Research on Circassians and Chechens in Jordan
Rana Dajani, PhD
Introduction
Jordan’s population is comprised of three ethnic groups: Arab, Circassian and Chechan.
Arabs are the main inhabitants of Jordan while the two other ethnic groups have immigrated to Jordan 140 years ago. Circassians have migrated from the Cocas region while Chechans from Chechnya. Both Circassians and Chechans in Jordan have managed to maintain their identity and ethnicity during the last 100 years. One of the main ways they have done this has been through endogamous marriages, the use of the original language and the preservation of certain traditions of their respective cultures.
Dr Rana Dajani initiated a project to study these two ethnic groups. Dr Dajani created a team of researchers from different fields of expertise from Hashemite University, the University of Jordan, The Jordan University of Science and Technology and the Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology. Our collaborator in the US is the Center of Genomics, University of Pennsylvania and Children Hospital of Philadelphia. Read more
