Rasmus Elling à propos des Iraniens arabes du Khuzestan :
▻https://twitter.com/rasmuselling/status/1044129573355614208
There is a widespread misconception that Iranian Arabs of #Khuzestan are Sunni, not Shiite. This pops up in some international media coverage whenever there is unrest like the recent #Ahvaz terror attack. But its also prevalent among Iranians, both inside and outside #Iran.
In fact, even the Iranian state sometimes get it wrong. In Dec 2013 an MP complained to Ministry of Education that a high school book depicted #Khuzestan as Sunni.
▻http://www.khouznews.ir/fa/news/53076/اشتباه-فاحش-آموزش-و-پرورش-در-معرفی-مناطق-سنی-نشین-کشور-خوزستان-سراسر-شیعه-
I believe there are several reasons. First, some confuse with communities of Arab-speakers outside Khuzestan, some of whom are Sunni (incl. along Persian Gulf littoral south of Bushehr). Second, general ignorance about the roughly 1 million Arabs of Khuzestan: some seem to believe that “Arab” equals “Sunni” (despite the fact that neighbouring Iraq has Shiite majority). Finally, there is the tendency, since the early 00s, to conflate ethnic with sectarian strife. We automatically assume inter-communal violence is a question of Shia/Sunni. This is further exacerbated by concerted efforts by media and activists associated with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States to promote the idea that young Arabs in Khuzestan are “converting” to Sunnism. This is a political ploy and we only have scant anecdotal evidence that a few Arabs may have done this. The vast majority are staunch Shiites and have been Shiites for centuries and are regularly hailed by Shiite clergy in Iran as such.
