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Turkey: Religions & People |
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99% of the Turkish population are Muslims, while there is about 1% who
are Christians. While Turkey holds a long history of being a harbor for
people persecuted because of their beliefs, little today could bring
religious conflicts forward. The Turkish state of today does not declare
itself as Muslim. The few Christians are mainly Armenians. There are some
Shih's living in the southeastern parts of
Turkey, making up some percent of the population.
The Turks are a mixture of the indigenous population living in the region, the Turk-Tatarians immigrating from 11th century and the two following centuries. In the centuries following this immigration, people came from all over the Mediterranean world, as well as from Caucasia. |
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The Kurds make up approximately 15% of the population of Turkey, but
represent the majority in many regions of the country. Today Kurds live
over all Turkey, but the heart areas of the Kurds are in the west, in
the mountainous areas close to Iran, Iraq, Syria, and even Azerbaijan.
Different from the Turks, who look at themselves as descendants of
immigrants coming from Central Asia, the Kurds are the indigenous people
of the region they inhabit. The Kurds are Sunni Muslims.
Turkey has also got other peoples, like Greeks, Arabs, Armenians, Jews. Which percentage they make up of the Turkish is highly uncertain, as many out of these have taken a Turkish identity. Greeks and Armenians could make up as much as 2-3% of the population. |
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