Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: What percentage of the Iranian population is Jewish?
Iran's Jewish community is officially recognized as a religious minority group by the government, and, like the Zoroastrians and Christians, they are allocated one seat in the Iranian Parliament. Siamak Moreh Sedgh is the current Jewish member of the parliament, replacing Maurice Motamed in the 2008 election. In 2000, former Jewish MP Manuchehr Eliasi estimated that at that time there were still 60,000–85,000 Jews in Iran; most other sources put the figure at 25,000. As of 2018, only 8,500 Jews still live in Iran and they constitute 0,01% of Iranian population, a number confirmed by Sergio DellaPergola, a leading Jewish demographer.
The majority of the population speak Persian, which is also the official language of the country. Others include speakers of a number of other Iranian languages within the greater Indo-European family, and languages belonging to some other ethnicities living in Iran.
Shia–Sunni discord in Iraq starts with disagreement over the relative population of the two groups. According to most sources, including the CIA's "World Factbook", the majority of Iraqis are Shia Arab Muslims (60%-70%), and Sunni Arab Muslims represent between 32% and 37% of the population. However, Sunni are split ethnically among Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. Many Sunnis hotly dispute their minority status, including ex-Iraqi Ambassador Faruq Ziada, and many believe Shia majority is "a myth spread by America". One Sunni belief shared by Jordan's King Abdullah as well as his then Defense Minister Shaalan is that Shia numbers in Iraq were inflated by Iranian Shias crossing the border. Shia scholar Vali Nasr believes the election turnout in summer and December 2005 confirmed a strong Shia majority in Iraq.
97% of Iraqis follow Islam: 61% Shia and 34% Sunni. 1% of these describe themselves as "Just a Muslim". According to the CIA Factbook, Shias make up 60% of population, while Sunnis 35%. Christianity accounts for 5%, and the rest practice Mandaeism, Yazidism and other religions.
The next largest minority population is the Christian population (2%), many of whom live with Jewish communities. Rather than have their own education and medical institutions they have integrated into state institutions. The Christian population in Israel is the only Christian population in the Middle East that has grown in the last half century. Christians choose to live in Israel because they have freedom of speech and the freedom to practice religion.
Christian Arabs comprise about 9% of the Arab population in Israel. Approximately 70% reside in the north, in Jish, Eilabun, Kafr Yasif, Kafr Kanna, I'billin, Shefa-'Amr. Some Druze villages, such as Hurfeish and Maghar, have small Christian Arab populations. Nazareth has the largest Christian Arab population. The near entirety of Haifa's Arab minority is Christian as well. There are 117,000 or more Christian Arabs in Israel (and more than 35,000 non-Arab Christians). As of 2014 the Melkite Greek Catholic Church was the largest Christian community in Israel, where about 60% of Israeli Christians belonged to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, while around 30% of Israeli Christians belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem.
Kings Point, a village constituting part of Great Neck, has the greatest percentage of Iranians in the United States (approximately 40%). Unlike the Iranian community in Los Angeles, which contains a large number of non-Jewish Iranians, the Iranian population in and around Great Neck is almost entirely Jewish.
Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles communities of Bel-Air and Brentwood were the destinations of many Iranian immigrants, who were the first immigrant groups to settle in these communities. In addition to those places Iranians also live in Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, and Westwood. As of 2007 there were about 8,000 Iranians in Beverly Hills, making up about 20% of the city's population, and as of 1990 the majority of Iranians in Beverly Hills were Jewish. By that year many Iranian restaurants and businesses were established in a portion of Westwood Boulevard south of Wilshire Boulevard. In 1990 Ivan Light, a sociologist for the University of California, Los Angeles, stated that the Westwood Boulevard area was the only "central location" for Iranians in Los Angeles and that they were otherwise dispersed throughout the area.
The number of Jews living in Denmark today is approximately 1900, according to Finn Schwarz, president of Mosaisk Troessamfund. Comparing to 1997, this number indicates a significant decrease in the Jewish population of Denmark, which the Jewish community has explained by the increasing of antisemitic incidents. However, research from Danish professor Peter Nannestad has shown that antisemitism in Denmark is confined to other minority groups and not an issue in Danish society at large. Rather, the fact that Denmark has become increasingly secular in recent years might be a better explanation for why Jews and other groups with a strong religious heritage face difficulties in adapting to life in Denmark. Indeed, it has been suggested that non-orthodox Jews have little or no problems feeling at home in Denmark. Another sensitive topic for Jews in Denmark is the relatively strong support of Palestine in the country, which can create some tension if Danish Jews are vocal in their support of Israel during military actions in Gaza. The estimated number of people who consider themselves to be Jewish may be around 7,000 to 9,000 out of a total population of 5.5 million. Almost all Jews are very integrated into mainstream Danish society.
Islam in Austria is the largest minority religion and the second most widely professed religion in the country, practiced by 8% of the total population according to 2016 estimates. The majority of Muslims in Austria belong to Sunni denomination. Most Muslims came to Austria during the 1960s as migrant workers from Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are also communities of Arab and Afghan origin.
The Iraqi Arabs who arrived in Greece are Muslims from the central and southern parts of Iraq, mostly Sunni with a tiny Shia minority. Sunni Arabs form 17 per cent of the total Iraqi population, which is almost an equal amount if not more than their Turkmen counterparts. Assyrians have a disproportionately large representation amongst Iraqis in Greece, this could be primarily because Greece has a Christian society, in which Iraqi Christians will find it easy to settle down in. Forming a quarter of the population in Greece, Iraqi Christians make up the majority of Christians from the Middle East, who arrived in Greece from the early 1990s.
In 2006, Poland's Jewish population was estimated to be approximately 20,000; most living in Warsaw, Wrocław, Kraków, and Bielsko-Biała, though there are no census figures that would give an exact number. According to the Polish Moses Schorr Centre and other Polish sources, however, this may represent an undercount of the actual number of Jews living in Poland, since many are not religious. There are also people with Jewish roots who do not possess adequate documentation to confirm it, due to various historical and family complications. A special program of introduction to Judaism is offered to them by a progressive Jewish Community Beit Kraków.
The ADL (Anti-Defamation League) published on 2015 the "ADL Global 100", an international survey conducted in 2013-2014 to measure antisemitic opinions in 100 countries around the world. The survey revealed that 28% of the adult population in Austria harbor antisemitic opinions, as reflected through the DATA: More than 50% of the population expressed agreement with the phrase "Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust", and more than 40% of the population agreed with "Jews are more loyal to Israel than to this country" and "Jews have too much power in international financial markets".
Christianity is one of the recognized religions in Israel and is practiced, as of December 2016, by more than 169,000 Israeli citizens (about 2.0% of the population). They include 133,000 Arab Christians who are mostly adherents of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church (about 60% of Israeli Christians) or the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, as well as Latin Rite Catholics, with small numbers of Maronites, Arameans, Copts, and Protestants, about 25,000 Orthodox Christians from the former Soviet Union (Russian Orthodox) and smaller minorities of Assyrians and Armenians. A certain number of Israelis also practice Messianic Judaism—usually considered a syncretist form of Christianity, with estimates of several thousands, but exact numbers of such are not available.
The presence of Jews in Mexico dates back to 1521, when Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs, accompanied by several Conversos. According to the 2010 census, there are 67,476 Jews in Mexico. Islam in Mexico is practiced mostly by Arab Mexicans. In the 2010 census 18,185 Mexicans reported belonging to an Eastern religion, a category which includes a tiny Buddhist population.
Shiraz also has a significant Baha'i population, the largest in the country after Tehran.
Islam is the official state religion in the Republic of Iraq, but the constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Iraq is a multi ethnic and multi religious country with Islam, Christianity, Yazdanism, Zoroastrianism, Shabakism, Judaism, Mandaeism, Bahā'i, Ahl-e Haqq-Yarsanis, Ishikism and numerous other religions all having a presence in the country. Shia Islam is the main religion in Iraq followed by 60–65% of the population, while Sunni Islam is followed by 32–37% of the people. Many cities throughout Iraq have been areas of historical prominence for both Shia and Sunni Muslims, including Najaf, Karbala, Baghdad and Samarra.
The majority of the population speaks the Persian language, which is also the official language of the country, as well as other Iranian languages or dialects. Turkic languages and dialects, most importantly Azerbaijani language, are spoken in different areas in Iran. In southwestern and southern Iran, the Luri language and Lari language are spoken. In Kurdistan Province and nearby area's Kurdish is widely spoken. In Khuzestan, many distinct Persian dialects are spoken. Arabic is also spoken in Khuzestan. Notable minority languages in Iran include Armenian, Georgian, and Neo-Aramaic. Circassian was also once widely used by the large Circassian minority, but due to assimilation over the many years no sizable number of Circassians speak the language anymore.
Nowadays, the Jews that live in Djibouti are mostly French expatriates with Jewish origins and the native population of “just a few isolated, unaffiliated Jews.”
Some Jewish leaders have called Jewish intermarriage a "Silent Holocaust," particularly in 20th-21st century America where as many as 47% of American Jews have intermarried with non-Jews in past two decades. Such cultural and religious assimilation is said to represent a slow destruction of the Jewish people. Others have expressed a different view, accepting or tolerating such marriages, instead focusing their attention towards the concept that the children of a Jewish parent be raised Jewish, with some sense of their identity rooted in Judaism and in Jewish culture. However, some children of a Jewish parent were raised in the non-Jewish parent's religion while maintaining a sense of Jewish ethnicity and identity.
Iraq's Muslims follow two distinct traditions, Shia and Sunni Islam. According to the 2018 "CIA Factbook", Iraq is 95% Muslim: 64–69% Shia (Arabs, Feyli Kurds et al.) and 29–34% Sunni (Arabs and Kurds). The overall percentage of Muslims has increased since the Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017) due to the migration of Christian and Yezidi refugees into neighboring countries. A 2011 Pew Research Center Survey found that Iraqi Muslims are 51% Shia, 42% Sunni, and 5% described themselves as "Just a Muslim". Iraq is home to many religious sites important for both Shia and Sunni Muslims. Baghdad was a hub of Islamic learning and scholarship for centuries and served as the capital of the Abassids. The city of Karbala has substantial prominence in Shia Islam as a result of the Battle of Karbala, fought on the site of the modern city on October 10, 680. Similarly, Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Alī ibn Abī Tālib (also known as "Imām Alī"), whom the Shia consider to be the righteous caliph and first imām. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shi'a Islamic world and it is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. The city of Kufa was home to the famed Sunni scholar Abu Hanifah, whose school of thought is followed by a sizable number of Sunni Muslims across the globe. Likewise, Samarra is also home to the al-Askari Mosque, containing the mausoleums of the Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the tenth and eleventh Shia Imams, respectively, as well as the shrine of Muhammad al-Mahdi, known as the "Hidden Imam", who is the twelfth and final Imam of the Shia of the Ja'farī Madhhab. This has made it an important pilgrimage centre for Ja'farī Shia Muslims. In addition, some female relatives of the Prophet Mohammad are buried in Samarra, making the city one of the most significant sites of worship for Shia and a venerated location for Sunni Muslims.
Jerusalem's Jewish population is overwhelmingly religious. Only 21% of Jewish residents are secular. In addition, Haredi Jews comprise 30% of the city's adult Jewish population. In a phenomenon seen rarely around the world, the percentage of Jewish men who work, 47%, is exceeded by the percentage of Jewish women who work, 50%. The young and less religious continue to leave according to a 2016 Central Bureau of Statistics report which noted 6,740 people left. The opening of high speed rail transit to Tel Aviv next year and the New Jerusalem Gateway Business District currently under construction is designed to alter business, tourism, and hopefully reverse the population exodus.
Some sources put the Iranian Jewish population in the mid- and late 1980s as between 50,000–60,000. An estimate based on the 1986 census put the figure for the same time period, at approximately 55,000. For the 1990s there has been more uniformity in the figures, with most sources since then estimating roughly 25,000 Jews remaining in Iran.
Many Iranian Jews chose to immigrate to the United States and have built large communities in Los Angeles, Miami, Texas, and New York. According to the 2010 Foreign Born Population Survey, an estimated 100,000 Iranian Jews are currently living in Los Angeles alone. At first, Iranian Jews did not receive a warm welcome from the other Jewish groups living in the United States. Most of these Jews are Ashkenazi, while Iranian Jews are Sephardic, and they do not share the same culture or some of the same tradition. These new Iranian Jewish communities in the United States have thrived and have become great centers of Jewish learning and study for all Jews. The Iranian Jewish communities in the United States have kept many of their traditions alive through the teaching of Sephardic Jewish customs in schools and synagogues across the United States. Iranian Jews living in the United States have also helped to bring other Jews from Iran and other parts of the world into the United States so they can escape religious persecution and harassment as well.
Half of the nation's Iranians reside in the state of California alone. Other large communities include New York/New Jersey, which have 9.1% of the U.S.'s Iranian population, followed by Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia (8.3%) and Texas (6.7%). Kings Point, New York, a village in Great Neck, New York, is said to have the largest concentration of Iranians in the United States (approximately 40%). However, unlike the population in Los Angeles, the Great Neck population is almost exclusively Jewish.
In order to fight the growing racial antisemitism among the Iranian population, many Jews joined the Tudeh party and advocated for communism. Even though Jews comprised less than 2 percent of Iranian population, almost fifty percent of the members of the Tudeh party were Jewish. Tudeh party was the only party among the Iranian political parties that accepted Jews with open arms. Most writers for publications of the Tudeh party were Jewish. Furthermore, many Iranian Jews viewed communism as a Jewish movement since many leading members of the communist revolution in Russia were Jewish and were looked upon favorably by Persian Jews.