. The results support earlier studies that conclude there are cultural differences in pain experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on tribal, religious and ethnic identities of Iraqi Yazidis as sources of communal mobilization during the period of 1869 to 1940. Processes by which Yazidi communalism became affected by state power in the 19th and 20th centuries; Kinship ideology; Land policies and intercommunal relations.