Kurds speak the Kurdish languages and the Zaza – Gorani languages which belong to the Western Iranian languages branch of the Indo-European family . Religiously , although the majority of Kurds belong to the Shafi‘i school of Sunni Islam , there are also prominent numbers of Kurds who practice Shia Islam and Alevism . Minority of the Kurdish people are adherents to Yarsanism , Yazidism , Zoroastrianism and Christianity . Historically , after World War One and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire , the victorious Western allies made provision for a Kurdish state in the 1920 Treaty of Sevres . However , that promise was nullified three years later , when the Treaty of Lausanne set the boundaries of modern Turkey and made no provision for a Kurdish state , leaving Kurds with minority status in their respective countries . This fact has led to numerous genocides and rebellions , along with the current ongoing armed guerrilla conflicts in Turkey , Iran , and Syria / Rojava . Although Kurds are the majority population in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan , because of their statelessness , Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue greater cultural rights , autonomy , and independence throughout Greater Kurdistan
genocides
Anfal genocide
Kurds