Ethno-Religious Minorities in the Near East: Some Macrohistorical Reflections with Special Reference to the Zazas

Abstract

The historical study of ethnic and religious minorities in the Near East presents as an endless task for years ahead. This paper offers a tour d'horizon of key minority issues from ca. 1300 B.C. to the present while plotting the way minorities-whether defeated, put under serious constraint, tolerated or marginalised-have been conceptualised in the historical record. Looking at history this way opens up the richness and importance of 'minority studies', and allows for reflection on the history of interpretations of the 'suppressed other' over the centuries. The contribution approaches Zaza ethno-religiosity as a brief test case.