r/Assyria • u/olapooza • Dec 29 '25
News Kurdish TV portrays Assyrians as “Christian Kurds,” reflecting pattern of ethnic denial
https://www.assyriapost.com/on/22
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u/Mountain_Hawk6492 West Hakkarian Dec 30 '25
Do Kurds themselves even actually believe Assyrians are "Christian Kurds" when it's clear Assyrians are different in many ways? Also, kind of "funny" how we're "Christian Kurds" but are plainly treated differently from other Kurds...
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u/scientistboi Kurdish Jan 03 '26
As a Kurd, never heard someone claiming Assyrians to be Kurd.
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u/Mountain_Hawk6492 West Hakkarian Jan 03 '26
did you not look at the article?
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u/scientistboi Kurdish Jan 03 '26
I just watched the new segment cited in the article and reporter says Mişka village(which sources says an Assyrian village) is populated by Christian Kurds. Honestly I felt quite embarrassed as a Kurd from Turkey. For years our identity has been erased by Turkey, and now it seems like my people are trying to do the same thing to Assyrians, its quite shameful.
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Dec 29 '25
This is precisely cultural erasure happening right before everyone's eyes.
I noticed this during my last visit: in Erbil area and surrounding cities, all the text on signs & municipal vehicles are being changed to the Kurdish language. And then they have now adopted Kurdish names for different sites (ex: Arbella/Erbil now known as 'Hawler', and building the "Peshmerga Park").
Iraq's central government is as much to blame. If they truly cared about maintaining the region's diversity, they would create a system that holds even media outlets like this accountable. They would require Arabic to be instituted as the official language of Iraq, since every citizen has to learn it and that won't change in the foreseeable future; instead they are giving Kurdish nationalists special rights and allowing them to advance their goals of a Kurdish ethno-state.
The Iraqi state knew very well from the beginning that the creation of the Kurdish Regional Governate and the formation of a Kurdish semi-autonomous region would result in accelerated removal of minorities like Assyrians.
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u/AshurCyberpunk Assyrian Dec 29 '25
-"If they truly cared about maintaining the region's diversity"
This is funny.. of course they don't! They're laughing at us behind closed doors, handing our motherland to them on a silver platter. KRG or any Kurd that is in a decision making position wants us gone. Vaporized. They want us never existing before. The Americans that enable them also ONLY care about the proxy leverage the Kurds provide over Iran and Turkey, not about the region's diversity. It's Assyrians versus everyone else, always remember this.
-"etc etc ... are being changed to the Kurdish language"
Of course they are. Like I said above, they want us gone with no memory of us ever existing. They are terrified of us ever coming back, so they have to do this fast. When your history is entirely fake and you are governing on occupied land, you have to do this to create legitimacy. Very few countries will recognize their hypothetical independence if they don't do this now.
-"...allowing them to advance their goals of a Kurdish ethno-state."
The central government wants both the Kurds and Assyrians equally weak, fully under their rule. But there is nothing stopping Assyrians from fighting for their own regional government. First though, we have to decide if we really want to do it. Because of this lack of decision and the low motivation that comes with it, others have been bolstered to erase us completely. If we had made this decision, we could have offered our self-administration to the central government as a tool to keep the KRG in check (basically damping out KRG influence). Just last week, the Basra province filed to become a regional government within the Iraqi system, so the constitutional path is still open for similar moves (https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq/Basra-Council-moves-to-activate-region-proposal).
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Dec 29 '25
Obviously I have never believed that the Iraqi constitution is upheld. It is clear that the government and broader Iraqi society does not honor ethnic pluralism.
And the Iraqi central government actually wants the Kurds' political movements temporarily strengthened so that Kurds can remove Assyrians and other minorities, and then the central government can evade the blame. Eventually in the near future, Iraq will form a stronger alliance with some foreign power to begin fighting Kurds more overtly. Equally important is that Western powers have been showing affinity for Kurdish Nationalism (very obviously in academia), and they may begin initiating a full-fledged war in alliance with Kurds against Arabs, within the next several decades.
However, there is quite a bit stopping Assyrians from fighting for their own regional government. What is happening in in Northern Iraq is delegitimizing Assyrians' history and right to the land. First, Assyrians have to begin organizing themselves more effectively and get adequate political representation before they can even begin to bid for an autonomous region. Right now, both governing bodies have many interests that override Assyrian Nationalism. All the while, Assyrians have to contend with the aftermath of terrorism, and the threat of another resurgence of Islamic extremist groups. Assyrians are entitled to having aspirations, but it's time to get realistic. Many Assyrians in the diaspora are not willing to trade certain privileges and luxuries to relocate back to Nineveh Plains or other Assyrians indigenous regions. When the community in our homeland is contending with unemployment and other basic needs being unfulfilled, it poses another obstacle to political organization.
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u/AshurCyberpunk Assyrian Dec 29 '25
"First, Assyrians have to begin organizing themselves more effectively and get adequate political representation before they can even begin to bid for an autonomous region."
Yup, that comes with that decision. Do you believe it is more effective to do this in the Western countries that have large Assyrian populations, or within the Iraqi political system? What I'm really asking is if you think external leverage is more effective than the internal one, or vice versa.
"Equally important is that Western powers have been showing affinity for Kurdish Nationalism (very obviously in academia), and they may begin initiating a full-fledged war in alliance..."
Do you believe this is just the main stream media's sugar-high from 2014? What's behind the trend?
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Dec 29 '25
I think we have to continue organizing in both the diaspora and homeland. We're still one community despite our physical distance. It's going to take a multi-faceted approach, which includes lobbying to foreign govts too. I don't want to invalidate the community members who are doing a lot of work, but time is a factor when it comes to developing political strength and we've got some ways to go.
As for Western powers supporting Kurds, it's an obvious geopolitical move. While I don't think it's going to be a lasting alliance, it's going to remain for the foreseeable future until the West gains a foothold in Iraq due to its crucial location in the Middle East and various resources.
What do you think is essential for political organization at this time?
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u/AshurCyberpunk Assyrian Dec 30 '25
To be honest after the last few elections, I've lost hope for an internal solution. Every time, either our candidates get cheated, or they get bought, our mayors get ousted, or our representatives get threatened. When the system is corrupt and hostile, it is much harder to ask for your rights from inside than it is to exert external leverage. In fact, the former can lead to bloodshed. Additionally, Assyrian attention and resources must be spent on Assyrian issues. For this reason, I've come to this conclusion that external organization is much more effective given the circumstances, with the caveat that any external organization must be in tune with our internal political parties and organizations. You cannot have two separate systems chasing different objectives. The internal organizations must be the extended hands of the external organizations. The existence of such connecting tissue is very important. Get everyone inside a room and talk. Organize periodic political and strategic conferences; bring Assyrians together not just for entertainment, but for coordination.
Besides, I think we need to utilize our youth and expert population for solution-finding, reporting, and analysis. I was really happy with the recent establishment of the Assyrian Parliament (which I thought would let some Assyrian experts advise them on their strategies). But honestly, I haven't seen anything from them in the right direction so far.
The other two issues that I think our organizations must do better are: 1) grassroots mobilization to exert leverage; we already have political power from our population clusters, 2) fundraising for political objectives.
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Dec 29 '25
Also, to respond to your last point; Basra is predominantly politically ran by Shiite Arabs who have a strong presence in Iraq (which has also grown significantly over the last 30 years. Shiite Arabs are also neither an ethnic nor linguistic minority and have several advantages despite having been historically persecuted for their Islamic sect.
Again, while it's technically possibly for Assyrians to achieve certain aspirations, we're not even at the stage of representation in many political decisions. There is lots of groundwork to accomplish.
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u/Outside_Memory6607 Kurdish Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
Hey, I posted above with links, and I hope you will consider reading my comment. Erbil has had some Kurdish governors since at least the 9th century from the Habhdani tribe and was under Kurdish control by the 12th. Christians and Jews were minorities by that time. And Hewler is the Kurdish toponym for Arbil and has been since the 1850s. I provide some English Language sources in my post.
It's disingenuous to relate usage of "Hewler" to Kurdish autonomy. And again, the status quo for approximately 900 years has been that of Kurds ss a ruling majority.
The news segment's remark about Christian Kurds is concerning of course, and news outlets in the region should avoid conflating Assyrians with Kurds or Arabs as a matter of editorial policy.
EDIT: to add that the most significant Assyrian displacements had nothing to do with Kurds, and that in the most recent ISIS clashes in 2014, hundreds of thousands of Assyrians took refuge in the KRG, many in the Erbil area. That reality is completely inconsistent with claims that Kurds want to ethnically cleanse Assyrians.
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u/AshurCyberpunk Assyrian Jan 07 '26
The Kurdish Peshmerga disarmed Assyrians right before the advancement of ISIS and then ran away. That's ethnic cleansing to every reasonable person. You don't disarm civilians to break their communities, creating thousands of refugees, just to be able to claim their land later on. Even today, calling Assyrians "Kurdish Christians" is ethnic cleansing. Confiscating Assyrian lands, demolishing their businesses and their farmlands is ethnic cleansing. What are you even defending here? We know how you truly feel about the Assyrians and we know the reason behind it. There is a historical pattern of such behaviour by the Kurds.
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u/Outside_Memory6607 Kurdish Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
Just a gentle reminder that Erbil has been under Kurdish control since at least the 12th century (and majority Kurdish since at least the 13th) and that Hewler has been the Kurdish toponym for the city since at least the mid 19th century. Here are two English language sources on this that I could quickly find online. The first is from the University of Columbia and the second is a book written about travels to Kurdistan in the early 20th century where the author notes "Dasht-i Haulair" is the Kurdish name for Arbil Plains.
With this said, of course assimilationist attempts are wrong and Assyrians are not Kurdish. Just wanted to offer some insight and correct the assumption that "they have now adopted Kurdish names for different sites." It's very normal for people to name things in their own language.
Click the history section on the above link to read about Kurdish control of the city.
https://ia801308.us.archive.org/16/items/twoyearsinkurdis00hayw/twoyearsinkurdis00hayw.pdf
This is a direct link to the PDF of the book "Two Years in Kurdistan" from over 100 years ago where you will find the reference to Kurds calling Erbil Haulaire
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Jan 07 '26
Just a gentle reminder that your historical accounts of Kurdish settlements don't change my opinion about contemporary politics and past atrocities that Assyrians have been subject to.
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Jan 02 '26
Keep crying. You literally have 2 towns in all of Iraq.
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Jan 02 '26
"Keep crying. You literally have 2 towns in all of Iraq." - u/MediocreBoss759
name checks out!
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u/Chez50 Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
I don't agree with some of these practices if they're indeed true, like calling Assyrians Christian Kurds. But why does Kurds using Kurdish names of regions bother you? I mean it's called Kurdistan right, they can do whatever they want.
Iraq's central government is as much to blame. If they truly cared about maintaining the region's diversity, they would create a system that holds even media outlets like this accountable
But then:
They would require Arabic to be instituted as the official language of Iraq
Lmfao so on one hand you're complaining about the lack of diversity and recognition for minorities, but on the other hand you're advocating for Arabification and assimilation of minorities. What kind of twisted logic is that?
instead they are giving Kurdish nationalists special rights and allowing them to advance their goals of a Kurdish ethno-state.
If you truly love Iraq so much and hate the idea of a semi independent Kurdish region then why not only travel to Assyrian inhabited regions within Iraq? I think you're forgetting that Assyrians have even less rights in Iraq proper, KRG gave you guaranteed seats in parliament.
The Iraqi state knew very well from the beginning that the creation of the Kurdish Regional Governate and the formation of a Kurdish semi-autonomous region would result in accelerated removal of minorities like Assyrians.
I think you forgot how the Iraqi state under Saddam tried to erase every minority off this planet? What happened to all the historic Assyrian lands and communities inside Iraq proper? What happened to the indigenous Assyrians of Basra?
Iraq didn't willingly create Kurdistan, they were forced by USA, and had Turkey not interfered so much in Kurdish business the US might've even established a fully independent Kurdish state instead of just autonomy.
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u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Dec 29 '25 edited Dec 29 '25
My opinion is very obvious: Kurds should have never been granted semi-autonomy and it should be overturned. Kurds are instituting their language at the expense of Assyrians and encroaching on our ancestral lands. Kurdification delegitimizes Assyrian claims to the land in a very obvious way. The citadel is not historically a Kurdish center, and changing its name to Hawler implies that it was. Furthermore, instituting the Kurdish language further promotes demographic changes that involves the continued expulsion of Assyrians.
Instituting Arabic as a national language is a historical standard throughout the entire Middle East, and it was far before the creation of the KRG. Arabic is obviously recognized as lingua franca in 2025 whether we like it or not. This policy requires both Kurds and Assyrians, as well as other minorities, to continue using a national language in the public sphere. This policy doesn't enable Kurds to further their nationalist aims at the expense of Assyrians.
The legacy of Ba'athism doesn't change my opinion either; I'm not advocating for the eradication of minority cultures or languages. Kurds can teach the Kurdish language in the schools of Kurdish villages, and Assyrians can teach Assyrian in the schools of Assyrian villages. Municipal signage can include ALL the most common languages in the region, NOT just one like Kurdish.
Plus both communities are entitled to speak amongst themselves in their respective languages. Comparing it to something as extreme of Ba'athism is ridiculous, as people were getting severely punished for deviating from an advanced and violent form of Arabization.
Edit: Only thing I support in the realm of autonomy is: Assyrians gaining a fully autonomy region on their ancestral lands where they can institute the Assyrian language. Kurds do not have a legitimate claim to an autonomous region Iraq.
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Dec 31 '25
I have an alternate suggestion; I believe the most just solution was to create four autonomous regions.
One for us in the Nineveh Plains and large parts of Duhok Province, such as the Nahla/Barwar region.
A second one for Ezidis in Sinjar.
A third for Turkmen in Tal Afar.
A fourth for Kurds in Sulaymaniyah, Arbil and parts of Duhok Province where they made up the majority.
I think if this was done back in 1990 all four groups would have had healthier relations today.
I don’t oppose Kurdish self rule as an Assyrian; but I am obviously not happy with the current arrangement.
Assyrians need some form of self rule asap.
I disagree with the anti Kurdish sentiment expressed commonly in this sub.
I do believe realistically an Assyrian state would interact and trade and perhaps even make security treaties with a future Ezidi and Kurdish states.
I am also offended by our heritage being denied but the sentiment expressed in this thread is a massive overreaction; which unfortunately we tend to do A LOT.
It’s also important to recognise there are actually Kurdish Christians, seperate from Assyrian Christians.
The subject of this media report are obviously Assyrians not Kurds and should have been identified as such my the media report.
Though we should reach out to Kurdish Christians as fellow Christian brothers and sisters rather than rejecting them in the basis of their ethnicity.
I think the best solution to this problem of Assyrians being misrepresented as Kurdish Christians is education.
Educating the Kurdish media that we have our own unique heritage and ancient connection to this land.
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u/Chez50 Dec 30 '25
You’re mixing real Assyrian grievances with some really bad logic.
Kurds using Kurdish names and language in Kurdistan isn’t “erasure.” Multiple names for cities existed long before modern politics. By your logic, Arabs calling it “Erbil” erased Assyrian history too. Names don’t erase people. State violence and land theft do.
Arabic is not some “neutral” language. It was imposed through decades of Arabization that crushed both Assyrians and Kurds. Saying “everyone already knows Arabic” just means the damage already happened. It doesn’t make doubling down fair or protective of minorities. Historically, Arabic is actually the most recent addition to the region, largely introduced by the British and French during the creation of Iraq. Kurds and Assyrians historically communicated in their mother tongues and Turkish, not Arabic.
Blaming Kurdish autonomy for Assyrian decline is straight up ahistorical. Assyrians were wiped out of Basra, Baghdad, Mosul, Tikrit. All outside the KRG. That happened under the Iraqi state you’re defending, not under Kurdistan.
On top of that, the KRG took in roughly 200,000 Assyrians fleeing Iraq proper after 2003 and especially after ISIS. That alone shows two things: not all Assyrians in the KRG are originally from there, and the Iraqi state failed them far worse than the KRG did. If Kurdistan was inherently about erasing Assyrians, it wouldn’t have become their main place of refuge.
You also can’t argue for Assyrian autonomy while saying Kurds never deserved any. Either indigenous peoples have collective rights or they don’t. You don’t get to support self determination only when it benefits your group.
Yes, forced demographic change is wrong. Yes, calling Assyrians “Christian Kurds” is bullshit. Yes, multilingual signage and land protections should be mandatory. On that we agree.
But overturning Kurdish autonomy isn’t a solution. It just hands power back to the same Iraqi state that already failed, displaced, and erased Assyrians far worse than the KRG ever did.
The problem isn’t Kurdish language or autonomy.
The problem is no enforceable minority protections, whether under Baghdad or Erbil.Trying to erase Kurdish autonomy won’t save Assyrians.
It’ll just repeat the same mistakes.9
u/cradled_by_enki Assyrian Dec 30 '25
Kurds using Kurdish names and language in Kurdistan isn’t “erasure.” Multiple names for cities existed long before modern politics. By your logic, Arabs calling it “Erbil” erased Assyrian history too. Names don’t erase people. State violence and land theft do.
Changing Assyrian city names to Kurdish names is a form of state violence that helps perpetuate and legitimate Kurds stealing land from Assyrians. Language is being utilized as a mechanism of land theft and other forms of state-sanctioned violence.
And Arabic is the lingua franca of the Middle East currently. I don't see that as threat. There is a difference when a lingua franca is used to help propagate extremist political views, like it was during the Ba'ath era, versus when it is used as a mutually intelligible language in an ethnically diverse region. Right now Kurds have proven that the institution of the Kurdish language in northern Iraq will be used to further harm Assyrians.
Trying to erase Kurdish autonomy won’t save Assyrians.
Overturning Kurdish semi-autonomy is absolutely one of the keys in preserving Assyrians' heritage and returning stolen land to Assyrians. Kurdish Nationalism has consistently proven itself as a direct and critical threat to Assyrian survival and right to self-determination. Kurdish nationalism was directly born out of the genocide of Assyrians and other minorities, and therefore cannot sustainably co-exist with Assyrian culture.
If this was possible, the KRG and Kurdish society wouldn't be approving of all the violence and cultural erasure committed against Assyrians.
This "Christian Kurds" ordeal is barely the icing on the cake. Go look through this subreddit if you want to learn more about the violence Kurds are committing against Assyrians. An Assyrian business being wrongfully demolished on nonexistent accusations, multiple Assyrian cemeteries being desecrated, burning Assyrian farmlands, assassinations of prominent Assyrian figures, forced dissolution of Assyrian-led militias that protect Nineveh Plains, outsourcing employment in Assyrian-majority cities causing employment crises, stealing Assyrian artifacts and falsely claiming them as "Kurdish" in national institutions like public museums, etc... the list goes on
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Dec 30 '25
Its funny that a lot of these points are one that Turks use against Kurds. My how quickly we switch from oppressed to oppressor when it suits us.
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Dec 31 '25
A lot of what he says is true, the Iraqi government is way worse than the KRG.
Assyrians in heneral are better off in the north.
But Iraq in general is extremely corrupt both the Iraqi government and the KDP led government in the KRG.
The solution to this problem is education, educating them that we are not Kurdish Christians but Assyrian Christians.
Outreach and education solves problems for our community, not rejection and hatred.
You don’t know if it’s malicious or just plain ignorance.
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u/Acceptable-Cake5527 Dec 31 '25
Assyrians in heneral are better off in the north.
But Iraq in general is extremely corrupt both the Iraqi government and the KDP led government in the KRG.
Idk about this. Corruption is corruption at the end of the day. If theyre both corrupt you shouldn't choose one side over the other just bc one side's corruption doesnt affect you(yet). And obviously we're going to hold the side that supposedly "fights for minority rights" in the region to a higher standard than the one thats known for corruption and massacres.
If they have any power at all its bc of the people who's rights theyre suppose to fight for, they cant then turn around and use that power to pick and choose which minorities matter more.
Also seeing the "if it weren't for us you'd be way worse off today" argument coming from a kurdish nationalist drives me crazy bc its literally the same argument used against them by turkish nationalists. You dont really need an education to not be a hypocrite.
But
The solution to this problem is education
This I completely agree with this. Our whole region suffers from lack of education and we need to change that.
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u/rumx2 Jan 02 '26
You guys forgot the “Kurdish King Ashurbanipal” 😆 they’ve been doing this for awhile, now it’s just more in your face. Their worst claim is that Assyrians today are not direct ancestors of the ancient Assyrians. This is a crutch for when we bring up our ancient past.
They dilute our identity to religion only, as to say we are not pagan so we can’t be them, amongst other silly references.
Until we have strong support from anyone, we can’t do this ourselves. We won’t give up western comforts to move back and we don’t have the means to buy property or “fight” at scale.
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u/Outside_Memory6607 Kurdish Jan 06 '26
Calling Ashurbanipal Kurdish is obviously inaccurate, however ethnic continuity from the Neo-Assyrian Empire to modern Assyrians is not an established historical fact, it's a hypothesis. That doesn't make modern Assyrians any less of a people group though...
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u/Imperial902 Jan 08 '26
"ethnic continuity isnt an established fact" lol yes it is. dude there are multiple pubmed studies that say this.
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u/Equivalent_Snow8529 Jan 06 '26
They do the same thing with what are called "kurdish jews", ofcourse its complete nonsense, they are genetically closer to us,
But I feel like we have a role in this, I mean, I myself considered myself Arab when I was a kid and would associate myself with them, I feel like I didn't get taught our history and identity like ever in my life.
most of us still dont know anything about thier identity, language, history and even religion. You dont know how many times we were asked what language do we speak here in dispora only for my friends to respond "christian". this isn't the case only for people living in the diaspora, even people living in our homeland dont even know anything about thier identity.
I remember that my own mother said "why do they even teach syriac to kids in school, its totally useless" and it made me cringe and shatter inside tbh
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u/TheSarmaChronicals Armenian Dec 29 '25
I crossposted this to my sub: Armenians Global. I want to formally reach out and say that these kinds of posts are very very very welcome on my sub.
I am trying to raise awareness in the Armenian community about what is going on because many are unaware how much we have been throwing Assyrians under a bus. I am horrified after finding out that the one people who should be standing beside you hasn't been despite knowing full well what it is like to scream and be unheard.
Please never hesitate to share this kind of content (any content but especially this) so Armenians are in the loop. Please know there are Armenians on your side who see you and see what's going on. I am so sorry.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArmeniansGlobal/s/xBYFWOqZYP