Anti-Kurdish sentiment

Anti-Kurdish sentiment, also known as anti-Kurdism or Kurdophobia, is hostility, fear, intolerance or racism against the Kurdish people, Kurdistan, Kurdish culture, or Kurdish languages. A person who holds such positions is sometimes referred to as a "Kurdophobe".

Gérard Chaliand coined the term to describe how Kurds have been oppressed. In Turkey, the government has historically denied Kurdish identity and language. In Syria and Iraq, similar anti-Kurdish policies have caused significant harm, including genocidal campaigns in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Recently, conflicts like the fight against ISIS have increased awareness but also heightened anti-Kurdish actions and discrimination. In Japan, anti-Kurdish posts, allegedly made by Turkish people using machine translation, saw a surge in anti-Kurdish sentiment beginning in 2023. Kurds there have been receiving death threats and demands for their expulsion.