Shaqaqi
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Languages | |
| Azerbaijani | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Shiite Muslims |
Shaqaqi (also is written as shaghaghi) is an Azerbaijani ethnic group of Kurdish origins.[1] Its branches nowadays live in East Azerbaijan, Razavi Khorasan and North Khorasan provinces of Iran and also in Palestine.[2] They mainly speak Azerbaijani language and are Shiite Muslims. They moved from Syria and Turkey border Kurdistan region to Iran after the Safavid proclaimed Shia Islam as the official religion in Persia. They should not be confused with Shekaks which are Kurmanj and Sunni Muslims.
The powerful Shaqaqi tribal warriors were extensively tapped into by the Zand and Qajar dynasties of Iran.
Some branches of the Shaqaqi tribe moved westward into the Levant, finding great families there, as far south as Holy Land. There are found many illustrious Shaqaqi/Shiqaqi among the Palestinians today, which are still Shiite Muslims but they are assimilated into Arab identity, and can no longer be considered Azerbaijani.