1. A nation of people who wish to be their own state.
Kurdistan
A nation of people who wish to be their own state.

3. The Middle East

4. The Middle East if redrawn along nationalistic boundaries . . .

5. A much more conservative Kurdistan

6. How many Kurds are there?
Turkey: 11.4 – 12.6 million people
Iran: 4.8 – 6.6 million people
Iraq: 4-6 million people
Syria: 0.6 – 2 million people
The “Stans” of central Asia also have significant populations of Kurds (tens of thousands)
Israel, Germany, France, Sweden also have tens of thousands

7. Who are the Kurds? An ethnic group with unclear ancient origins
Their histories go back to around 3,000 BC as existing as a separate and unique group
Most of them are Sunni Muslims
They are not Arabic, like most people of the Middle East are

8. Why do the Kurds want independence?
They have been the targets of many ethnic cleansings and other discrimination.