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Assyrians are an indigenous ethnic group native to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians descend directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from other Mesopotamian groups, such as the Babylonians, they share in the broader cultural heritage of the Mesopotamian region. Modern Assyrians may culturally self-identify as Syriacs, Chaldeans, or Arameans for religious, geographic, and tribal identification.
The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is headed by the Chaldean Patriarchate. Employing in its liturgy the East Syriac Rite in the Syriac dialect of the Aramaic language, it is part of Syriac Christianity. Headquartered in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows, Baghdad, Iraq, since 1950, it is headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako. According to a 1950 CIA report on Iraq, Chaldean Catholic Assyrians numbered 98,000 and were the largest Christian minority. In the late 2010s, it had a membership of 616,639, with a large population in diaspora and its home country of Iraq.
Iraqi Assyrians are an ethnic and linguistic minority group, indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia. They are defined as Assyrians residing in the country of Iraq, or members of the Assyrian diaspora who are of Iraqi-Assyrian heritage. They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with Assyrians in Iran, Turkey and Syria, as well as with the Assyrian diaspora elsewhere. A significant number have emigrated to the United States, notably to the Detroit and Chicago; sizeable communities are also found in Sydney, Australia and Södertälje, Sweden.
Minorities in Iraq have been incredibly influential to the history of the country, and consist of various ethnic and religious groups. The largest minority group in Iraq is the Kurds, with Turkmen following shortly after. Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Assyrians constituted a sizeable population of 1.5 million, and belonged to various different churches such as the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, and the Syriac Orthodox/Catholic Churches. Other minority groups in Iraq include Armenians, Mandaeans, Baha'i, and Marsh Arabs, among others.
Assyrian Americans refers to individuals of ethnic Assyrian ancestry born or residing within the United States. Assyrians are an indigenous Middle Eastern ethnic group native to Mesopotamia in West Asia who descend from their ancient counterparts, directly originating from the ancient indigenous Mesopotamians of Akkad and Sumer who first developed the independent civilization in northern Mesopotamia that would become Assyria in 2600 BC. Modern Assyrians often culturally self-identify as Syriacs, Chaldeans, or Arameans for religious and tribal identification. The first significant wave of Assyrian immigration to the United States was due to the Sayfo genocide in the Assyrian homeland in 1914–1924.
Iraqi Americans are American citizens of Iraqi descent. As of 2015, the number of Iraqi Americans is around 145,279, according to the United States Census Bureau.
The vast majority of Christians in Iraq are indigenous Assyrians who descend from ancient Assyria, and are considered to be one of the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world. They primarily adhere to the Syriac Christian tradition and rites and speak Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialects, although Turoyo is also present on a smaller scale. Some are also known by the name of their religious denomination as well as their ethnic identity, such as Chaldo-Assyrians, Chaldean Catholics or Syriacs. Non-Assyrian Iraqi Christians include Arab Christians and Armenians, and a very small minority of Kurdish, Shabaks and Iraqi Turkmen Christians. Regardless of religious affiliation Assyrians Christians in Iraq and surrounding countries are one genetically homogeneous people and are of different origins than other groups in the country, with a distinct history of their own harking back to ancient Assyria and Mesopotamia.
Thomas Hanna, known by his stage name Timz, is an Iraqi-American rapper of Assyrian descent best known for his song "Iraq". His debut album is entitled Open for Business.
Chaldean Town was a historically Chaldo-Assyrian neighborhood in Detroit located along West Seven Mile Road in a segment in between Woodward Avenue to the west and John R St. to the east. Circa 2007 the population of the district was mainly low income elderly people and recent immigrants, who were mostly made up of Chaldean Catholic Assyrians. The neighborhood was usually just a stop point for newly arrived immigrants, who then typically preferred to move to the suburbs of Detroit when they could afford to.
Tel Keppe is a town in northern Iraq. It is located in the Nineveh Governorate, less than 8 mi (13 km) northeast of Mosul.
Evin Agassi was an Assyrian-American singer who had a career that spanned for over 50 years. Agassi produced over 40 albums during his career, with a majority of them being released in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Detroit metropolitan area has one of the largest concentrations of people of Middle Eastern origin, including Arabs and Chaldo-Assyrians in the United States. As of 2007 about 300,000 people in Southeast Michigan traced their descent from the Middle East. Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese people who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s, and of more recent Yemenis and Iraqis. In 2010 the four Metro Detroit counties had at least 200,000 people of Middle Eastern origin. Bobby Ghosh of TIME said that some estimates gave much larger numbers. From 1990 to 2000 the percentage of people speaking Arabic in the home increased by 106% in Wayne County, 99.5% in Macomb County, and 41% in Oakland County.
Hasan Minhaj is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. Much of his comedy involves Indian culture and the modern American political landscape through the use of satire, observational comedy and dark comedy. His Netflix series Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj won an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, and two Webby Awards. In 2019, he was listed in Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Tony Hinchcliffe is an American comedian. Since 2013, he has hosted the live comedy podcast Kill Tony, a showcase of professional and amateur comedians who take turns doing one-minute sets. Hinchcliffe is known primarily for roast comedy, having been on the writing staff of the Comedy Central Roast series, and appearing at the All Def Digital Roast of Snoop Dogg in 2016 and The Roast of Tom Brady in 2024. He has released two comedy specials, One Shot on Netflix in 2016 and Making Friends on YouTube in 2020.
Noor Matti is an Assyrian American former radio and television host and charity worker. Originally from Iraq, he is most prominently known for creating Babylon FM in Erbil, the first all-English radio station in Iraq. He is also known for being one of the founding members of the Shlama Foundation, a nonprofit which works to preserve and better the lives of Assyrians in Iraq.
Matthew Steven Rife is an American comedian and actor. From the village of North Lewisburg, Ohio, Rife is best known for his self-produced comedy specials Only Fans (2021), Matthew Steven Rife (2023) and Walking Red Flag (2023), his 2023 Netflix specials Natural Selection and Lucid, as well as his previous recurring role on the sketch improv comedy and rap show Wild 'n Out.
The Chaldean flag is an Assyrian separatist ethnic flag designed to represent Chaldean Catholics. The flag was created by Amer Hanna Fatuhi (Shendaj), an artist and self-proclaimed historian who currently resides in the Metro Detroit area, where a considerable portion of Assyrians of the Chaldean Catholic Church live.
Ramina Odicho (Syriac: ܪܡܝܢܐ ܥܒܕܝܫܘܥ}, also known by her pseudonym Ramina Rated, is an Assyrian American comedian and influencer. Odicho has used her platform as a place to express her appreciation of Assyrian culture, and speak out on issues affecting the Assyrian and Middle Eastern communities.
References
- ↑ Paul Elia: Detroit Player (2024) | FULL SPECIAL on YouTube
- ↑ Paul Elia talks new comedy special, Matt Rife, Hip Hop & Mexicans in Detroit. on YouTube
- ↑ "Detroit native Paul Elia inspiring youth to pursue their dreams". PIX11 News. February 21, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ↑ "Detroit native Paul Elia inspiring youth to pursue their dreams". The Arab American News. August 22, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ↑ "Paul Elia on breaking comedic barriers for Iraqi-Americans". ABC News. March 15, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ↑ "Assyrian Podcast". PodBean (Podcast). August 13, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
- ↑ Elia Opens up about Friendship W/ Matt Rife, Bombing on Stage & Assyrian-Chaldean Identity Video on YouTube