Yazidi

Yazidis on the mountain of Sinjar,Iraq/Syrian border, 1920s.

Total population700,000[1][2][3]

Regions with signicant populationsIraqi

Kurdistan500,000[4]

Germany 60,000[1][5]Syrian

Kurdistan50,000[6][7]

Russia 40,586[8]Armenia 35,272[9]Georgia 20,843 (18,000 in

Tbilisi)[10][11]

ReligionsIranian religions

Scriptures

Yazidizidt

YazidiFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Yezidi" redirects here. For other uses, see Yazid (disambiguation).The Yazidi (also Yezidi, zid) are aKurdish ethno-religious community,representing an ancient religion that islinked to Zoroastrianism.[12] They liveprimarily in the Nineveh Province ofnorthern Iraq. Additional communities inArmenia, Georgia, Turkey, and Syria havebeen in decline since the 1990s, theirmembers having emigrated to Europe,especially to Germany.[13] The Yazidibelieve in God as creator of the world,which he placed under the care of sevenholy beings or angels, the chief of whom isMelek Taus, the Peacock Angel.

Contents1 Demographics2 Origins3 Religious beliefs4 Organization5 Religious practices

5.1 Prayers5.2 Festivals5.3 Pilgrimage5.4 Purity and taboos5.5 Customs5.6 Myths

6 In other cultures6.1 Muslim antipathy6.2 Recent controversies6.3 In Europe

Yazidi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yazidi&...

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Yazidi Book of Revelation (Kitba Cilwe)Yazidi Black Book (Mishefa Re)

LanguagesKurdish (Latin)

Yazidi leaders and Chaldeanclergymen meeting inMesopotamia, 19th century.

6.4 In Western theologicalreferences6.5 In Western literature

7 See also8 References9 Further reading10 External links

DemographicsHistorically, the Yazidi lived primarily incommunities in locales that are in present dayIraq, Syria, and Turkey, and also had signicantnumbers in Armenia and Georgia. However, eventssince the 20th century have resulted inconsiderable demographic shift in these areas aswell as mass emigration.[5] As a result populationestimates are unclear in many regions, andestimates of the size of the total population vary.[1]The bulk of the Yazidi population lives in Iraq,where they make up an important Iraqi minoritycommunity.[1] Estimates of the size of these communities vary signicantly,between 70,000 and 500,000. They are particularly concentrated in northern Iraqin the Nineveh Province. The two biggest communities are in Shekhan, northeastof Mosul, and in Sinjar, at the Syrian border 80 kilometers west of Mosul. InShekhan is the shrine of Sheikh Adi ibn Musar at Lalish. During the 20th centurythe Shekhan community struggled for dominance with the more conservativeSinjar community.[1] The demographic prole has probably changed considerablysince the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003 and the fall of Saddam Hussein'sregime.[1]Yazidi in Syria live primarily in two communities, one in the Al-Jazira area and theother in the Kurd-Dagh.[1] Population numbers for the Syrian Yazidi communityare unclear. In 1963 the community was estimated at about 10,000, according tothe national census, but numbers for 1987 were unavailable.[14] There may bebetween about 12,000 and 15,000 Yazidi in Syria today,[1][15] though more thanhalf of the community may have emigrated from Syria since the 1980s.[5]Estimates are further complicated by the arrival of as many as 50,000 Yazidi


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Yazidi men in Mardin, late19th century.

refugees from Iraq during the Iraq War.[5]The Turkish Yazidi community declined precipitously during the 20th century. By1982 it had decreased to about 30,000, and in 2009 there were fewer than 500.Most Turkish Yazidi have emigrated to Europe, particularly Germany; those whoremain reside primarily in their former heartland of Tur Abdin.[1] Populationestimates for the communities in Georgia and Armenia vary, but they too havedeclined severely. In Georgia the community fell from around 30,000 people tofewer than 5,000 during the 1990s.[5] The numbers in Armenia may have beensomewhat more stable; there may be around 40,000 Yazidi still in Armenia.[16]Most Georgian and Armenian Yazidi have relocated to Russia,[5] which recorded apopulation of 31,273 Yazidis in the 2002 census.[8]This mass emigration has resulted in the establishment of large diasporacommunities abroad. The most signicant of these is in Germany, which now has aYazidi community of over 40,000. Most are from Turkey and more recently Iraq,and live in the western states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony.[1]Since 2008 Sweden has seen sizable growth in its Yazidi emigrant community,which had grown to around 4,000 by 2010,[5] and a smaller community exists inthe Netherlands.[1] Other diaspora groups live in Belgium, Denmark, France,Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia; thesehave a total population of probably less than 5,000.[1]

OriginsThe Yazidi are mostly Kurdish-speaking peoplewho adhere to a branch of Iranian religions thatblends elements of Mithraism, pre-IslamicMesopotamian/Assyrian religious traditions,Christianity and Islam. In addition to Kurdish,there are signicant Yazidi communities whospeak Arabic as their native language. Theirprincipal holy site is in Lalish, northeast of Mosul.The Yazidis' own name for themselves is zid orzd or, in some areas, Dasin (the latter, strictly

speaking, is a tribal name). Some scholars have derived the name Yazidi from OldIranian yazata (divine being), but most say it is a derivation from Umayyad CaliphYazid I (Yazid bin Muawiyah), revered by the Yazidis as an incarnation of thedivine gure Sultan Ezi.[17] Yazidis, themselves, believe that their name is derivedfrom the word Yezdan or zid "God". The Yazidis' cultural practices areobservably in Kurdish, and almost all speak Kurmanj with the exception of thevillages of Bashiqa and Bahazane, where Arabic is spoken. Kurmanj is the


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Yazidi man intraditional clothes

language of almost all the orally transmitted religious traditions of the Yazidis.The religion of the Yazidis is a highly syncretic one: Su inuence and imagerycan be seen in their religious vocabulary, especially in the terminology of theiresoteric literature, but much of the mythology is non-Islamic. Their cosmogoniesapparently have many points in common with those of ancient Persian religions.Early writers attempted to describe Yazidi origins, broadly speaking, in terms ofIslam, or Persian, or sometimes even pagan religions; however, publications sincethe 1990s have shown such an approach to be overly simplistic.[1]The origin of the Yazidi religion is now usually seen byscholars as a complex process of syncretism, whereby thebelief system and practices of a local faith had a profoundinuence on the religiosity of adherents of the 'AdawiyyaSu order living in the Yezidi mountains, and caused it todeviate from Islamic norms relatively soon after the deathof its founder, Shaykh 'Ad ibn Musar (Yezidish x Ad),who is said to be of Umayyad descent. He settled in thevalley of Lali (some thirty-six miles north-east of Mosul) inthe early 12th century. x Ad himself, a gure ofundoubted orthodoxy, enjoyed widespread inuence. Hedied in 1162, and his tomb at Lali is a focal point of Yazidipilgrimage.[18]According to the Yezidi calendar, April 2012 marked thebeginning of their year 6,762 (thereby year 1 would havebeen in 4,750 BC in the Gregorian calendar).[19]During the fourteenth century, important Yezidi tribes whose sphere of inuencestretched well into what is now Turkey (including, for a period, the rulers of theprincipality of Jazira) are cited in historical sources as Yazidi.According to Moammed A-ahrastani, "The Yezidis are the followers of Yezd bnUnaisa, who [said that he] kept friendship with the rst Muhakkama before theAzaria"[20] "It is clear, then, that A-ahrastani nds the religious origin of thisinteresting people in the person of Yezd bn Unaisa. ... We are to understand,therefore, that to the knowledge of the writer, bn Unaisa is the founder of theYezidi sect, which took its name from him."[21] "Now, the rst Muhakkamah is anappellative applied to the Muslim schismatics called Al-awarij. ... According tothis it might be inferred that the Yezidis were originally a arijite sub-sect."[22]"Yezid moreover, is said to have been in sympathy with Al-Abaiyah, a sectfounded by 'Abd-Allah Ibn Iba.";[22] and the Ibai sect is another arijitesub-sect.


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Religious beliefsYazidis are monotheists, believing in one God, who created the world andentrusted it into the care of a Heptad of seven Holy Beings, often known asAngels or heft sirr (the Seven Mysteries). Preeminent among these is TawsMelek (frequently known as "Melek Taus" in English publications), the PeacockAngel.Yazidism is not an o-shoot of another religion (such as Christianity or Islam), butshows inuence from the many religions of the middle-east. Core Yazidicosmology has a pre-Zoroastrian Iranian origin, but Yazidism also includeselements of ancient nature-worship, as well as inuences from Christianity,Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism, Islam and Judaism. The heptad of angels are God'semanations which are formed of the light of God. God delegates most of his actionto the heptad and is therefore somewhat deistic in nature.According to the Encyclopedia of the Orient,

The reason for the Yazidis reputation of being devil worshipers isconnected to the other name of Melek Taus, Shaytan, the same namethe Koran has for Satan.[23]

Furthermore, the Yazidi story regarding Taws Melek's rise to favor with God isalmost identical to the story of the jinn Iblis in Islam, except that Yazidis revereTaws Melek for refusing to submit to God by bowing to Adam, while Muslimsbelieve that Iblis' refusal to submit caused him to fall out of Grace with God, andto later become Satan himself.[24]Taws Melek is often identied by Muslims and Christians with Shaitan (Satan).Yazidis, however, believe Taws Melek is not a source of evil or wickedness. Theyconsider him to be the leader of the archangels, not a fallen angel. They areforbidden from speaking the name Shaitan. They also hold that the source of evilis in the heart and spirit of humans themselves, not in Taws Melek. The activeforces in their religion are Taws Melek and Sheik Ad.The Kitba Cilwe "Book of Illumination", which claims to be the words of TawsMelek, and which presumably represents Yazidi belief, states that he allocatesresponsibilities, blessings and misfortunes as he sees t and that it is not for therace of Adam to question him. Sheikh Ad believed that the spirit of Taws Melekwas the same as his own, perhaps as a reincarnation. He is reported to have said:

I was present when Adam was living in Paradise, and also when Nemrudthrew Abraham in re. I was present when God said to me: 'You are theruler and Lord on the Earth'. God, the compassionate, gave me sevenearths and throne of the heaven.


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Yazidi accounts of creation dier from that of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.They believe that God rst created Taws Melek from his own illumination(Ronah) and the other six archangels were created later. God ordered TawsMelek not to bow to other beings. Then God created the other archangels andordered them to bring him dust (Ax) from the Earth (Erd) and build the body ofAdam. Then God gave life to Adam from his own breath and instructed allarchangels to bow to Adam. The archangels obeyed except for Taws Melek. Inanswer to God, Taws Melek replied, "How can I submit to another being! I amfrom your illumination while Adam is made of dust." Then God praised him andmade him the leader of all angels and his deputy on the Earth. (This probablyfurthers what some see as a connection to the Islamic Shaytan, as according tothe Quran he too refused to bow to Adam at God's command, though in this caseit is seen as being a sign of Shaytan's sinful pride.) Hence the Yazidis believe thatTaws Melek is the representative of God on the face of the Earth and comesdown to the Earth on the rst Wednesday of Nisan (April). Yazidis hold that Godcreated Taws Melek on this day, and celebrate it as New Year's Day. Yazidisargue that the order to bow to Adam was only a test for Taws Melek, since ifGod commands anything then it must happen. (Bibe, dibe). In other words, Godcould have made him submit to Adam, but gave Taws Melek the choice as atest. They believe that their respect and praise for Taws Melek is a way toacknowledge his majestic and sublime nature. This idea is called "Knowledge ofthe Sublime" (Zanista Ciwaniy). x Ad has observed the story of Taws Melekand believed in him.[25]One of the key creation beliefs held by Yazidis is that they are the descendants ofAdam through his son Shehid bin Jer rather than Eve.[23] Yazidis believe that goodand evil both exist in the mind and spirit of human beings. It depends on thehumans, themselves, as to which they choose. In this process, their devotion toTaws Melek is essential, since it was he who was given the same choicebetween good and evil by God, and chose the good.The Yazidi holy books are claimed to be the Kitba Cilwe (Book of Revelation) andthe Mishefa Re (Black Book). However, scholars generally agree that themanuscripts of both books published in 1911 and 1913 were forgeries written bynon-Yazidis in response to Western travelers' and scholars' interest in the Yazidireligion; the material in them is consistent with authentic Yezidi traditions,however.[17] True texts of those names may have existed, but remain obscure. Thereal core texts of the religion that exist today are the hymns known as qawls; theyhave also been orally transmitted during most of their history, but are now beingcollected with the assent of the community, eectively transforming Yazidism intoa scriptural religion.[17] The qawls are full of cryptic allusions and usually need tobe accompanied by irks or 'stories' that explain their context.[17]Two key and interrelated features of Yazidism are: a) a preoccupation with


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religious purity and b) a belief in metempsychosis. The rst of these is expressedin the system of caste, the food laws, the traditional preferences for living inYazidi communities, and the variety of taboos governing many aspects of life. Thesecond is crucial; Yazidis traditionally believe that the Seven Holy Beings areperiodically reincarnated in human form, called a koasasa.A belief in the reincarnation of lesser Yazidi souls also exists. Like the Ahl-e Haqq,the Yazidis use the metaphor of a change of garment to describe the process,which they call kiras guhorn in Yezidish (changing the garment). Alongside this,Yazidi mythology also includes descriptions of heaven and hell, with hellextinguished, and other traditions incorporating these ideas into a belief systemthat includes reincarnation.[23]

OrganizationYazidi society is hierarchical. The secular leader is a hereditary emir or prince,whereas a chief sheikh heads the religious hierarchy. The Yazidi are strictlyendogamous; members of the three Yazidi castes, the murids, sheikhs and pirs,marry only within their group, marriage outside the caste is considered as sinpunishable by death to restore lost honour.[26]

Religious practicesPrayersYazidis have ve daily prayers:[27]

Nivja berspd (the Dawn Prayer), Nivja rojhilatin (the SunrisePrayer), Nivja nvro (the Noon Prayer), Nivja var (the AfternoonPrayer), Nivja rojavabn (the Sunset Prayer). However, most Yezidisobserve only two of these, the sunrise and sunset prayers.

Worshipers should turn their face toward the sun, and for the noon prayer, theyshould face toward Lali. Such prayer should be accompanied by certain gestures,including kissing the rounded neck (gervan) of the sacred shirt (kiras). The dailyprayer services must not be performed in the presence of outsiders, and arealways performed in the direction of the sun. Wednesday is the holy day butSaturday is the day of rest.[27][28] There is also a three-day fast in December.[23][27]

FestivalsThe Yazidi New Year falls in Spring (somewhat later than the Equinox). There is


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Tomb of Sheikh Adi ibnMusar (x Ad) in Lalish

some lamentation by women in the cemeteries, to the accompaniment of themusic of the Qewals, but the festival is generally characterized by joyous events:the music of dehol (drum) and zorna (shawm), communal dancing and meals, thedecorating of eggs.Similarly, the village Tawaf, a festival held in the spring in honor of the patron ofthe local shrine, has secular music, dance and meals in addition to theperformance of sacred music.Another important festival is the Tawsgeran (circulation of the peacock) whereQewals and other religious dignitaries visit Yazidi villages, bringing the senjaq,sacred images of a peacock made from brass symbolising Taws Melek. Theseare venerated, taxes are collected from the pious, sermons are preached and holywater distributed.The greatest festival of the year for ordinary Yazidis is the Cejna Cemaiya "Feastof the Assembly" at Lalish, a seven-day occasion. A focus of widespreadpilgrimage, this is an important time for social contact and armation of identity.The religious center of the event is the belief in an annual gathering of theHeptad in the holy place at this time. Rituals practiced include the sacrice of abull at the shrine of x Shams and the practice of sema.PilgrimageThe most important ritual is the annual seven-daypilgrimage to the tomb of Sheikh Adi ibn Musar(x Ad) in Lalish, north of Mosul, Iraq.[27][29] Asacred microcosm of the world, as it were, itcontains not only many shrines dedicated to thekoasasa, but a number of other landmarkscorresponding to other sites or symbols ofsignicance in other faiths, including Pirra selat"Serat Bridge" and a mountain called Mt. Arafat.The two sacred springs are called Zamzam andKaniya Sip "The White Spring".If possible, Yazidis make at least one pilgrimage toLali during their lifetime, and those living in the region try to attend at leastonce a year for the autumn Feast of the Assembly which is celebrated from 23Ayll (September) to 1 Tashrn (October). During the celebration, Yazidi bathe inthe river, wash gures of Taws Melek and light hundreds of lamps in the tombsof x Ad and other saints. They also sacrice an ox, which is one reason theyhave been connected to Mithraism, in addition to the presence of the dog andserpent in their iconography. The sacrice of the ox is meant to declare the arrivalof fall and to ask for precipitation during winter in order to bring back life to theEarth in the next spring. Moreover, in astrology, the ox is the symbol of Tashrn.


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Purity and taboosThe Yazidis' concern with religious purity, and their reluctance to mix elementsperceived to be incompatible, is shown not only in their caste system, but also invarious taboos aecting everyday life. Some of these, such as those on exogamyor on insulting or oending men of religion, are widely respected. Others areoften ignored when men of religion are not present. Others still are less widelyknown and may be localized.The purity of the four elements Earth, Air, Fire and Water is protected by anumber of taboos, e.g. against spitting on earth, water or re. Some discouragespitting or pouring hot water on the ground because they believe that spirits orsouls that may be present would be harmed or oended by such actions if theyhappen to be hit by the discarded liquid. These may also reect ancient Iranianpreoccupations, as apparently do taboos concerning bodily waste, hair andmenstrual blood.Too much contact with non-Yazidis is also considered polluting. In the past, Yazidisavoided military service which would have led them to live among Muslims, andwere forbidden to share such items as cups or razors with outsiders. Aresemblance to the external ear may lie behind the taboo against eating headlettuce, whose name koas resembles Yezidi pronunciations of koasasa.Additionally, lettuce grown near Mosul is thought by some Yazidi to be fertilizedwith human waste, which may contribute to the idea that it is unsuitable forconsumption. However, in a BBC interview in April 2010, a senior Yazidi authoritystated that ordinary Yazidis may eat what they want, but holy men refrain fromcertain vegetables (including cabbage) because "they cause gases".[30]

Yazidis refrain from wearing the colour blue[citation needed] (or possibly green asstated in Soldier Poet and Rebel by Miles Hudson). The origins of this prohibitionare unknown, but may either be because blue represents Noah's ood, or it waspossibly the colour worn by a conquering king sometime in the past. Alternatively,the prohibition may arise from their veneration of the Peacock Angel and anunwillingness to usurp His colour.CustomsChildren are baptized at birth and circumcision is common but not required. Deadare buried in conical tombs immediately after death and buried with handscrossed.Yazidi are dominantly monogamous but chiefs may be polygamous, having morethan one wife. Yazidi are exclusively endogamous; clans do not intermarry evenwith other Kurds and accept no converts. They claim they are descended onlyfrom Adam and not from Eve.


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The Chermera or "40 Men"Temple on the highest peakof the Sinjar Mountains innorthern Iraq. The temple isso old that no one remembershow it came to have thatname, but it is believed toderive from the burial of 40men on the mountaintop site

A severe punishment is expulsion, which is also eectively excommunicationbecause the soul of the exiled is forfeit.In 2007, an incidence of honour killingthe stoning of Du'a Khalil Aswadmadeworld headlines.[31]

MythsThe tale of the Yazidis' origin found in the BlackBook gives them a distinctive ancestry andexpresses their feeling of dierence from otherraces. Before the roles of the sexes weredetermined, Adam and Eve quarreled about whichof them provided the creative element in thebegetting of children. Each stored their seed in ajar which was then sealed. When Eve's was openedit was full of insects and other unpleasantcreatures, but inside Adam's jar was a beautifulboychild. This lovely child, known as son of Jargrew up to marry a houri and became the ancestorof the Yazidis. Therefore, the Yazidi are regardedas descending from Adam alone, while otherhumans are descendants of both Adam and Eve.[32]

In other culturesMuslim antipathy

As a demiurge gure, Taws Melek is often identied by orthodox Muslims as aShaitan (Satan), a Muslim term denoting a devil or demon who deceives truebelievers. The Islamic tradition regarding the fall of "Shaitan" from Grace is infact very similar to the Yazidi story of Malek Taus that is, the Jinn who refused tosubmit to God by bowing to Adam is celebrated as Taws Melek by Yazidis, butthe Islamic version of the same story curses the same Jinn who refused to submitas becoming Satan.[24] Thus, the Yazidi have been accused of devil worship.Because of this and due to their pre-Islamic beliefs, they have been oppressed bytheir Muslim neighbors. Treatment of Yazidis was exceptionally harsh during therule of the Ottoman Empire during the 18th and the rst half of 19th century andtheir numbers dwindled under Ottoman rule both in Syria and Iraq. Massacres atthe hand of Ottoman Turks and Muslim Kurdish princes almost wiped out theircommunity in the 19th century.[33][34] Several punitive expeditions wereorganized against the Yazidis by the Turkish governors (Wli) of Diyarbakir, Mosuland Baghdad. These operations were legitimized by fatwa from Islamic


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clerics.[35] The objective of these persecutions was the forced conversion ofYazidis to the Sunni Hana Islam of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.[36]

Recent controversiesOn August 14, 2007, some 500 Yazidis were killed in a coordinated series ofbombings that became the deadliest suicide attack since the Iraq War began.On August 13, 2009, at least 20 people were killed and 30 wounded in a doublesuicide bombing in northern Iraq, an Iraqi Interior Ministry ocial said. Twosuicide bombers with explosive vests carried out the attack at a cafe in Sinjar, atown west of Mosul. In Sinjar, many townspeople are members of the Yazidiminority.[37]

In EuropeFeleknas Uca, a Yezidi Member of the European Parliament for Germany's Partyof Democratic Socialism, was the world's only Yazidi parliamentarian until theIraqi legislature was elected in 2005. European Yazidis have contributed to theacademic community, such as Khalil Rashow in Germany and Jalile Jalil in Austria.In May 2012, ve members of a Yazidi family living in Detmold, Germany, wereconvicted for having murdered their sister in a so-called "honour killing" andsentenced to terms ranging from ve-and-a-half years to life in prison. The victimwas 18-year-old Arzu zmen (also spelled Ozmen outside Germany), who fell inlove with a German journeymen baker and ran away from her family, violating theexogamy taboo. In November 2011, her siblings abducted her and brother Osmankilled her with two shots in the head.[38]

In Western theological referencesAs the Yazidi hold religious beliefs that are mostly unfamiliar to outsiders, manynon-Yazidi people have written about them and ascribed facts to their beliefs thathave dubious historical validity. For example, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft made areference to the Yezidi as the "last survivors of the Persian devil-worshippers" inhis short story The Horror at Red Hook.[39]The Yazidis, perhaps because of their secrecy, also have a place in modernoccultism. G. I. Gurdjie wrote about his encounters with the Yazidis severaltimes in his book Meetings with Remarkable Men, mentioning that they areconsidered to be "devil worshippers" by other ethnicities in the region.The Theosophical Society, in its electronic version of the EncyclopedicTheosophical Glossary states:


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Yezidis (Arabic) [possibly from Persian yazdan god; or the 2nd UmayyadCaliph, Yazid (r. 680 - 683); or Persian city Yezd] A sect dwellingprincipally in Kurdistan, Armenia, and the Caucasus, who callthemselves Dasni. Their religious beliefs take on the characteristics oftheir surrounding peoples, inasmuch as, openly or publicly, they regardMohammed as a prophet, and Jesus Christ as an angel in human form.Points of resemblance are found with ancient Zoroastrian and Assyrianreligion. The principal feature of their worship, however, is Satan underthe name of Muluk-Taus. However, it is not the Christian Satan, nor thedevil in any form; their Muluk-Taus is the hundred- or thousand-eyedcosmic wisdom, pictured as a bird (the peacock).[40]

Idries Shah, writing under the pen-name Arkon Daraul, in the 1961 book SecretSocieties Yesterday and Today, describes discovering a Yazidi-inuenced secretsociety in the London suburbs called the "Order of the Peacock Angel." IdriesShah claimed that Taws Melek could be understood, from the Su viewpoint, asan allegory of the higher powers in humanity.[41]

In Western literatureIn H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Horror at Red Hook", some of the murderousforeigners are identied as belonging to "the Yezidi clan of devil-worshippers".In her memoir of her service with an intelligence unit of the U.S. Army's 101stAirborne Division in Iraq during 2003 and 2004, Kayla Williams (2005) recordsbeing stationed in northern Iraq near the Syrian border in an area inhabited by"Yezidis". The Yezidis were Kurdish-speaking, but did not consider themselvesKurds, and expressed to Williams a fondness for America and Israel. She was ableto learn only a little about the nature of their religion: she thought it very ancient,and concerned with angels. She describes a mountain-top Yezidi shrine as "asmall rock building with objects dangling from the ceiling", and alcoves for theplacement of oerings. She reports that local Muslims considered the Yezidis tobe devil worshippers.In an October 2006 article in The New Republic, Lawrence F. Kaplan echoesWilliams's sentiments about the enthusiasm of the Yazidis for the Americanoccupation of Iraq, in part because the Americans protect them from oppressionby militant Muslims and the nearby Kurds. Kaplan notes that the peace and calmof Sinjar is virtually unique in Iraq: "Parents and children line the streets whenU.S. patrols pass by, while Yazidi clerics pray for the welfare of U.S. forces."[42]A ctional Yazidi character of note is the super-powered police ocer KingPeacock of the Top 10 series (and related comics).[43] He is portrayed as a kind,peaceful character with a broad knowledge of religion and mythology. He isdepicted as conservative, ethical, and highly principled in family life. An


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incredibly powerful martial artist, he is able to destroy matter, a power that heclaims is derived from communicating with Malek Ta'us.Tony Lagouranis comments on a Yazidi prisoner in his book Fear Up Harsh: AnArmy Interrogator's Dark Journey through Iraq:

There's a lot of mystery surrounding the Yazidi, and a lot ofcontradictory information. But I was drawn to this aspect of theirbeliefs: Yazidi don't have a Satan. Malak Ta'us, an archangel, God'sfavorite, was not thrown out of heaven the way Satan was. Instead, hedescended, saw the suering and pain of the world, and cried. His tears,thousands of years' worth, fell on the res of hell, extinguishing them. Ifthere is evil in the world, it does not come from a fallen angel or fromthe res of hell. The evil in this world is man-made. Nevertheless,humans can, like Malak Ta'us, live in this world but still be good.[44]

See also2007 Qahtaniya bombingsMinority politics in IraqYazidis in Armenia

References^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Allison,Christine (2004-02-20). "Yazidis i:General" (http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yazidis-i-general-1).Encyclopdia Iranica. RetrievedAugust 20, 2010. "There are probablysome 200,000-300,000 Yazidisworldwide."

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^ "Yezidi" (http://adherents.com/Na/Na_670.html#4286).Adherents.com. Retrieved 2008-03-31.Cites estimates between 100,000 and700,000.

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^ "Deadly Iraq sect attacks kill 200"(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6946028.stm). BBC News.2007-08-15. Retrieved 2008-03-31.

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^ Iraq Yezidis: A Religious and EthnicMinority Group Faces Repression andAssimilation (http://www.aina.org/reports/yezidiscpt.pdf) By ChristianPeacemaker Teams in Iraq (25September 2005)

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^ a b c d e f g Megalommatis,Muhammad Shamsaddin (February 28,2010). "Dispersion of the Yazidi Nationin Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia andEurope: Call for UN Action"(http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/143737). AmericanChronicle. Retrieved August 20, 2010.

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^ "Yazidi in Syria Between acceptanceand marginalization"(http://kurdwatch.org/pdf/kurdwatch_yeziden_en.pdf).KurdWatch. kurdwatch.org. p. 4.Retrieved 1 April 2014.

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^ Andrea Glioti (18 October 2013)."Yazidis Benet From Kurdish Gains inNortheast Syria" (http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/syria-yazidi-minorities-kurds.html#).al-monitor. Retrieved 1 April 2014.

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^ a b " 2010 . " (http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_nac_10.php).Demoscope. Demoscope. Retrieved 26October 2013.

8.

^ 2011 Armenian census(http://armstat.am/le/article/sv_03_13a_520.pdf)

9.

^ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Georgia_Census_2002-_Ethnic_group_by_major_administrative-territorial_units.pdf

10.

^ Nurcan Kaya. "Forgotten orAssimilated? Minorities in theEducation System of Turkey"(http://www.minorityrights.org/7732/reports/forgotten-or-assimilated-minorities-in-the-education-system-of-turkey.html). Minority Rights GroupInternational. p. 10. Retrieved 1 April2014.

11.

^ Palmer, Michael D.; Burgess, StanleyM. (2012-03-12). The Wiley-BlackwellCompanion to Religion and SocialJustice (http://books.google.com/books?id=ptYpOSKPCgMC&pg=PA404). John Wiley & Sons. p. 405.ISBN 9781444355369. Retrieved 25February 2014.

12.

^ Reeves, Bob (2007-02-28). "LincolnIraqis call for protection fromterrorism" (http://journalstar.com/articles/2007/02/28/news/local/doc45e4c4211d311953438645.txt).Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved2007-02-28.

13.

^ Federal Research Division. Syria."Chapter 5: Religious Life"(http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/sytoc.html). Library of CongressCountry Studies. Accessed August 20,2010.

14.

^ Commins, David Dean (2004).Historical Dictionary of Syria(http://books.google.com/?id=_EhACvcqVXkC&printsec=frontcover&q). ScarecrowPress. p. 282. ISBN 0-8108-4934-8.Retrieved August 20, 2010.

15.


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^ Armenia (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/am.html) entry at The WorldFactbook 1.3% of 2,971,650 (July 2007est.) = 38631.45.

16.

^ a b c d Encyclopaedia Iranica:Yazidis(http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/yazidis-i-general-1)

17.

^ Late Antique Motifs in Yezidi OralTradition by Eszter Spt. Ch. 9 "TheOrigin Myth of the Yezidis" section"The Myth of Shehid Bin Jer" (page347)

18.

^ Yazidis celebrate New Year in Iraq(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdNoWVVAE5A), Al Jazeera(YouTube), 28 April 2012. RetrievedDec 2012.

19.

^ Joseph 1919, p. 11920.^ Joseph 1919, p. 12021.^ a b Joseph 1919, p. 12122.^ a b c d Kjeilen, Tore. "Yazidism"(http://i-cias.com/e.o/uyazidism.htm).Encyclopaedia. LookLex. Retrieved2008-03-31. "Malak Taus lled 7 jars oftears through 7,000 years. His tearswere used to extinguish the re in hell.Therefore, there is no hell inYazidism."

23.

^ a b Islam: Satan, sin, and repentance(http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-69144/Islam) at EncyclopdiaBritannica

24.

^ "Yezidi Reformer: Sheikh Adi"(http://www.yeziditruth.org/yezidi_reformer_sheikh_adi). TheTruth about the Yezidis.YezidiTruth.org, A HumanitarianOrganization, Sedona, Arizona.

25.

^ Background: the Yezidi(http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/aug/15/iraq)

26.

^ a b c d "Yezidi Religious Tradition"(http://www.yeziditruth.org/yezidi_religious_tradition). The Truthabout the Yezidis. YezidiTruth.org, AHumanitarian Organization, Sedona,Arizona.

27.


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^ MacFarquhar, Neill (2003-01-03)."Bashiqa Journal: A Sect ShunsLettuce and Gives the Devil His Due"(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E5DF1E3FF930A35752C0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all). TheNew York Times. Retrieved2008-03-31. "Yazidis pray three times aday, at dawn, midday and sunset,facing the direction of the sun eachtime. 'The sun is very holy to us,' saidWalid Abu Khudur, the stocky, beardedguardian of the temple built in honorof a holy man here. 'It is like the eye ofGod, so we pray toward it.'... Theyhave adopted Christian rituals likebaptism and a smattering of practicesfrom Islam ranging from circumcisionto removal of their shoes inside theirtemples. The importance of re as adivine manifestation comes fromZoroastrianism, the ancient Iranianfaith that forms the core of Yazidibeliefs. Indeed their very name is likelytaken from an old Persian word forangel."

28. ^ Hedges, Chris (1993-05-31). "SheikAdi Journal: Satan's Alive and Well, butthe Sect May Be Dying"(http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DA133FF932A05756C0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all). TheNew York Times. Retrieved2007-07-21. "The Yazidis, who are partof Iraq's Yezidi minority, had 100 of150 villages demolished during thecounterinsurgency operation againstthe Kurdish rebel movement thatreached its peak in 1988. Thecampaign, which moved hundreds ofthousands of people to collectivevillages, saw 4,000 Yezidi villagesdynamited into rubble. ... The sectfollows the teachings of Sheik Adi, aholy man who died in 1162, and whosecrypt lies in the shrine in the LalishValley, about 15 miles east of Mosul.The shrine's graceful, uted spirespoke above the trees and dominate thefertile valley. ... Like Zoroastrians theyvenerate re, the sun and the mulberrytree. They believe in thetransmigration of souls, often intoanimals. The sect does not acceptconverts and banishes anyone whomarries outside the faith. Yazidis areforbidden to disclose most of theirrituals and beliefs to nonbelievers."

29.

^ "Richness of Iraq's minority religionsrevealed" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8598970.stm) from the BBC

30.


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^ Lattimer, Mark (2007-12-13)"Freedom Lost(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/13/gender.iraq)", TheGuardian, London.

31.

^ Allison, Christine (2001). The YezidiOral Tradition in Iraqi Kurdistan(http://books.google.com/?id=8B1g3YUhYU0C&printsec=frontcover&q). PsychologyPress. p. 40. ISBN 0-7007-1397-2.Retrieved August 20, 2010.

32.

^ Commins, David Dean. HistoricalDictionary of Syria. Scarecrow Press.p. 282. ISBN 0-8108-4934-8.

33.

^ Ghareeb, Edmund A. (2004).Historical Dictionary of Iraq.Scarecrow Press. p. 248.ISBN 0-8108-4330-7.

34.

^ Edmonds, C.J. (1967). A PilgrimageTo Lalish. Routledge. p. 60.ISBN 0-947593-28-4.

35.

^ Hastings, James (2003).Encyclopedia of Religion and EthicsPart 18. Kessinger. p. 769.ISBN 0-7661-3695-7.

36.

^ "At least 20 killed in Iraq blast"(http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/08/13/iraq.violence/index.html).CNN.com International. August 13,2009. Retrieved August 13, 2009.

37.

^ "The Role of the Father - HonorKilling Verdict Has ProsecutorsWanting More (English)"(http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/prosecutors-focus-on-father-in-german-honor-killing-case-a-834752.html). Spiegel Online.2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-05-27.

38.

^ Lovecraft, H.P., The CompleteFiction, Barnes & Noble, 2008. ISBN978-1-4351-2296-3

39.

^ "Yezidis" (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/ya-yz.htm).Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary.Theosophical University Press. 1999.

40.

^ Shah, Idries (1964). The Sus.Anchor Doubleday. pp. 437438.ISBN 0-385-07966-4.

41.

^ Kaplan, Lawrence F. (2007-10-31)."Sinjar Diarist: Devil's Advocates"(http://direct.bl.uk/bld/PlaceOrder.do?UIN=197238985&ETOC=RN). The New Republic 235(4790): 34. Not accessible: original(http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20061106&s=diarist110606). Cited at PDPBR forOctober 31-November 1(http://uscpublicdiplomacy.com/index.php/newsroom/johnbrown_detail/061101_pdpbr/).

42.

^ Moore, Alan and Ha, Gene(19992000) Top Ten issues 1-12,

43.

^ Lagouranis, Tony (2007). Fear UpHarsh: An Army Interrogator's DarkJourney through Iraq. New AmericanLibrary. p. 128.ISBN 978-0-451-22112-4.

44.


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Further readingCumont, Franz. Oriental Religionsin Roman Paganism. New York:Dover Publications, 1956,p. 152-153.Drower, E.S. [E.S. Stevens].Peacock Angel. Being SomeAccount of Votaries of a SecretCult and their Sanctuaries(http://www.avesta.org/yezidi/peacock.htm). London: JohnMurray, 1941.Joseph, I. "Yezidi Texts". TheAmerican Journal of SemiticLanguages and Literatures,19081909/XXV, 2, pp. 111156.Kreyenbroek, F.G. "Yezidism - itsBackground, Observances andTextual Tradition". Texts andStudies in Religion, 62. Lewiston,Queenston and Lampeter: EdwinMellen Press, 1995.Kurdoev, K.K. "Ob alfaviteezidskikh religioznykh knig"(Report on the alphabet of theYezidi religious books). Pis'mennyepamiatniki i problemy istoriikul'tury narodov Vostoka. VIIIgodichnaia nauchnaia sessiia LOIV AN SSSR. Leningrad, 1972,pp. 196199. In Russian.

Kurdoev, K.K. "Ob avtorstve iiazyke religioznykh knig kurdovXIXII vv. predvaritel'noesoobshchenie" (Preliminary reporton the Yezidi religious books of theeleventh-twelfth centuries: theirauthor and language). VIIgodichnaia nauchnaia sessiia LOIV AN SSSR. Leningrad, 1971,pp. 2224. In Russian.Marie, A. 1911. "La dcouvertercente des deux livres sacrs desYzdis". Anthropos, 1911/VI, 1.pp. 139.Menzel, Th. "Yazidi, Yazidiya" inEncyclopaedia of Islam.Omarkhali, Kh. "Yezidizm. Izglubini tisyachaletiy" (Yezidism.From the early millennia). SanktPeterburg, 2005. In Russian.Omarkhali, Kh. "Yezidism: Society,Symbol, Observance". Istanbul,2007. In Yezidish.Reshid, T. Yezidism: historicalroots (http://www.ndarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SBL/is_1-2_19/ai_n15954362), InternationalJournal of Yezidi Studies, January2005.


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Reshid, R., Etnokonfessionalnayasituasiya v sovremennomKurdistane. Moskva-Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, 2004, p. 16. InRussian.Rodziewicz, A., Yezidi Eros. Loveas The Cosmogonic Factor andDistinctive Feature of The YezidiTheology in The Light of SomeAncient Cosmogonies, FritillariaKurdica(http://www.kurdishstudies.pl/les/Fritillaria_Kurdica_2014_03_04%5B1%5D.pdf), 2014/3,41,pp. 42-105.

Rodziewicz, A., Tawus Protogonos:Parallels between the YezidiTheology and Some Ancient GreekCosmogonies, Iran and theCaucasus, 2014/18,1, pp. 27-45.Wahbi, T., Dn Caran Kurd,Gelawej Journal, N 11-12,Baghdad, 1940, pp. 5152. InYezidish.Williams, Kayla, and Michael E.Staub. 2005. Love My Rie MoreThan You. W.W. Norton, New York.ISBN 0-393-06098-5

Ph.G. Kreyenbroek in collaboration with Z. Kartal, Kh. Omarkhali, and Kh.J.Rashow. Yezidism in Europe: Dierent Generations Speak about theirReligion. Wiesbaden, 2009.Omarkhali Khanna in collaboration with Kovan Khanki. A method of theanalysis of the Yezidi Qewls: On the example of the religious hymn of OmarKhala and Hesin Chineri. Avesta, Istanbul, 2009.Salman H Haji, Pharmacist, Lincoln NE US

External linksLes Ezidis de France (http://ezidi.fr/)Der Jesidismus ein Beispiel fr religisen Synkretismus(http://www.academia.edu/3168582/George_Grigore_Der_Jesidismus_ein_Beispiel_fur_religiosen_Synkretismus_Analele_Universitatii_din_Bucuresti_-_Limbi_si_literaturi_straine_nr._2_Bukarest_Editura_Universitatii_din_Bucuresti_2012_.83-94)An Inquiry into the Religious Tenets of the Yezeedees (http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/rty/index.htm) by George Percy Badger (1852).


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Devil Worship: The Sacred Books and Traditions of the Yezidiz(http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/sby/index.htm) by Isya Joseph (1919).Fritillaria Kurdica (http://www.kurdishstudies.pl/les/Fritillaria_Kurdica_2014_03_04%5B1%5D.pdf) free issue of bulletin devotedto Yezidis (2014).Yezidism: Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition(http://web.archive.org/web/20050110091415re_/www.mellenpress.com/emp/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=1585&pc=9) by Philip G. Kreyenbroek (1995).ISBN 0-7734-9004-3.Shaikh 'Adi, Susm and the Kurds (http://www.pen-kurd.org/englizi/zorab/zorab-SheikhAdi-Suzm.html), by Dr. Zourab Aloian."Al-Hallaj in Yezidi Tradition (http://web.archive.org/web/20051214055638re_/www.lalish.com/helac.htm)", essay on al-Hallaj,presented by Dr. Zorab Aloian at the 35th International Congress of Asianand North African Studies, Budapest (July 1997)."Being Yezidi (http://www.oneworld.am/journalism/articles/yezidi.html)", onYezidi identity politics in Armenia, by Onnik Krikorian, rst published byTransitions Online (2004).Lost in Translation (http://michaelyon.blogspot.com/2005/06/lost-in-translation.html), interviews with Yazidi by Michael Yon in YezdinarVillage, Iraq (June 6, 2005).The Beginning of the Universe (http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001064.html), photos and a description of Yezidi life in Lalish, Iraq, byMichael J. Totten (February 22, 2006)."Armenia: Yezidi Identity Battle (http://www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=325045&apc_state=henh)" by Onnik Krikorian, in Yerevan, Institutefor War & Peace Reporting (2 November 2006).Yazidi and Yazdani (http://www.shaikhsiddiqui.com/yazdani.html)Yezidi Web (http://web.archive.org/web/20031026113221/http://www.yezidi.net/) (via the Wayback Machine)"[1] (http://web.archive.org/web/20071202102940/http://altreligion.about.com/library/faqs/bl_yezidism.htm)", Alternative Religionsprole at About.com.Rubin, Alissa J. (2007-10-14). "Persecuted Sect in Iraq Avoids Its Shrine"


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(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/world/middleeast/14iraq.html). TheNew York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-04."Murder of Yezidi woman - Arzu .'s brother faces life in prison (German)"(http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/ehrenmord-in-detmold-bruder-von-arzu-oe-soll-lebenslang-in-haft-a-833535.html). Spiegel Online.2012-05-16. Retrieved 2012-05-27."The Role of the Father - Honor Killing Verdict Has Prosecutors WantingMore (English)" (http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/prosecutors-focus-on-father-in-german-honor-killing-case-a-834752.html). Spiegel Online.2012-05-24. Retrieved 2012-05-27.

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