Religious Narrations of the Kurdish Nation during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

doi:10.1017/9781108623711.006

5 - Religious Narrations of the Kurdish Nation during the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

from Part I - Historical Legacies

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 April 2021

Edited by

Cengiz Gunes and

Hamit Bozarslan: Affiliation:
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris
Cengiz Gunes: Affiliation:
The Open University, Milton Keynes
Veli Yadirgi: Affiliation:
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

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Summary

This chapter sheds some light on the fusion of Islam and nationalism in modern Kurdish history. It selectively discusses the views and activities of some influential late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Kurdish religio-political figures. It is an attempt to demonstrate that Kurdish religiosity, like that of other Muslim communities, accommodated their nationalism. Major Kurdish religious figures were open to, supported and often worked for some forms of Kurdish self-rule: they imagined Kurds as a distinct nation and therefore defended and declared the legitimacy of Kurdish political demands and rights. The latter point defines nationalism since the right to self-rule is principally based on self-referentiality. Hence, this chapter argues that the defining point of religious nationalism is that the modern religious agent creates/imagines the boundaries of her collective self within those of the national.

Keywords

Kurds nation religious nationalism self-referential self-rule

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of the Kurds , pp. 138 - 165

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108623711.006 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2021

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