Yazidism

Yazidism is the ethnic religion of the Yazidi people. This religious group is indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. After the Muslim conquests of the 7th–8th centuries, Yazidis have faced persecution by Arabs and, later, by Turks. Many striking similarities between the Yazidis, the Yaresan, and the Kurdish Alevis which can be traced back to an ancient faith that was practiced by the western Iranic peoples, one derived from the pre-Zoroastrian Iranic tradition. Yezidism emerged in the 12th century when Sheikh Adi established a religious order called Adawiyya. After studying in Baghdad, Sheikh Adi settled in Lalish valley and introduced his doctrines to local Kurds, who were then practicing an old Iranic religion. After his death, his disciples and successors blended his doctrines and teachings with local Iranic traditions. As a result, Yezidi tradition employs many terms, images, and symbols of Sufi or Islamic origin, while to a greater  extent preserves pre-Islamic mythology, symbology, rituals, festivals, and traditions. Because of the ever-growing power and influence of the Yezidis, they began to be perceived as a threat by the neighbouring Muslims, intensifying the Yezidi-Muslim conflict that would last for centuries. Yezidis came into contact with the Ottomans for the first time in the early 16th century but were able to preserve much of their independence within the setting of the Ottoman Empire. Yezidi leaders occupied important positions within the provincial Ottoman system and were appointed as governors as far as Tikrit and Kerek. During the first half of the 17th century, Yezidis became a very powerful entity under the leadership of Ezidi Mirza which prompted the Ottomans to launch numerous expeditions against the Yezidis in Shingal. In modern times, the 2014 Yazidi genocide was carried out by the Islamic States. Over 5,000 Yazidis were killed and thousands of Yazidi women and girls were forced into sexual slavery. More than 500,000 Yazidi became refugees. Yazidi cultural practices are observed in the Kurmanji language, which is also used for the oral transmission of religious traditions. Like Yazdânism (see preceding article), Yazīdī cosmogony states that a supreme creator god made the world but afterward absented himself from it. Control of the world was entrusted to seven divine beings. The chief divine being is Malak Ṭāʾūs (Melek Taus), the Peacock Angel, who is worshipped in the form of a peacock. Malak Ṭāʾūs has often been misidentified by outsiders with the Judeo-Christian figure of Satan, causing both the Yazīdīs and Yarsani to be viewed as Devil worshippers. A person who breaks divine laws is expiated through metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls (reincarnation), which enables a progressive purification of their spirit. Sheikh ʿAdī, the chief Yazīdī saint, is believed to have achieved divinity through metempsychosis. Heaven and hell are also a part of Yazīdī mythology. The Yazīdī belief system emphasizes religious purity, and so Yazīdīs honor a multitude of taboos which govern aspects of daily life. The Yazīdī religious center and object of an annual pilgrimage is the tomb of Sheikh ʿAdī, in the town of Lālish, Iraq.