Armenians are one of the ethnic components of the Iraqi social spectrum. Nothing was known about Armenians of Iraq except as Christians or as migrants from Armenia originally. It is well known that the Armenians of Iraq are generally keen to preserve their Armenian ethnic and cultural entity and are usually peaceful and far from being involved in political conflicts and polarization. However, some people might imagine them living in the shadows or margins of Iraqi life, especially since there is a near-total absence of studies on Iraqi Armenians in the different fields of humanities and social sciences. This gives us an impression of their conservatism and closeness, but this dissipates as soon as the researcher goes to investigate them. This leaves us with a number of questions about the existence of Armenian people in Iraq. What is their relationship with the mother country, Armenia? What are the demographic characteristics of their population in Arabic countries? What are the social and cultural characteristics of their lifestyle in Iraq, including marriage customs? What were their roles in the development of Iraqi public life if they existed in Iraq? Do they have a conflict of social identity? All these queries are our current research concerns through which to introduce Iraqi Armenians to the reader and interested parties.
Hamied Mahwies Al-Hashimi is Iraqi-born and British naturalised, a Professor of Sociology at ICIS (International Colleges of Islamic Sciences), London and visiting professor at Al Qadisiya University in Iraq. Before this, Professor Hashimi worked as a fieldwork social researcher at (NatCen: Social Research), London, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Europe, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2001–2007) and as a staff member of the Department of Sociology, College of Arts in Zouwara-Libya (1994–1998). He is the author of seven published books; Armenians of Iraq: History, Culture, Identity; Gypsies in Iraq; Arab Immigrants in the Netherlands; Towards Forming a Theoretical Framework on Social Integration; and Iraqi sociologist Ali Al Wardi’s Methodology in Studying Iraqi and Arab Societies. Interesting research areas: immigration, social integration, identity and sub-identities, sub-cultures, Arab World and Middle East social and cultural issues. hashimi98@gmail.com