'Ajam of Kuwait

Kuwaiti citizens of Iranian descent December 2024 Ajam العيم / فرس الكويتhttps://www.alraimedia.com/article/244339/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%AC%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B1-%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%A8-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A3%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%8A جعفر رجب / تحت الحزام / أيها العنصري أنا عيمي Al Rai Arabic Marafi1.JPG Marafi family (fa معرفي) were among the first Ajam merchant families to settle in Kuwait.https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29402/1/10731547.pdf Waleed A.A. Al-Munais Social and ethnic differentiation in Kuwait: A social geography of an indigenous society 142-143 SOAS University of London 1981 Historic:Kuwaiti Persian Modern:Kuwaiti Arabic Kuwaithttps://en.unesco.org/silkroad/events-festivals/under-sails-maritime-conversations-trade-and-seafaring-perspectives-iran-and Under the Sails: Maritime Conversations on Trade and Seafaring – Perspectives from Iran and Kuwait UNESCO 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20220827065637/https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/events-festivals/under-sails-maritime-conversations-trade-and-seafaring-perspectives-iran-and 27 August 2022 Predominantly Shia Islam;Moojan Momen https://books.google.com/books?id=VB29DwAAQBAJ&dq=ajam+kuwait&pg=PT169 Shi'i Islam: A Beginner's Guide 2015 Simon and Schuster 9781780747880Minority Sunni Islam Iranian diaspora (Iranians of UAE • Ajam of Bahrain • Ajam of Qatar • Ajam of Iraq • Iranians of Canada • Iranians of America • Iranians of UK • Iranians of Germany • Iranians of Israel • Iranians in Turkey) The Ajam of Kuwait (ar عيم الكويت),Article in AL-AAN online newspaper https://web.archive.org/web/20150415095331/http://www.alaan.cc/pagedetails.asp?nid=62432&cid=47 15 April 2015 (in Arabic) November 2010Article by Waleed aj-Jasim in Al-Watan daily newspaper https://web.archive.org/web/20150415105627/http://kuwait.tt/articledetails.aspx?Id=277773 15 April 2015 (in Arabic). 25 May 2013 also known as Persian Kuwaitis, are Kuwaiti people of Iranian descent.http://iranian.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/files/2018/03/201304-Symposia-Iranica.pdf Symposia Iranica – Institute of Iranian Studies University of St Andrews 20–21Taqi Hanan 2010 Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait PhD Newcastle University https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdfhttp://calhoun.nps.edu/bitstream/handle/10945/32840/13Mar_Janecek_Michael.pdf?sequence=1 Policing Iranian Sanctions: Trade, Identity, and Smuggling Networks in the Arabian Gulf 25–27 Naval Postgraduate School The majority of Shia Kuwaiti citizens are of Iranian descent,Rivka Azoulay https://books.google.com/books?id=gurvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115E Kuwait and Al-Sabah: Tribal Politics and Power in an Oil State 115 2020 Bloomsbury 9781838605063 although there are Ajam Kuwaitis who are Sunni.https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/28011114/PHD_Thesis_Final_Version_submitted_to_RHUL_PDF.pdf The Formation of the Shi ͑a Communities in Kuwait: Migration, Settlement and Contribution between 1880 and 1938 Mohammad al-Habib Royal Holloway, University of London 32–37 2016 Since the mid 20th century, the community has experienced marginalisation and exclusion from state heritage narrative.Khaled Alhamad https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3169421/ The Management and Construction of Kuwait's Heritage Identity: The Impact of Orientalism, Westernisation, and Geopolitics University of Liverpool 2023 In the mid-to-late 20th century, the term "Ajam" became synonymous with Shia families; which can be partly attributed to the politicization of sectarian identities following the 1979 Iranian revolution. Ethnic composition The Ajam community of Kuwait originate from different Iranian ethnic groups including: Lurs: from Lorestan province and Bushehr (particularly Ganaveh County). Persians Iranian Azerbaijanis Achomis: such Al-Kandari (ar الكندري) and Al-Awadhi (ar العوضي) clans of Larestani ancestry.Mehran 2 March 2023 كتاب تاريخ جنوب فارس لارستان وبستك https://www.neelwafurat.com/itempage.aspx?id=lbb391342-388816&search=books ArabicPersian Evaz (عوض) is pronounced "Awadh" in Arabic They tend to have strong transnational ties to Sunni Ajam families in Bahrain and the UAE (especially Dubai). Iranian Balochis (ar البلوشي): Baluch families (Sunni and Shia) first immigrated to Kuwait in the 19th century. Iranian Kurds Iranian Arabs Tarakma (ar تراكمه): They constitute the majority of the Ajams in Kuwait, originating from Lamerd in Fars province.Azoulay Rivka https://books.google.com/books?id=yczrAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 Business Politics in the Middle East Hertog Steffen Luciani Giacomo Valeri Marc Hurst Publishers 2013 9781849042352 85 Kuwaiti Ajams of Sayyid descent, especially those from the Al-Musawi clan.Murtadha Mutahhari, Majmu'at al-Athaar, Part 18. Qum, Tehran. p. 124 History Pre-oil Kuwait Kuwait City Historically, Persian ports provided most of pre-oil Kuwait's economic needs.https://books.google.com/books?id=TtE4DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA107 The Emergence of the Gulf States: Studies in Modern History 2016 107 9781472587626 Peterson J. E. Bloomsbury Marafi Behbehani was one of the first merchants to settle in Kuwait in the 18th century.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/items/f25297a4-b72a-4cdd-a9d7-413973ac8ac7 The Shia Migration from Southwestern Iran to Kuwait: Push-Pull Factors during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Georgia State University 2010 Mohammad E. Alhabib The arms trade was exclusively under the domain of Ajam merchants.Mohammad E. Al-Habib 21 November 2023 Kuwait's ʿAjam merchants: a transnational community (1896–1950) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263206.2023.2279519 live Middle Eastern Studies 60 5 700–718 10.1080/00263206.2023.2279519 265365149 https://web.archive.org/web/20240925133347/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263206.2023.2279519 2024-09-25 subscription https://kuwaittimes.com/researcher-talks-history-trading-weapons-kuwait/ Researcher talks about history of trading in weapons in Kuwait Kuwait Times 10 June 2017 Up until the 1950s, most Ajam (both Sunni and Shia) resided in the Sharq historical district in the old Kuwait City, thereby forming a linguistic enclave which preserved the Kuwaiti Persian language for generations. They communicated in Persian between each other, and did not frequently mingle with Arabic speakers until the oil-led industrialisation of Kuwait City which scattered people to the suburbs. The linguistic enclave was not present any longer therefore the Ajam had to learn Kuwaiti Arabic to survive in the new environment.Taqi Hanan 2010 Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait 13-23 PhD Newcastle University https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf In the pre-oil era, the Ajam introduced many new things to Kuwaiti society.https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/29402/1/10731547.pdf Waleed A.A. Al-Munais Social and ethnic differentiation in Kuwait: A social geography of an indigenous society 151 SOAS University of London 1981 According to Al-Hatim, 1961, Ibid, the Persian-Kuwaitis, have brought many new things to the society, i.e. the first hotel in Kuwait in the later years of preoil era was built by Y. Behbehani; the first telephone in Kuwait was brought by M. Marafie; the first radio agency was established by M. Ma'arafi in 1935; the first refrigerator in Kuwait was brought by M. Ma'arafi in 1934, see pp. 249, 282, 346, etc. For instance, the first hotel in Kuwait City was built by Yusuf Behbehani; the first telephone in Kuwait was brought by M. Ma’arafie; the first radio agency in Kuwait was established by M. Ma’arafie in 1935; and the first refrigerator in Kuwait was imported by M. Ma’arafie in 1934. Murad Behbehani was the first person to officially introduce television to Kuwait.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5088&context=etd Ahmad Hamada The Integration History of Kuwaiti Television from 1957-1990: An Audience-Generated Oral Narrative on the Arrival and Integration of the Device in the City 192 Virginia Commonwealth University 2015 Similarly to television, the Behbahani family, particularly the merchant Murad Behbehani, is acknowledged by historical sources as the first to have officially brought television into the city (Al-Mudhaf, 2015). Murad was the son of the prominent merchant Yousef Behbehani, who opened the first hotel in the city of Kuwait in 1947, and imported weapons and cigarettes (Al-Habeeb, 2012; Al-Hatim, 1980). In the testimony below, Mubarak Al-Mubarak (75) remembers how the Behbehani house was a frequent destination for the neighborhood kids. He was the founder of Kuwait Television (KTV) before the company was nationalized by the government.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5088&context=etd Ahmad Hamada The Integration History of Kuwaiti Television from 1957-1990: An Audience-Generated Oral Narrative on the Arrival and Integration of the Device in the City 1 Virginia Commonwealth University 2015 It is generally known that Kuwaiti television (KTV) started as the private initiative of the Kuwaiti merchant Murad Behbehani in 1957, before being quickly governmentalized on 15 November 1961 (Al-Mudhaf, 2015; Dajani, 2007). Failaka Island The majority of Kuwaitis from Failaka Island are of Iranian ancestry.https://files01.core.ac.uk/download/108872.pdf Middle-aged women in Kuwait: Victims of change Zubaydah Ali M. Ashkanani 309–310 Durham University June 1988 The Social Composition of Failakans They originally migrated to Failaka from the Iranian coast, mainly Kharg Island and Bandar Lengeh. These people are commonly known as the Huwala in the GCC states. They are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak Arabic fluently, although prior to the discovery of oil they also spoke Persian fluently. The most important Huwala settlement in Failaka Island pertained to 40 families who migrated from the Iranian island Kharg to Failaka in the years 1841–1842. The most recent settlement occurred in the early 1930s after the imposition of the unveiling law by Reza Shah. A minority of Failaka Island's Kuwaiti families are Shia Persians, they were noted as having their own husayniyyas and the older generations were frequent Arabic speakers, unlike the Kuwaiti Shia of Persian descent in Kuwait City at the time. Modern era Although present-day Kuwaiti citizens are ethnically diverse (consisting of both Arabs and Ajam),Noura Al Sager 201yBgAAQBAJ 13 yes Acquiring Modernity: Kuwait's Modern Era Between Memory and Forgetting 2014 7 National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) 9789990604238Hamad H. Albloshi https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/social-activism-and-political-change-kuwait-2006 Social Activism and Political Change in Kuwait Since 2006 Baker InstituteHamad H. Albloshi https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342902339 Kuwait's National Assembly: Roles and Dynamics the cultural identity of Ajam is suppressed and marginalized. Since the mid 20th century, the Ajam have experienced marginalisation and exclusion from state heritage narrative. In the 1950s, approximately 40–50,000 of older generations of Persian immigrants found it necessary to adopt Kuwaiti citizenship to keep their economic stronghold in Kuwait.https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/diaspora#pt7 Persian Diaspora Encyclopædia Iranica By doing so, the Marafi and Behbahani family maintained substantial economic influence in the country. In the 1960s, the Ajam community was subjected to xenophobic hate campaigns by Arab nationalists.19 June 2024 Arab nationalism and the politics of "othering" in Kuwait: evidence from al-taliʿa https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13530194.2024.2362637?src= Hamad H. Albloshi British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 1–22 10.1080/13530194.2024.2362637 subscriptionAlbloshi Hamad 2022 Identity and Political Cartoons: Arab Nationalists and Ajam in Kuwait in 1960s https://my-mesa.org/program/abstracts/view/eyJpdiI6ImpZeFpRTTRjOTlhd3VWU0xaWGlCbGc9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiRjFNRWsvbDgxY3p3RVlMQ1hWVWRjQT09IiwibWFjIjoiODNkY2Y1ZmEwMTllOGMwNThmMTE2YmQ5N2U0OWM2M2I1ZDYyY2RlZWY4MGRjZDgxZDU0Yzc2OTU3ZWM4YWQ2MSIsInRhZyI6IiJ9 https://web.archive.org/web/20231007101158/https://my-mesa.org/program/abstracts/view/eyJpdiI6ImpZeFpRTTRjOTlhd3VWU0xaWGlCbGc9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiRjFNRWsvbDgxY3p3RVlMQ1hWVWRjQT09IiwibWFjIjoiODNkY2Y1ZmEwMTllOGMwNThmMTE2YmQ5N2U0OWM2M2I1ZDYyY2RlZWY4MGRjZDgxZDU0Yzc2OTU3ZWM4YWQ2MSIsInRhZyI6IiJ9 2023-10-07Monolithic Representations of 'Arabness': From the Arab Nationalists to the Arab Gulf https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2018/12/18/monolithic-representations-of-arabness-from-the-arab-nationalists-to-the-arab-gulf/ Rana Almutawa 18 December 2018 The community was also affected by Saddam Hussein during the Iran–Iraq War and especially the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait when many fled to Iran, while others experienced increased Kuwaiti nationalism and assimilated, and the Persian language also declined in Kuwait at the same time.Arabic Sociolinguistics, Enam Al-Wer, Uri Horesh, Bruno Herin, Rudolf De Jong, 2022, pp. 123-124, ISBN 9781107182615. Some Ajam are stateless.Zahra Marwan Hyperallergic https://hyperallergic.com/718911/like-orcas-and-tangerines-zahra-marwan/ Like Orcas and Tangerines 27 March 2022https://ajammc.com/2018/03/01/two-deserts-kuwaiti-bidoon/ Between Two Deserts: Visual Vignettes from an Iranian-Kuwaiti Bidoon in New Mexico Ajam Media Collective 2018 2021-02-28 2021-02-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20210225222143/https://ajammc.com/2018/03/01/two-deserts-kuwaiti-bidoon/ livehttps://libyanwanderer.com/stateless-at-home-the-kuwaiti-american-artist-zahra-marwan/ Stateless at Home: The Kuwaiti-American Artist Zahra Marwan October 2021 https://minorityrights.org/2023/02/23/zahra-marwan/ EVENT: Statelessness, watercolours & ink – Zahra Marwan – An MRG Sofa Talk Minority Rights Group International 23 November 2023 In 2019, the Iranian embassy announced that it is ready to offer Iranian citizenship to stateless people of Iranian descent in Kuwait.https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2019/09/09/Iran-offers-citizenship-to-stateless-people-with-Iranian-roots-in-Kuwait Iran offers citizenship to stateless people with 'Iranian roots' in Kuwait September 9, 2019 Al Arabiya March 1, 2021 August 17, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194752/https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2019/09/09/Iran-offers-citizenship-to-stateless-people-with-Iranian-roots-in-Kuwait liveIran: Ambassador to Kuwait Says They May Naturalise Kuwaiti Bidoon Akhbar 8 September 2019 https://www.lexismiddleeast.com/news/2019-09-09_1/en Middle East Newspaper Indexhttps://www.alraimedia.com/article/861319/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86 طهران: مُستعدّون لتجنيس "البدون" الإيرانيين September 8, 2019 Al Rai ar March 1, 2021 August 17, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210817194752/https://www.alraimedia.com/article/861319/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%B7%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AC%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%86 live Language shift The anti-preservation attitude of the Kuwaiti government towards the Kuwaiti Persian language will eventually lead to the disappearance of the language in Kuwaiti society, as Abdulmuhsen Dashti projects.2004 Language Maintenance or Shift? An Ethnographic Investigation of the Use of Farsi among Kuwaiti Ajams: A Case Study. https://books.google.com/books?id=F_45YAAACAAJ AbdulMohsen Dashti Arab Journal for the Humanities 22 87 73–249 The government of Kuwait tries to delegitimise the use of the language in as many domains as possible. In 2008, the Kuwaiti writer Waleed Al-Rujaib was criticised for releasing a novel set in the 1960s featuring the community's Persian languagehttps://www.alraimedia.com/article/95815/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1%D8%A9-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%8A%D9%83-%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D8%A3%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%B8%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%AF موستيك وليد الرجيب... أصوات المكان وتشظي السرد Al Rai Arabic and culture, Al-Rujaib considered the backlash a testament to "blind hatred for all those who are different from us".https://www.aljarida.com/articles/1461886358896925500 وليد الرجيب: لا أجد حرجاً في تناول قصة يهود الكويت فحقيقة وجودهم معروفة عندما نشرت روايتي «موستيك»، قيل لي إنني أتعاطف مع الكويتيين من أصول فارسية، وغضب مني بعض المتعصبين للعروبة، أرأيت؟ هذا أسميه الكراهية العمياء لكل المختلفين عنا Al-Jarida Arabic The Kuwaiti television series Karimo attempted to address the identity crisis of Kuwaitis of Iranian descent.Andrew Hammond https://books.google.com/books?id=OQTHEAAAQBAJ&dq=kuwaiti&pg=PT148 Pop Culture in North Africa and the Middle East: Entertainment and Society Around the World ABC-CLIO California 2017 143 9781440833847 The show featured Kuwaiti actors speaking fluent Persian; which resulted in some racist discourse against the Ajam community.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ0DDDZ0vi8 كريمو مسلسل كويتي باللغة الفارسية 7 September 2010 YouTube The Alrai TV channel advertised the show in Farsi and Arabic. In 2009, it was estimated that 89% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 40–70 spoke Persian fluently as their native language; whereas only 28% of Kuwaiti Ajam aged 12–22 spoke Persian. Cultural, political, and economic marginalization creates a strong incentive for Kuwaiti Ajam to abandon their language in favor of Arabic which is widely perceived as a more prestigious language. This happens because Kuwaiti Ajam families want to achieve a higher social status, have a better chance to get employment and/or acceptance in a given social network so they adopt the cultural and linguistic traits of socially dominant groups with enough power imbalance to culturally integrate them, through various means of ingroup and outgroup coercion. The generation of Kuwaiti Ajam born between 1983 and 1993 are reported to have a minimal proficiency in their language unlike the older generations of Kuwaiti Ajam.https://books.google.com/books?id=z46ZEAAAQBAJ&dq=ajam%20language%20kuwait&pg=PA122 Arabic Sociolinguistics Enam Al-Wer Uri Horesh Bruno Herin Rudolf De Jong 2020 122–125 Cambridge University Press 97813168655212009 Ideology, Identity, and Linguistic Capital: A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Shift Among the Ajam of Kuwait https://books.google.com/books?id=RHyiQwAACAAJ Batoul Hassan University of Essex Since the 1980s and 1990s, many Kuwaiti Ajam parents have reported an unwillingness to pass the Persian language on to their children, as it will hurdle their integration into the dominant culture. The Ajam feel pressure to abandon ties that could be interpreted as showing belonging to Iran, as Persian is synonymous with Iranian, and the Persian language is actually called Irani in Kuwaiti Arabic. In several interviews conducted by PhD student Batoul Hasan, Ajam youth have shown hesitation to use or learn Persian due to stigmatisation and prejudice in Kuwait. In 2012, MP Muhammad Hassan al-Kandari called for a "firm legal action" against an advertisement for teaching the Persian language in Rumaithiya.https://www.alaan.cc/article/108712/ليس-مقبولاً-ربط-الشيعة-في-الخليج-بإيران..-بنظر-د.-صلاح-الفضلي-/ ليس مقبولاً ربط الشيعة في الخليج بإيران.. بنظر د. صلاح الفضلي جريدة الآن الالكترونية Alaan Online Newspaper UNESCO recognise Kuwaiti Persian as an endangered language.https://en.wal.unesco.org/languages/kuwaiti-persian Kuwaiti Persian UNESCO https://web.archive.org/web/20250515170803/https://en.wal.unesco.org/languages/kuwaiti-persian 2025-05-15 The decline of Kuwaiti Persian is a reflection of the forced homogeneity of Kuwait's national identity and marginalisation of ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity among Kuwaiti citizens.https://manshoor.com/politics-and-economics/kuwaiti-identity-nationalism/ رحلة البحث عن الهوية الكويتية: هل يؤثر التجنيس على الهوية الوطنية؟ Shaikha AlBahaweed Manshoor 17 January 2023 Arabic Unlike Bahrain and Dubai where the Ajam citizens still speak their language (including the youngest generations).Rana AlMutawa https://books.google.com/books?id=oU3cEAAAQBAJ&dq=ajam+of+kuwait&pg=PA180 Everyday Life in the Spectacular City: Making Home in Dubai 180–181 2024 Univ of California Press 9780520395060 Culture The Ajam of Kuwait have retained certain cultural traditions and idiosyncrasies that differentiate them from other ethnic groups in Kuwaiti society. Waleed Al-Rujaib's 2008 novel "Mustique" focuses on their culture in the 1960s.https://books.google.com/books?id=H40tDwAAQBAJ&dq=kuwaiti&pg=PA289 The Oxford Handbook of Arab Novelistic Traditions Waïl S. Hassan 2017 289 Oxford University Press 9780199349791https://books.google.com/books?id=fZA3AQAAIAAJ موستيك: رواية Waleed Al-Rujaib Dar Al Farabi 2008 Arabic 9789953713120 Cuisine thumb|Marag sabzi is a common meal in the homes of Kuwaiti Ajam families. The Ajam community has unique culinary traditions such as marag sabzi, mahyawa,https://archive-stories.com/Halwa-Mahyawa-and-Multiple-Registers-of-Life-in-the-Gulf Halwa, Mahyawa and Multiple Registers of Life in the Gulf Kanwal Hameed July 2023 nakhi, and bajella.https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp016h440w16b/1 Rerouting the Persian Gulf: The Transnationalization of Iranian Migrant Networks, c.1900–1940 Lindsey Stephenson 154–155 Princeton University 2018 The Ajam are particularly known for bread-making especially Iranian bread.https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=AIf66QX181E Iranian bread permanent guest at the Kuwaiti table – AFP YouTube https://jordantimes.com/news/region/iranian-bread-permanent-guest-kuwaiti-tables Iranian bread permanent guest at the Kuwaiti table 16 July 2019 The Iranian zubaidi fish is a staple food. Various other Ajam food items are derived from modern Iranian cuisine, especially desserts, sweets, and snacks.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJNvWWAxhgY أقدم صانع بوظة في الكويت.. قبل 70 عاماً YouTube Arabic Music The Ajam of Kuwait are known for the habbān, which is a type of bagpipe used in southern Iran and the coastal regions of the Persian Gulf.https://books.google.com/books?id=IVM3EAAAQBAJ&dq=kuwaiti&pg=PT262 Music in Arabia: Perspectives on Heritage, Mobility, and Nation Anne K. Rasmussen Issa Boulos Virginia Danielson 2021 Indiana University Press 9780253057518Lisa Urkevich https://books.google.com/books?id=gy-cBQAAQBAJ&dq=kuwait&pg=PA150 Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula 2014 150 Routledge 9781135628161 In the 1990s and 2000s, the Kuwaiti record label Al-Nazaer released various music in the Kuwaiti Persian language.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY9lUjXueks Medly Irani فرقة الدانة للهبان – ميدلي ايراني YouTube Persianhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9yZxRHcY2I ELBandrya فاضل كنكوني – البندرية YouTube Persianhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kckMJC9zWTg Bandrya فاضل كنكوني – بندرية YouTube Persianhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vik3loDczTM&list=PL_9deh8ta2GY_1X8xku4JvJBkU_YKekDL&index=2 Amnzt Drogh فرقة السلام – أمنزت دروغ YouTube Persianhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU4YZyc7VKk&list=PL_9deh8ta2GYDIsgRbm1CikkM-MHGACx4 Mahlema Kalno Shorda فرقة الكواكب YouTube Persianhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWaAKH0EOCQ&list=PL_9deh8ta2Gb0-yyXoP2bbv75z4LNCY3G Marain Jan Dlm فرقة الأنوار – مريم جان دلم YouTube Persian Even some non-Ajam Kuwaiti musicians have released music in the Kuwaiti Persian language, such as the Miami Band (Ferqat Miami).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieyV0flAwfo ميامي – بادا بادا YouTube Persianhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qqoJM9IxkU Miami Band – Hala Yarom – 2008 – فرقة ميامي – هلا يارم YouTube Persian Qiddu thumb|Iranian woman smoking traditional Qalyoon Qiddu (fa گِدو Giddu) is a smoking method very similar to Iranian hookah (fa قلیان Qalyoon), there is no honeydew added to it, and its base is made of pottery (not glass). Historically, both men and women smoked qiddu. Unlike the restrictive gender norms of Arabia, smoking qiddu has always been socially acceptable among Ajam women. Religion The majority of Shia Kuwaiti citizens are of Iranian descent.https://books.google.com/books?id=C9TkD3ugwEUC&pg=PA190 Citizenship and the State in the Middle East: Approaches and Applications 2000 190 9780815628293 Butenschøn Nils August Davis Uri Hassassian Manuel Sarkis Syracuse University Press https://books.google.com/books?id=6EBeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA135 Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf 135 9780190237967 Potter Lawrence G. June 2014 Oxford University Press https://books.google.com/books?id=B8wnEtH8oDgC&pg=PA47 Transnational Shia Politics: Religious and Political Networks in the Gulf 46–55 9781849042147 Louër Laurence 2011 Hurst http://michaelherb.net/herb_shia_gulf.pdf Ethnic Conflict and International Politics in the Middle East Michael Herb 1999 164 University Press of Florida Unlike the Shi'a of Saudi Arabia or Bahrain, the Kuwaiti Shi'a mostly are of Persian descent. 9780813016870 https://books.google.com/books?id=yczrAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 Business Politics in the Middle East 2013 71 9781849042352 Hertog Steffen Luciani Giacomo Valeri Marc Hurst Publishers https://books.google.com/books?id=-dM4hPlxMw8C&pg=PA533 Islam in the World Today: A Handbook of Politics, Religion, Culture, and Society 2002 533 0801464897 Ende Werner Steinbach Udo Cornell University Press http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/APBN-008_Shiah_of_Kuwait.pdf Political Activism Among the Shi'ah of Kuwait 1 J.E. Peterson 2009 Ajam Shia have distinct cultural beliefs, customs, and rituals; which can be exemplified by the stark contrast between Sunni and Shia graves at the national cemetery of Kuwait.https://ibraaz.org/essays/119/ 2015 How Toshihiko Made Me Understand Islam Monira Al Qadiri Ibraaz https://web.archive.org/web/20160322211812/https://ibraaz.org/essays/119/ 2016-03-22 Many Kuwaitis of Iranian descent are Sunni Muslims such as the Al-Kandari and Al-Awadhi (Note: Persian Evaz "عوض" is pronounced "Awadh" in Arabic) families of Larestani ancestry.Ali Al-Kandari Princeton University https://tri.princeton.edu/fellowships/current-theme/arab-nationalism-and-its-legacy-in-the-gulf-states The Political Identity of 'Ajam Sunna in KuwaitRivka Azoulay https://books.google.com/books?id=gurvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 Kuwait and Al-Sabah: Tribal Politics and Power in an Oil State 40 2020 Bloomsbury 9781838605063https://youtube.com/watch?v=USI2LPGol30 كتاب تاريخ جنوب فارس لارستان وبستك khodo mania YouTube 27 April 2023 Arabic They tend to have strong transnational ties to Sunni Ajam families in Bahrain and the UAE (especially Dubai). Iranian Balochi families (Sunni and Shia) first immigrated to Kuwait in the 19th century.https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/items/f25297a4-b72a-4cdd-a9d7-413973ac8ac7 The Shia Migration from Southwestern Iran to Kuwait: Push-Pull Factors during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Georgia State University 71–72 2012http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Peterson_Baluch_Presence_in_the_Gulf_2013.pdf The Baluch Presence in the Persian Gulf 742–743 J.E. Peterson 2013 In the pre-oil era, the term Ajam pertained to both Sunni and Shia families of Iranian descent in Kuwait.https://storage.kuwaittimes.com/pdf/2017/jun/07/p06.pdf Ayam 2017 However, the Sunni Ajam generally did not identify with the Shia ones.Arabic Sociolinguistics, Enam Al-Wer, Uri Horesh, Bruno Herin, Rudolf De Jong, 2022, pp. 123, ISBN 9781107182615. In the 20th century, the term Ajam became synonymous with Shia families; which can be partly attributed to the politicization of sectarian identities following the 1979 Iranian revolution. Language Kuwaiti Persian The Kuwaiti Persian language is a combination of different varieties of the Persian language and Achomi language historically spoken in Kuwait.https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/nacil/pdfs/slides-handouts/Gazsi_NACIL1Slides.pdf The Persian Dialects of the ʿAjam in Kuwait Dénes Gazsi 1–8 Stony Brook Universityhttps://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/nacil/pdfs/abstracts/Gazsi_NACIL1.pdf The Persian Dialects of the Ajam in Kuwait Dénes Gazsi Stony Brook Universityhttps://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/nacil/pdfs/abstracts/Gazsi_NACIL1Abstract.pdf Dénes Gazsi – The University of Iowa – The Persian Dialects of the ʿAjam in Kuwait Dénes Gazsi It was passed down through generations in the historical Sharq district of Kuwait City. Husseiniyat Marafi is among the oldest husseiniyas in Kuwait, as it was founded in 1905, and reading there was initially in the Persian language.http://h-marafi.org/port-2010/ Official Website of Husseiniyat Marafi Arabic أول برنامج بدأت به حسينية معرفي هو موسم شهري محرم وصفر من العام التالي سنة 1326 هجرية وكانت القراءة باللغة الفارسية. https://web.archive.org/web/20181020051317/http://h-marafi.org/port-2010/ 2018-10-20 Nowadays, the Ajam speak Kuwaiti Arabic but it is believed they incorrectly pronounce various Kuwaiti words.https://www.alqabas.com/article/608442-كويتي-مال-أوّل "كويتي مال أوّل" Arabic Asrar Johar Hayat Al Qabas 27 November 2018 Consequently, there is an Ajami accent of Kuwaiti Arabic, which is sometimes a subject of mockery in the media. Most recently, the media personality Fajer Al-Saeed mockingly imitated the Ajami accent of Hassan Jawhar.https://www.alaraby.co.uk/entertainment_media/%D8%AA%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B9-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%A8-%D9%83%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%91%D8%B6-%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A1%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9 تضامن واسع مع نائب كويتي تعرّض لإساءة عنصرية من إعلامية Arabic 15 January 2022 The Iranian sub-dialects of Larestani, Khonji, Bastaki and Gerashi have influenced the vocabulary of Kuwaiti Arabic.https://books.google.com/books?id=euezAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 Lang & Linguistic in Bahrain Mon 2013 11 9781136136269 Al-Tajir Routledge Famous families 15em Maʿrafi (ar معرفي fa معرفي) Bin Ghalib (ar بن غالب fa غالب) Behbehani (ar بهبهاني fa بهبهاني)https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-persian-princess-in-kuwait/id1674679776?i=1000608697463 A Persian Princess in Kuwait Bushehri (ar بوشهري fa بوشهري) Bastaki/Al-Bastaki (ar بستكي/البستكي fa بستكي) Baluch/Al-Balushi (ar البلوشي fa بلوشي) Mulla Hussain (ar ملا حسين fa ملاحسين) Kandari (ar كندري fa كندري) Al-Awadhi (ar العوضي fa عوضي) Notable people Ahmed Mousa Mirza, footballer Abbas Almohri, religious scholar Ali Maqseed, footballer Abdulhussain Abdulredha, actor Abdulghaphor Hajjieh, economist and politician Ahmed Lari, politician Abdul-Hamid Dashti, lawyer and politician Abbas Qali, Olympics athlete Ahmad Abdulghafour, footballer Adnan Zahid Abdulsamad, politician Ali al-Ihqaqi, religious scholar Ali Abdulreda, footballer Ahmad Johar, actor Abdullah Al-Buloushi, footballer Abdulaziz Al-Buloushi, footballer Bashar al-Shatti, singer-songwriter of Star Academy fame Dawood Marafie, economist and politician Emma Shah, singer Ghadeer Aseeri, politician Halema Boland, television host and entertainer Hassan Jawhar, politician Hussain Al-Musawi, footballer Hamed Sadeq, sprinter Halema Boland, television host and entertainer Hamad al-Naqi, activist and blogger Ibtihal Al-Khatib, secular academic Jenan Boushehri, politician Kazem Behbehani, immunologist and retired professor, World Health Organization official Lara Dashti, Olympics athlete Mahdi Dashti, professional soccer player Mohammad Al-Mosawi, Olympics athlete Mohammad Ashkanani, professional basketball player Mahmoud Dashti, footballer Mohammad Murad, مراد (الرميثية ) Kuwait History https://www.kuwait-history.net/vb/showthread.php?t=4619 هاجرت الاسرة الى الكويت من بلاد فارس وتعود اصولها الى اللر Arabic award-winning wildlife photographer Mohammed Karam, footballer Muhammad Baqir al-Muhri, an ayatollah Mashari Al-Ballam, actor Mohamed Jarragh, footballer Mai Al Balushi, actress Najeeba Hayat, luxury footwear designer Nasser Abul, online activist Rola Dashti, politician Rawan bin Hussain, actress, singer, and social media influencer Sulaiman Qabazard, 1976 Olympics diver Samir Said, footballer Sami Al-Lanqawi, footballer Sara Akbar, co-founder and former chief executive officer of Kuwait Energy Shehab Kankoune, footballer Saleh Ashour, politician Sarah Behbehani, tennis player Sami Al-Lanqawi, footballer Sulaiman Abdulghafour, footballer Thuraya Al-Baqsami, modern artist and writer Yasser Al-Habib, religious cleric Zahra Marwan, award-winning artist and writer Zaid Ashkanani, racing driver Mahmood Bushehri, Iranian actor living in Kuwait (Kuwaiti mother). Gallery Further reading Kuwait's ʿAjam merchants: a transnational community (1896–1950) Rerouting the Persian Gulf: The Transnationalization of Iranian Migrant Networks, c.1900–1940 The Shia Migration from Southwestern Iran to Kuwait: Push-Pull Factors during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries Kuwait and Iran: Mutual Contact in the Pre-oil Era Between Modern and National Education: The ‘Ajam Schools of Bahrain and Kuwait Under the Sails: Maritime Conversations on Trade and Seafaring – Perspectives from Iran and Kuwait Language Maintenance or Shift? An Ethnographic Investigation of the Use of Farsi among Kuwaiti Ajams: A Case Study Ideology, Identity, and Linguistic Capital: A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Shift Among the Ajam of Kuwait See also Iran–Kuwait relations Iranian diaspora Expatriates in Kuwait Notes note References External links Ethnic Group: Ajam of Kuwait – Friendly Borders Iran Kuwait Category:Iranian diaspora in Asia Category:Iranian ethnic groups Category:Shia Islam in Kuwait Category:Shia communities Category:Anti-Iranian sentiment in Asia