April 2025 , Pages 1118-1140
Prof.Dr. Hakim Ahmed Mambaker 1 ; Asst.L. Qasim Mohammad Faraj 2
1 Salahuddin University- Erbil
2 Kurdistan Center - Sulaimani University
The Kurds played a prominent role in building Islamic civilization, as a fundamental component of the Islamic social fabric during the Middle Ages. They contributed to various intellectual, scientific, and cultural fields while preserving their national identity, language, and cultural heritage. Despite this distinction, their contributions stemmed from a vision aligned with Islamic principles, embodying the unity of the Muslim community within a framework of diversity, without any one group being at the expense of another.
The Kurds affirmed their identity and distinctiveness through the use of surnames reflecting their national, tribal, or geographical affiliations, alongside preserving authentic Kurdish names derived from their natural, social, and cultural environment. Islam reinforced this trend through its principles that call for respecting cultural diversity and expressing national identity, considering this a manifestation of the Creator's will, as God Almighty says:
“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous of you. Indeed, God is Knowing and Acquainted.” (Quran 49:13).
Tracing Kurdish names with national, tribal, or geographical connotations in traditional Islamic sources reveals the profound presence of Kurds in the course of Islamic civilization and confirms their significant influence throughout various historical periods. These names also serve as evidence of their preservation of their national identity, which is documented in Islamic heritage books that preserved the names of their prominent figures and their prominent roles in the flourishing of Islamic civilization during the Middle Ages.