This paper provides a general background of the Kurdish community in Lebanon, including their history, geography, ethno-linguistic diversity, citizenship and socioeconomic status, and associational organization. The paper also discusses the reasons why Kurds are not well integrated into the Lebanese political system and what impact this had on their status in the country and on their Kurdish identity.

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The Kurdish presence in Lebanon goes as far back as World War I years; however, their major influx took place in the two decades between Sheikh Sai'd's revolt in 1925 and World War II. (1) This was followed by another major wave in the period between the mid-1940s and early 1960s. While a considerable number of the second wave moved to Lebanon from Syria escaping the poor economic conditions and the cultural and political repression that began there in 1958, virtually all Lebanese Kurds originated from the villages of Mardin and its surrounding areas. Oral accounts of the success of Kurds who had already moved to Lebanon, as well as the country's proximity to Kurdistan, were important incentives that encouraged the second group to move (Ahmad, 1995, p. 83).

Although Kurds in Lebanon are designated as one coherent group in the perception of the mainstream Lebanese population, a closer look at the community uncovers a great deal of internal ethno-linguistic divisions. In contrast to its religious homogeneity (all being Sunni Muslims), the Kurdish community in Lebanon is divided into two main groups: those who speak the Kurmanji (or Bahdinani) dialect and those who speak an Arabic dialect imbued with Kurdish, Syriac, and Turkish influences. Kurmanji speakers understand this Arabic dialect (which many members of the community call "Mhallami" or "Mardalli") more easily than vice versa. This is primarily due to the fact that all Kurmanji speakers understand and communicate in Arabic very well.

The Kurmanji speakers, often referred to as "Kurmanj," account for approximately one-third of the community. Most of them originated from the villages of Fafeh, Jibl-Graw, Kinderib, Marjeh, Marska, and Matina and speak Kurdish as first language and Arabic as second. Many of them, however, have forgotten their mother language, primarily because there is no school in Lebanon that teaches Kurdish, a fact that makes it very difficult for the community to preserve the language after generations of residence in the country.

The Arabic-dialect-speaking Kurds are referred to in a variety of different ways. For these Kurds, the process of defining oneself is often a laborious and vague process that entails a lot of confusion and shifting from one label to another. When they are invited to talk about their ethnicity, members of this group refer to themselves as "Arab Kurds" or "Mardallis" and, in some cases, as "Arabs" or as "Kurds." The context and identity of people they interact with determines how they identify themselves (Kawtharani, 2003, p. 65). The majority, however, refer to themselves after the clusters of villages from where they came, such as "al-Rashdiye" and "Mhallamiye." (2) For the purposes of this paper, the Kurmanji-speaking...