The Qashqa’i are a semi-settled and pastoral nomadic tribe, residing mainly in the southern Iranian province of Fars.  Although they are identified as Iranians, the Qashqa’i are actually of Turkish ethnicity and speak Qashqa’i Turkic.  However, as Shia Muslims, they belong to the Iranian religious majority, and, generally also speak Farsi. 

During the 11th century, many Turkish pastoral nomads entered into central and southern Iran and settled in the multi-ethnic section of Fars.  As the groups blended into communities, a large confederation of tribes developed that became known as the Qashqa’i.[1]  Luri, Kurdish, Persian, Arabic, Baluchi and Rom tribes have all participated in the formation of this confederacy over the course of several centuries; over time, these different ethnic groups integrated, and consequently adopted Qashqa’i ethnic and linguistic characteristics. 

Despite the Qashqa’i nomadic tradition, the 1960 land reforms led many to settle in towns on the traditional route between summer and winter pastures. [2]    

Demography

While exact population figures are difficult to ascertain, sources indicate that there are an estimated 500,000 to 1.5 million Qashqa’is in the world.[3][4][5]  In a Library of Congress Country profile of Iran in 2006, Qashqa’is were put at 2 percent of the Iranian population.[6]

Geographic Distribution

The Qashqa’i live mainly in the southern provinces of Iran.  While the majority of Qashqa’is live in Fars, there are also smaller communities in Khuzestan, Bushehr, and southern Esfahan.  The city of Shiraz is known as the major Qashqa’i center.[7]  For those Qashqa’is who remain nomads, the year is spent between the low plains near the Persian Gulf and the high summer pastures of the northeast, with stops passing through Shiraz along the way.[8]

Historic Hardship

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Qashqa’i were a significant political force.  During World War II, Qashqa’is maintained organized resistance against the British occupation forces and even received assistance from the Germans, becoming the major political force in southern Persia.  There was a major rebellion of various tribal confederacies in 1946 that included the Qashqa’i, who resisted until the invading Russians were repelled.  The Qashqa’i revolted between 1962-1964 due to the land reforms of the White Revolution, however, the uprising was put down, resulting in the settlement of many Qashqa’i and the exiling of most tribal leaders. After the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution, Khosrow Khan Qashqai, a prominent Qashqa’i leader, moved back to Iran from Germany, only to be arrested and publicly executed on charges of promoting an uprising against the government.[9]  In 2005, Miloon Kothari, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, condemned the recent confiscation of land owned by minority groups such as the Qashqa’i.  Tehran’s objective with these policies, according to human rights activists, was to implement “ethnic restructuring” by forced migration out of the oil and sugar-rich Khuzestan province.  In addition to land confiscation, the Qashqa’is also had to deal with traditional pastures being sold to the private sector.[10] 

Ongoing Hardship

Following the Islamic Revolution, various Qashqa’i customs, such as public dancing, the playing of traditional music on oboes and skin drums, and stick-fighting games performed to music, were declared immoral and anti-Islamic by the new government.[11] 

The extent of continuous discrimination is not known.  However, various laws still deem certain Qashqa’i practices to be anti-Islamic, despite the fact that the group is Shia Muslim. 

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