[mafree]

Iranians are ethnically Persian. In fact, Iran's name was "Persia" for centuries. Persians do not consider themselves Arab, though it is admittedly hard to tell the difference.

Also, Iran is mostly Sh'ite Muslim (so is much of Syria and a good deal of Iraq), while other Muslims are mostly Sunni.

[Califreeper]

Re: religion of Iranians -- With only two exceptions, all the Iranians I've been associated with here in Los Angeles -- and we're up to our eyeballs in Iranians, are JEWISH. The two exceptions were: one Iranian-Armenian Christian, and the other, a VERY moderate Muslim who detested the mullahs, etc., in her home country.

[antivenom]

Islam

Major Branches of Islam

Branch	Number of Adherents
Sunni	940,000,000
Shiite	120,000,000
Ahmadiyya	10,000,000
Druze	450,000

Note: As with all other religions listed on this page (including Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism), not all historical branches of Islam consider each other acceptably orthodox. The numerically largest branch of Islam, Sunnis, believe that adherence to the five pillars of Islam and acceptance of certain key doctrinal positions are requisite for an individual's classification as a Muslim. Statistical data collection and secular/academic classification, however, are primarily based on self-identification and historical considerations.

The Druze, for example, are not considered part of the numerically dominant (i.e. "mainstream") Muslim grouping. But Druze are classified from a secular/historical perspective as a branch of Islam because they are derived from a branch of Shi'ite Islam. Having developed independently for hundreds of years, their cultural and religious self-concept is primarily Druze, without regard to how outside groups perceive or classify them. Nevertheless, they retain some self-concept as Muslims in addition to their clear historical ties.

This is merely a list of major branches of Islam. There are other groups which fall outside of the groups listed here. In the United States the Nation of Islam has varied widely in numerical and ideological prominence among American Muslims. It has variously been considered both heretical and acceptable by other Muslims. Sufism has been variously classified as a separate branch, a pan-Muslim movement, an order, a discipline, and as heretical or acceptable, as viewed by other groups. Movements such as the Moorish Science Temple and the Five Percenters have arisen from time to time, but have remained numerically minor. On balance, of course, Islam has exhibited far less division into different branches than other large religions.

[alieno nomine]

Good point. I overheard an Iranian mention in conversation that "Persia ends where camels begin..."

[Vigilanteman]

Another interesting little snippet is that Arab nations refer to the "Persian Gulf" as the "Arabian Gulf" on all their maps. They also supported Iraq financially in the Iran-Iraq War. One of the biggest contributors was Kuwait.

It needs to be noted that gratitude is not considered a virtue by these people. Three years did not pass between the time Kuwait pulled Iraq's chestnuts out of the fire and the murderous invasion of that country.

Another clear distinction is that Arabs speak Arabic, Iranians speak Farsi. Iran has been even less welcoming of displaced Palestinian settlers than Arabic countries. Even with their professed hatred of Israel, Iran has been a major conduit for covert Israeli military support. Much of this was brought out by the Iran-Contra hearings. Oliver North's book Under Fire goes into even more detail.