Maslawi
Encyclopedia
A Maslawi is a person who is from the city of Mosul
, Iraq
. A Maslawi does not indicate ones ethnicity, religion or religious sector, as a maslawi can either be an Arab
, Kurd
, Turkoman
or Assyrian
(although, most Kurds of Mosul prefer not to be grouped under the term maslawi).
Maslawi as a term is also used to show the affiliation of any person, object, concept or etc.to Mosul city.
Maslawis have also their own accent of the Iraqi Arabic
dialect (the Maslawi dialect). It puts more emphases on "gh" and replace "r", in some words.
This dialect is considered to be similar to the Syrian Arabic
and this can be explained by the short distance between Mosul and some of the major Syria
n cities.
Maslawi person is usually presumed to be Sunni Arab since the majority of people in Mosul (i.e. Maslawis) are Arabs who are Sunni Muslims. Even though a Maslawi can be Shia Arab
, Arab Christian, Assyrian Christian, Sunni Kurd
, Turkoman
or of any other religious and ethnic background.
The Christian community of Mosul was prior to the Iraq War the second largest Christian community of all Iraqi cities after Baghdad
, with such small dominance as Syriac Catholic Church
, Syriac Orthodox Church
, Greek Orthodox and Chaldean Catholic in addition to the large community of the Assyrian church of the East
. Most of the and Assyrians/Chaldeans live in the villages near to Mosul or other Northern areas (see list of Assyrian villages) and Arab Christians live in center of Mosul.
The Muslim
majority of Maslawis is considered religious, prayer chants from Mosques can be heard in the streets of Mosul throughout the week and women who don't wear head scarves are usually presumed to be non-Muslims. Sunni Arabs (Arabs who are Muslims and follow the Sunni branch of Islam) are in between moderate religious and far right religious. Maslawis of non-Muslim religious backgrounds tend to be less religious when being compared with the rest of Iraq, but are not close to the secularism of the people of Turkey
. However, Kurds (Sunni Muslims of Kurdish ethnic background) tend to be the least religious, Assyrian Christians of Mosul also tend to be less religious when being compared with the rest of the Assyrian population of Iraq.
There used to be Jewish Maslawis as well, that resided in Mosul all the way up to 1950s. Almost all of the Jewish quarter of Mosul emigrated to either Israel
or the U.S..
Recent years have shown a distinction of 2 types of Maslawis, the original group of Maslawis who come from families with a long history of being in Mosul that goes many centuries back in history, and other Maslawis who migrated to the city in the last decades from rural and sub-urban areas mainly around the city.
Maslawis in Diaspora tend to form a tight and close community with each other, and they usually make a harmonized unity despite their religious and ethnic backgrounds, as the love for their city of origin unites them.
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. A Maslawi does not indicate ones ethnicity, religion or religious sector, as a maslawi can either be an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, Kurd
Kürd
Kürd or Kyurd or Kyurt may refer to:*Kürd Eldarbəyli, Azerbaijan*Kürd Mahrızlı, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Goychay, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Jalilabad, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Qabala, Azerbaijan*Qurdbayram, Azerbaijan...
, Turkoman
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
or Assyrian
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
(although, most Kurds of Mosul prefer not to be grouped under the term maslawi).
Maslawi as a term is also used to show the affiliation of any person, object, concept or etc.to Mosul city.
Maslawis have also their own accent of the Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic is a continuum of mutually intelligible Arabic varieties native to the Mesopotamian basin of Iraq as well as spanning into eastern and northern Syria, western Iran, southeastern Turkey, and spoken in respective Iraqi diaspora communities.-Varieties:Iraqi Arabic has two major varieties...
dialect (the Maslawi dialect). It puts more emphases on "gh" and replace "r", in some words.
This dialect is considered to be similar to the Syrian Arabic
Syrian Arabic
Syrian Arabic is a variety of Arabic spoken in Syria.-History:Syrian Arabic proper is a form of Levantine Arabic, and may be divided into South Syrian Arabic, spoken in the cities of Damascus, Homs and Hama, and North Syrian Arabic, spoken in the region of Aleppo. Allied dialects are spoken in...
and this can be explained by the short distance between Mosul and some of the major Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n cities.
Maslawi person is usually presumed to be Sunni Arab since the majority of people in Mosul (i.e. Maslawis) are Arabs who are Sunni Muslims. Even though a Maslawi can be Shia Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
, Arab Christian, Assyrian Christian, Sunni Kurd
Kürd
Kürd or Kyurd or Kyurt may refer to:*Kürd Eldarbəyli, Azerbaijan*Kürd Mahrızlı, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Goychay, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Jalilabad, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Qabala, Azerbaijan*Qurdbayram, Azerbaijan...
, Turkoman
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
or of any other religious and ethnic background.
The Christian community of Mosul was prior to the Iraq War the second largest Christian community of all Iraqi cities after Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, with such small dominance as Syriac Catholic Church
Syriac Catholic Church
The Syriac Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant having practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. They are one of the Eastern Catholic Churches following the Antiochene rite, the Syriac tradition of Antioch, along with the Maronites and Syro-Malankara Christians...
, Syriac Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
, Greek Orthodox and Chaldean Catholic in addition to the large community of the Assyrian church of the East
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
. Most of the and Assyrians/Chaldeans live in the villages near to Mosul or other Northern areas (see list of Assyrian villages) and Arab Christians live in center of Mosul.
The Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
majority of Maslawis is considered religious, prayer chants from Mosques can be heard in the streets of Mosul throughout the week and women who don't wear head scarves are usually presumed to be non-Muslims. Sunni Arabs (Arabs who are Muslims and follow the Sunni branch of Islam) are in between moderate religious and far right religious. Maslawis of non-Muslim religious backgrounds tend to be less religious when being compared with the rest of Iraq, but are not close to the secularism of the people of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. However, Kurds (Sunni Muslims of Kurdish ethnic background) tend to be the least religious, Assyrian Christians of Mosul also tend to be less religious when being compared with the rest of the Assyrian population of Iraq.
There used to be Jewish Maslawis as well, that resided in Mosul all the way up to 1950s. Almost all of the Jewish quarter of Mosul emigrated to either Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
or the U.S..
Recent years have shown a distinction of 2 types of Maslawis, the original group of Maslawis who come from families with a long history of being in Mosul that goes many centuries back in history, and other Maslawis who migrated to the city in the last decades from rural and sub-urban areas mainly around the city.
Maslawis in Diaspora tend to form a tight and close community with each other, and they usually make a harmonized unity despite their religious and ethnic backgrounds, as the love for their city of origin unites them.
Famous Maslawis
- Kazem al-Saher, music artist
- Hawar Mulla MohammedHawar Mulla MohammedHawar Mulla Mohammed Taher Zebari is an Iraqi Kurdish football player, who plays as Winger and Wingback positions for Zob Ahan in Iran. Hawar is known to be one of the best players in Iraqi national team and was a key figure in Iraq 2007 Asian Cup glory...
, football player - Salih JaberSalih JaberSaleh Jaber is an Iraqi football player who currently plays for Partizanul Merei in Romania. He played once for the Iraq national team.-Career :...
, football player - Tariq AzizTariq AzizTariq Aziz and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party...
, Deputy Prime Minister 1979-2003 (from Tel KeppeTel KeppeTel Keppe , is one of the largest formerly Assyrian towns in Iraq. It is located in the Ninawa Governorate, less than 8 miles North East of Mosul in northern Iraq.-Etymology:...
) - Jamil al-MidfaiJamil al-MidfaiJamil al-Midfai was an Iraqi politician. He served as that country's prime minister on five separate occasions:# November 9, 1933 – August 25, 1934# March 1, 1935 – March 16, 1935...
, Prime Minister - Ghazi Yawar, President 2004-2005