Facts On Iraq's Yazidi Minority
Sumaira FH Published October 27, 2016 | 08:15 PM
STRASBOURG, France, , (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Oct, 2016 ) - Iraq's Yazidi minority is in the spotlight Thursday after two women from the community won the European Parliament's Sakharov human rights prize.
Nadia Murad and Lamia Haji Bashar have spearheaded a movement to protect Yazidis, followers of an ancient religion with more than half a million Kurdish-speaking believers concentrated in northern Iraq.
Here are some facts about the Yazidis: - Ancient faith - ================= Mainly living in remote corners of Iraqi Kurdistan, the Yazidis adhere to a faith that emerged in Mesopotamia more than 4,000 years ago.
It is rooted in Zoroastrianism but has over time integrated elements of islam and Christianity. Yazidis pray to God facing the sun and worship his seven angels -- the most important of which is Melek Taus, or Peacock Angel.
- Forced to flee - ================== Of the world's 1.5 million Yazidis, the largest community is in Iraq -- comprising 550,000 people according to the Iraqi Kurdistan government. Of these, some 400,000 have been displaced by fighting with the jihadist Islamic State.
Around 1,500 have been killed and nearly 4,000 are in captivity. A few thousand more are in Syria, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. They are mostly impoverished farmers and herders. The United Nations has estimated that around 3,200 Yazidis are currently in the hands of the Islamic State, mainly in Syria.
- Unique beliefs - ================== Yazidis discourage marriage outside the community and even across their caste system. Their unique beliefs and practices -- some are known to refrain from eating lettuce and wearing the colour blue -- have often been misconstrued as satanic.
Orthodox Muslims consider the Peacock a demon figure and refer to Yazidis as devil-worshippers. - Persecuted minority - ======================= As non-Arab and non-Muslim Iraqis, Yazidis have long been one of Iraq's most vulnerable minorities.
Persecution by Saddam Hussein forced thousands of families to flee the country. Germany is home to the largest community abroad, with an estimated 40,000. On August 14, 2007, massive truck bombs almost entirely destroyed two small Yazidi villages in northern Iraq.
More than 400 people died in the single deadliest attack since the 2003 US-led invasion. - The fall of Sinjar - ====================== In August 2014, Yazidis struggled to survive after their bastion Sinjar was seized by the Islamic State, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.
The IS then pursued a brutal crackdown on the minority that included massacres, enslavement and rape. UN investigators have said the IS assault on the Yazidis was a premeditated effort to exterminate an entire community -- crimes that amount to genocide. Iraqi Kurdish forces backed by US-led coalition air strikes recaptured Sinjar in November 2015.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Senate continues discussion on Presidential address to Joint Sitting of Parliame ..
Masood Khan calls for Pak-US cooperation for regional peace
Interior Minister starts Margalla Trail Patrol for security
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 26 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 26 April 2024
ICC Womens T20 World Cup Qualifier, Match 2: Ireland Women open with Comfortable ..
Robinson, bowlers help New Zealand go 2-1 up against Pakistan
Shahzeb Chachar to hold khuli kachehri on April 26
Heatwave amid Israel's aggression in Gaza brings new misery, disease risk
Tourism must change, mayor says as Venice launches entry fee
Court adjourns Judicial Complex attack case till May 17
Nasreen Noori’s book ‘Popatan Jahra Khwab’ launched
More Stories From World
-
Singapore expects 1-3 pct growth this year
2 minutes ago -
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Tech Index rises over 5 pct
2 minutes ago -
New Zealand business sector R&D expenditure hits 2.21 bln USD
2 minutes ago -
3 dead after mini car falls into west Japan paddy field
2 minutes ago -
Chinese shares higher at midday Friday
2 minutes ago -
Myanmar plans to export 2,000 tons of coffee in 2024-25 fiscal year
12 minutes ago
-
Chinese shares close higher Friday
13 minutes ago -
Pro-Palestinian US campus protests grow as police crack down
33 minutes ago -
Miner Anglo American rejects BHP's $38.8 bn takeover bid
43 minutes ago -
Guatemala prosecutors raid international NGO over alleged child abuse
53 minutes ago -
Another State Dept official resigns over US' Gaza policy amid growing student protests
53 minutes ago -
Togo leader Gnassingbe follows father's political playbook
1 hour ago