Forum Topic

A reminder

The vast majority of Iranians are not Arabs; they are predominantly Persians. While both Iranians and Arabs live in the Middle East and most are Muslims, they belong to distinct ethnic groups with different origins, languages, and cultural heritages. Key differences include:Ethnicity and Origin: The majority of Iranians (about 61%) are ethnically Persian, an Indo-European people, with origins traced back to Central Asian steppes and the Iranian plateau. Arabs are a Semitic people who originated in the Arabian Peninsula.Language: Iranians speak Persian (Farsi), which is an Indo-European language distantly related to languages like English, Greek, and Latin. Arabic is a Semitic language, related to Hebrew and Aramaic. Although modern Persian uses the Arabic script and has borrowed many Arabic loanwords due to historical influence, the languages are not mutually intelligible.Religion: Most Iranians practice Shiite Islam (specifically Twelver Shiism), which is the official state religion. Most people in the Arab world are Sunni Muslims.Minorities: Iran is a multi-ethnic country and includes ethnic minorities such as Azeris, Kurds, Balochis, Lurs, Turkmens, and a small Arab population (about 2-3%), primarily in the Khuzestan province in the southwest.

David Ainsworth ● 7h3 Comments

I wasn't aware that people thought of the Iranians as Arabs having long known that they aren't.

Lucille Grant ● 5h

A friend from Tehran once criticised me for using the term Arabs to refer to people from the Middle East. She said we (meaning Persians) think of Arabs as people in the desert and why do you use that term. For me it was simple if you speak Arabic I think of you as Arab. Rather like French speakers are French etc. Farsi is one of the world's oldest languages I believe and I do admire Persian poetry. One of the gifts to the world.

Katrina Black ● 5h

Excellent point, David.

Michael Ixer ● 7h