The emergence of Shia community in Lebanon can be traced back to the 7th century AD and the first Arab conquests. Their numbers were very limited and they were mainly concentrated in the Kessrouan region, a Maronite population center today. Immigration: Shia immigration would remain important in the following centuries as these minority populations of […]

In many articles Shias and Alevis are considered to be different sects while in some other the latter is known as a blanket term for a large number of different Shia communities, whose actual beliefs and ritual practices differ. Since the biggest Shia population in Turkey belongs to this group, a separate blog post is […]

Iraq’s ethnic and religious diversity Iraq’s population is predominantly Muslim. This population consists of nearly two thirds of Shia population in Iraq and the other third is mainly Sunni. This means that Iraq is one of the few countries in which Shia Muslims are a majority. One of the main features of this country is […]