UNDERSTANDING THE MIDDLE EAST:
History, Religion, and the Clash of Cultures
400 pages
Copyright © 2007 by Beechmont Crest Publishing
First edition, 2007
0-9748330-6-1
C H A P T E R 7:
Iran: the Islamic Republic
A few facts about Iran
Until the hostage crisis of 1979, few Americans knew much about Iran, the land known historically as Persia. Even today, many Westerners mistakenly believe that Iran is an Arab nation---when in fact, Iran is distinct from the Arab countries, both ethnically and linguistically.
Here are a few important facts about Iran that should be grasped from the outset:
Iran’s population belongs to the Persian ethnic group; Iranians are not Arabs. Likewise, the national language of Iran is Farsi—not Arabic. Farsi employs a modified version of the Arabic script; but the two languages are mutually unintelligible (just as French and English are very different, although both languages use the Latin alphabet.)
Iran is often compared to (and sometimes even confused with) its neighbor Iraq. In human as well as geographic terms, Iran is much larger than Iraq. Iran has 2.5 times the population of Iraq, and nearly four times the land area.
Like most of the Middle East, Iran is Muslim. However, unlike most of the Middle East, Iran is dominated by the minority Shiite sect. This is another important factor that sets Iran apart from the Arab world. (90% of the Muslim world belongs to the majority Sunni sect.)
Copyright 2005 Beechmont Crest Publishing
