Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Yezidis call for U.S. support
Hundreds of Yazidi families have fled Mosul in the past two years leaving little more than a half dozen now. Most have found safety in the Kurdish Autonomous Region in the country's north where security is much better than the rest of the Iraq. Yazidis speak Kurdish and are granted full religious freedom under the regional government in which they also hold two ministerial posts. Ismail, however, maintains that minor officials resent them and prevent their villages from receiving adequate services.
"We are afraid of Islam," said Shirwan al-Fakir, whose family is charged with taking care of the main temple. He paused. "Not all, just the terrorists, because someone told them that the Yazidis are a problem."
COMMENT: The Yezidi religion dates to the 14th century, but some scholars believe that it could be even older. The belief system draws from Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Gnostic, and Zoroastrian beliefs and traditions. The Yezidi worship Malak Tawus, or "Peacock Angel," aka Lucifer. However, Lucifer is viewed differently from the Christian Lucifer, or devil. Yezidis see him as the chief archangel and creator of the material world. Yezidis have been careful to shield their religion due to criticism over being wrongly viewed as "devil worshippers," but their secrecy has also helped to fuel speculation about their religious practices.
The Yezidi pray twice a day, in the direction of the sun. Wednesday is considered their holy day, and Saturday is a day of rest. The Yezidi religion is practiced almost exclusively by Kurds living in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Armenia, with the majority in Iraq. A large number of Yezidis also reside in Germany. The Yezidi religion is centered in the village of Lalish in northern Iraq's Ninawah Province. There are about 60,000 Yezidis in Iraq and Syria, 200,000 total worldwide. Yezidi religion places taboos on the eating of fish or the meat of gazelles; the wearing of blue clothing is forbidden. Fire, cocks, peacocks, snakes, bulls and scorpions all have religious significance and symbolism to the Yezidis.
Part of the ongoing persecution of the Yezidis by Arab governments, especially in Iraq, is to deny them even their separate identity as Kurds; in Iraq, the official policy is to refer to them as "Ummayad Arabs," connecting them (through improper historical data) to a branch of the Arabs rather than the Kurds. This effort to erase Yezidi identity has effected the Yezidi culture considerably, and it is common for higher-class Yezidi to take on Arab dress and language in an effort to conform and protect their property, while lower-class Yezidis continue to hold on to their Kurdish traditions. COMMENT ENDS.
