Forced migration and displacement of Iraqi minorities in Austria

Historically, religious minorities in the Middle East have hardly been explored. Sometimes there are shifts as a result of religious persecution by radical forces, such as the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq. This research conducts a transnational analysis of the displacement of minorities from Iraq by examining migratory movements to Austria. The work is based on field research and documentary research in Austria and Iraq and the study of ethnic displacement and mobilization. This project includes an inquiry into how the Iraqi minorities (Christian (Assyrian), Yazidi, Bahai and Shabak, Jewish, Mandaen, Kakai) with different religious backgrounds are accecpted in the host country.

Behnaz Hosseini is a researcher in religious minorities and gender in the Middle East at the university of Vienna.