The Kurds enjoy a romantic reputation as doughty mountain fighters who have been denied their freedom and indepen dence by the Arabs, Persians, and Turks who dwell in the cities and plains below. They number somewhere around 40 million, with the biggest populations in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Signifi cantly, much of the territory where large concentrations of Kurds reside is rich in oil and gas reserves. Eppel and Gunter, both academics, demonstrate clear but guarded sympathy for the

Tag-uri: Islam