Hunted by militants from the islamic state, thousands of people from the yazidi community have fled to the slopes of iraqs mount sinjar, where. The yazidi holy books are the kiteba cilwe book of revelation and the mishefa res black book. Contrary to inaccurate reports, the yazidis are a kurdish religious group and not an ethnic group following the fall of saddam hussein in 2003, the kurds asked for the yazidis to be entirely recognise as belonging to their people. The yazidi new year falls in spring, on the first wednesday of april somewhat later than the equinox.
Meefa res is one of two books written in the style of a holy book of the yazidis in northern kurdish, the other being the yazidi book of revelation kiteba jilwe. Yazidis are kurdish ethnoreligious community predominantly living in northern iraq with large communities in sinjar and shekhan, where a number of their holy sites are located, turkey, iran and some of them are scattered in the european w. The holy scriptures of the yazidi religion consist of two short books in arabic. The yazidi holy books were said to be the kiteba cilwe book of revelation and the mishefa res black book. Who are the yazidis and what do they believe about god, satan. Given the yazidi belief in reincarnation, even moderate muslims have a difficult time accepting the faith of their compatriots. Satanism in islam and among the heretic yezidis in iran, gno. The yazidi book of revelation kiteba cilwe in kurdish. The first half of the book contains some of their creation mythology and other stories. A specialist in medieval islamic and ottoman art and architecture, and an expert on yezidi religion and. Yezidis believe the black book originated when the lord descended black mountain.
The religious community professing yazidism consists of between 200,000 and 300,000 people. Last august, the islamic state of iraq and syria isis trapped tens of thousands. Oct 22, 2014 the most important ritual is the annual sevenday pilgrimage to the tomb of sheikh adi ibn musafir sex adi in lalis, north of mosul,iraq. The yazidis also yezidi, ezidi, yazdani are a kurdish ethnoreligious community whose syncretic but ancient religion yazidism, a kind of yazdanism, is linked to zoroastrianism and ancient mesopotamian religions. Kitab aljilwah book of revelation supposed to have been written by sheikh adi himself, and mishaf rash black. The holy book is clear about what to do when you capture a city. They have been brought to the attention of the international world because of the cruelty and slaughter that came upon them in the form of the islamic state. Persians, and muslims, who have tried to subdue the yazidi people, to no avail. Others tie the name yazidi to an old avestan word yazata for angel. The second part focussed mostly on arts and architecture surrounding the yazidi buildings and their faith. In the months since its rise, the sunniidentified islamic state has gone after many religious and ethnic minorities in iraq and. Who are the yazidis, the persecuted religious minority in. The oxford encyclopedia of the modern islamic world.
When isis rounded up yazidi women and girls in iraq to use as slaves, the captives drew on their collective memory of past oppressions. Aug 15, 2014 this confusion comes from religious tradition that claims malek taus fell from grace, but that he eventually regained good standing with yasdan. Religious narratives from the yezidi tradition iranica, 9. The yezidis and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. After this incident, the internet was flooded with the blogs supporting the innocent dua khalil, and providing confusing information about the yezidi religion and their practices, their history and the felonies and hostilities of muslims against this helpless community. After this incident, the internet was flooded with the blogs supporting the innocent dua khalil, and providing confusing information about the yezidi religion and their practices, their history and the felonies and hostilities of muslims against this helpless. According to some estimates, 70,000 people, or about 15% of the yazidi population in iraq. Yezidi religious belief and practice peacock angel. He introduced himself as an entrepreneur, running a little oriental corner eatery in hannover. Yazidism is the religion of a kurdish peoplegroup that lives primarily in iraq. The islamic state of iraq and syria is notoriously hostile to shiite muslims, kurds, christians and other groups. Kurdish latin the yazidi also yezidi, ezidi, yazdani. Each yazidi is obliged to make a pilgrimage to lalesh at least once during his or her life.
We had a king in babel whose name was bukhtinossor nebuchadnezzer, and. Yet throughout their long history they have faced 72 genocides and soon they may unfortunately be facing genocide number 73 at the hands of the group formerly known as isis which now calls itself the islamic state. Slavery in islam to have and to hold middle east and. Iraqs obscure religious minority is another isis target. The yazidi black book is one of two books written in the style of a holy book of the yazidis in. The yazidis are a kurdish minority group who follow a syncretic religion that draws on aspects of ancient mesopotamian faiths, zoroastrianism, and the abrahamic faiths. The origin of the yazidi religion is now usually seen by scholars as a complex process of syncretism, whereby the beliefsystem and practices of a local faith had a profound influence on the religiosity of adherents of the. Calling genocide by its rightful name the washington times. In south india specifically tamil and malayalee peoples are worshippers of lord murugan in yazidi words melek taus. In the book, the yazidis are portrayed as ancient guardians of the megalithic site, gobekli tepe, in kurdish turkey. Is the yazidi religion an offshoot of islam, like the. In the months since its rise, the sunniidentified islamic state has gone after many religious and ethnic minorities in iraq and syria, including christians, shiite muslims, shiite turkmen, shiite shabaks, and of course the yazidi. The yazidi religion is believed to be around 6,000 years old in fact. Yazidi, iraqs persecuted minority, religious beliefs.
Yazidis, a heterodox kurdish religious minority living predominantly in northern iraq, syria and southeast turkey, with wellestablished communities in the caucasus and a growing european diaspora. While the yazidis see that as a sign of goodness, many muslims view the figure as a fallen angel and regard the yazidis as devilworshippers. Yazidi, also spelled yezidi, azidi, zedi, izadi, ezidi, or yazdani, member of a kurdish religious minority found primarily in northern iraq, southeastern turkey, northern syria, the caucasus region, and parts of iran. The sacred scriptures of the yazidis are two short books written in arabic. Hunted by militants from the islamic state, thousands of people from the yazidi community have fled to the slopes of iraqs mount sinjar, where they are caught between the prospect of death by dehydration and murder at the hands of the group formerly called isis. Practice, in terms of careful adherence to rules governing all aspects of life, is more important than the role of scriptural text, dogma and professions of personal belief.
Before the roles of the sexes were determined, adam and eve. The yazidi religion includes elements of ancient iranian religions as well as elements of judaism, nestorian christianity, and islam. This narrative is similar to the jewish texts and christian old testament narratives of attempts by other tribes and religions to exterminate gods chosen people. Hugging a column, walking in circles and kissing a black snake. Encyclopaedia iranica religious belief and practice. The majority of yazidis remaining in the middle east today live in iraq, primarily in the nineveh and dohuk governorates. The muchderided yazidi caste system is actually about religious duties. Other kinship groups who have special roles are the feqirsknown for their religious knowledge and ascetic lives, and recognizable by their sacred black cloak known as the xirqeand the qewwals, who learn and perform the qewls, or sacred hymns.
Yazidi, member of a kurdish religious minority found primarily in northern iraq. Yazidi cultural practices are observed in kurmanji, which is also used by almost all the orally transmitted religious traditions of the yazidis. This has been compiled into what is known as the black book. My story of captivity, and my fight against the islamic state murad, nadia, clooney, amal on. In fact, their belief system incorporates visible elements from the three religions of the book judaism, christianity, and islam and traces of lesserknown religions. Religious practices prayers yazidis have five daily prayers. The yazidis, isolated in a remote iraq region, are misunderstood and persecuted by their neighbours. The name comes from the ancient city of yazd in iran, which still has an operating fire temple. A sacred microcosm of the world, as it were, it contains not only many shrines dedicated to the koasasa, but a number of other landmarks corresponding to other sites or symbols of significance in other faiths, including pirra selat serat bridge. My story of captivity, and my fight against the islamic state. The actual core texts of yazidi religion are hymns known as qawls. A large number of iraqs tiny yazidi minority remains isolated on a remote mountain top, fearing the selfstyled islamic state and. Yazidis pray five times a day, facing the holy city of lalesh at the noon prayer. Aug 08, 2014 yazidi book of revelation kiteba cilwe yazidi black book mishefa res languages.
The yazidi religious centre and object of the annual pilgrimage is the tomb of sheikh. When isis rounded up yazidi women and girls in iraq to use as slaves, the captives drew on their collective memory of past oppressions and a powerful will to survive. Jan 01, 2010 the book was well written, i enjoyed reading about dr. Yezidi religion multidisciplinary view of the religious. History, facts and traditions of iraqs persecuted minority by yasmine hafiz hunted by militants from the islamic state, thousands of people from the yazidi community have fled to the slopes of iraqs mount sinjar, where they are caught between the prospect of death by dehydration and murder at the hands of the group. There are probably some 200,000300,000 yazidis worldwide. Yezidism is passed on in an oral tradition by men of religion or qewwals.
Nonetheless they do reflect authentic yazidi traditions. Yazidis, a heterodox kurdish religious minority living predominantly in northern iraq, syria, and southeast turkey, with wellestablished communities in the caucasus and a growing european diaspora. His tomb in the iraqi city of lalish is a site of yazidi pilgrimage, mirroring the sufi practices of millions of muslims elsewhere. Yazidis project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Yazidi society is organized into three castelike social groups determined by birththe religious sheikhs and pirs and the lay murids. Debate and misunderstanding over this theology has led to the groups persecution at the hands of muslims and christians alike, with isis believing that yazidis are satan worshipers who must convert or. It is now widely suspected that both volumes were compiled by nonyazidis. Who are the yazidi people, and what are their beliefs. Religious oral tradition and literacy among the yezidis of iraq jstor. Anecdotal evidence of the existence of yazidi groups in northwestern persia has not yet been proven. History, facts, and traditions hunted by militants from the islamic state, thousands of people from the yazidi community have fled to the slopes of iraqs mount sinjar, where they are caught between the prospect of death by dehydration and murder at the hands of the group formerly. The history of a community, culture and religion library of modern religion acikyildiz, birgul on.
The black book also includes narratives of how the yazidi people have been targeted by jews, christians, persians, and muslims, who have tried to subdue the yazidi people, to no avail. The rise of islamic fundamentalism more broadly has pushed thousands of yazidis to seek asylum in europe. Throughout the book, the yazidis learn religious practices like the five daily prayers as well as how to avoid sins against the earth. The tale of the yazidis origin found in the black book gives them a distinctive ancestry and expresses their feeling of difference from other races. Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the wikipedia article. However, scholars generally agree that the manuscripts of both books published in 1911 and 19 were forgeries written by nonyazidis in response to western travelers and scholars interest in the yazidi religion. Two short books, kitab aljilwah book of revelation and maafrash black book, form the sacred scriptures of the yazidis. The kurds are usually identified as an iranian ethnic group descended from the medes. Adawiyya sufi order living in the kurdish mountains, and caused it to deviate from islamic norms relatively soon after. Yazidis also have some distinct social norms around how communities are. Why some muslims want to kill the yazidis by genocide. Yezidi theology, oral tradition, rituals, and rites of passage. The yazidi religion is monotheistic and can be traced back to ancient mesopotamian religions and it also has some similarities with abrahamic religions. Yazidis are kurdish ethno religious community predominantly living in northern iraq with large communities in sinjar and shekhan, where a number of their holy sites are located, turkey, iran and some of them are scattered in the european w.
Because their religion venerates a peacock angel whose mythology is similar to that of iblis, the islamic satan, outside observers have long accused the yazidis of being devil worshipers. Some yazidis also live in armenia, turkey, iran, georgia, and syria. The history of a community, culture and religion library of modern religion. Theres a lot of mystery surrounding the yazidi, and a lot of contradictory information. Yazidi refugees also live in europe specifically in germany and the united states. The yazidi book of revelation is one of two books on the yazidi religion written in the style of a holy book in the kurmanji dialect of the kurdish language, the other being the yazidi black book mishefa res. The video of her honor killing was posted on the internet in may 2007. The secular leader is a hereditary emir or prince, whereas a chief sheikh heads the religious hierarchy. However, the yazidis in bashiqa and bahzani speak arabic as their mother language.
In addition, members of the three yazidi caste s, the murid s, sheikhs and pirs, marry only within their group. After that, the book seems similar to islamic accounts of the ancient world but diverges into a discussion of the ancient yazidi kings. The yezidi or yazidi religious minority has been lifted from obscurity for the very worst reason. The current crisis in iraq has brought the plight of minority groups into the spotlight, with the mention of one religious cohort that many americans had likely never heard of before. King ahab and amran were of us, so that they used to call the god of ahab beelzebub, whom they call amongst us pirbub. Baghdad ap hundreds of women from the yazidi religious minority have been taken captive by sunni militants with vicious plans, an iraqi official said friday, further underscoring the dire plight of iraqs minorities at the hands of the islamic state group. Aug 20, 2014 who are the yazidi people, and what are their beliefs.
Acikyildizs journey to iraq and other yazidi territories, the first half of the book was a particularly enjoyable read. The yazidis syncretic religion has a rich oral tradition mixing islamic mysticism with the dualism of zoroastrianism, the ancient persian religion, elements of early, preislamic religions, including mithraism, a mystery religion originating in the eastern mediterranean, and some christian practices. Jan 29, 2016 contrary to inaccurate reports, the yazidis are a kurdish religious group and not an ethnic group following the fall of saddam hussein in 2003, the kurds asked for the yazidis to be entirely recognise as belonging to their people. One of the worlds most endangered religious minorities, the yazidis are a. Religions of the world part 1 the yazidi branch of yazdnism. Radical islamic militants hold hundreds of yazidi women in. More recently the yezidi religious authorities have given permission for their people living abroad to write down and even to translate some of the stories and poetry of their people. In addition, members of the three yazidi castes, the murids, sheikhs and pirs, marry only within their group. Who are the yazidi, and why is isis targeting them. The yazidis syncretic religion has a rich oral tradition mixing islamic mysticism with the dualism of.
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