Shabak

Total population
200,000–500,000 (2017 estimation)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Largest settlements: Mosul, Gogjali, Bartella[2][3]
Languages
Shabaki, Arabic, Kurdish[4]
Religion
Shia Islam (Twelver),[5] Sunni Islam

Shabaks (Arabic: الشبك, Kurdish: شەبەک, romanized: Şebek) are a group of people who live east of Mosul in Iraq. Their origin is uncertain and they are considered Kurds by some scholars.^[6][7][8] They speak Shabaki and live in a religious community (ta'ifa) in the Nineveh Plains. The ancestors of Shabaks were followers of the Safaviyya order, which was founded by the Kurdish mystic Safi-ad-din Ardabili in the early 14th century.^[9] The primary Shabak religious text is called the Buyruk or Kitab al-Manaqib (Book of Exemplary Acts), which is written in Turkmen.^[10]

Members of the three Kurdish tribes Bajalan (or Bajarwans), Zangana and Dawoody live in the same villages as the Shabaks and are commonly mistaken for being Shabak.^[5]

The origins of the word Shabak are not clear. One theory is that Shabak is an Arabic word شبك that means intertwine, indicating that the Shabak people originated from many different tribes. Austin Henry Layard considered Shabaks to be descendants of Kurds who originated in Iran, and believed that they might have affinities with the Ali-Ilahis.^[6] Anastas Al-Karmali also argued that Shabaks were ethnic Kurds.^[11] Another theory suggests that the Shabaks originated from Anatolian Turkomans, who were forced to settle in the Mosul area after the defeat of Ismail I at the battle of Chaldiran.^[6]

After the 1987 census, the Iraqi regime started a revenge campaign against those Shabaks who chose to declare themselves Kurdish.^[6] The campaign included both deportation and forced assimilation, and many of them (along with Zengana and Hawrami Kurds) were relocated to concentration camps (mujamma'at in Arabic) that were located in the Harir area of the northern Iraq. An estimated 1,160 Shabaks were killed during this period. In addition, increasing efforts have been made to force the Shabaks to suppress their own identity in favour of being Arab. The Iraqi government's efforts of forced assimilation, Arabization, and religious persecution put the Shabaks under increasing threat. As one Shabak told a researcher: "The government said we are Arabs, not Kurds; but if we are, why did they deport us from our homes?"^[6] Shabak politician Salim al-Shabaki, a representative of Shabaks in the Iraqi parliament, said "The Shabaks are part of the Kurdish nation", emphasizing that Shabaks are ethnically Kurdish.^[12]

Hunain al-Qaddo, a Shabak politician, was quoted by Human Rights Watch that: "The Peshmerga have no genuine interest in protecting his community, and that Kurdish security forces are more interested in controlling Shabaks and their leaders than protecting them."^[13]

Shabaks regard themselves as Shia Muslims.^[14]

Shabaks combine elements of Sufism with their own concept of divine reality. According to Shabaks, divine reality is more advanced than the literal reading of the Qur'an, which is known as Sharia. Shabak spiritual guides are known as pirs, and they are well versed in the prayers and rituals of the sect. Pirs are under the leadership of the Supreme Head or Baba.^[6] Pirs act as mediators between divine power and ordinary Shabaks. Their beliefs form a syncretic faith that is similar to the beliefs of Yarsanism.^[9]

Shabaks also consider the poetry of Ismail I to be revealed by Allah, and they recite Ismail's poetry during religious meetings.^[9]

List of Shabak–majority settlements in the Nineveh Plains:^[5]

As of March 2019, all of the above settlements are under federal control and are disputed territories of Northern Iraq.^[17]

• Ali, Salah Salim. ‘Shabak: A Curious sect in Islam’. Revue des études islamiques 60. 2 (1992): 521-528. (ISSN 0336-156X)
• Ali, Salah Salim. ‘Shabak: A Curious sect in Islam’. Hamdard Islamicus 23. 2 (April–June 2000): 73-78. (ISSN 0250-7196)