An Overview of Yezidi Identity

2019/03/downl-1552288531.jpg
Read: 5774     15:09     11 Март 2019    

The Yezidis are a heterodox Kurdish-speaking community, originating in northern Iraq and
distinguished from other Kurds by adherence to the Yezidi religion, a minority faith of diverse origins. The Yezidis of the South Caucasus form part of a larger Yezidi global community, located predominantly in the historic homeland of the Yezidi faith, northern Iraq, and also in Turkey, Syria and, increasingly, Western Europe.
Yezidi communities are notable for their status as a double minority.2
As followers of the
Yezidi faith they form a minority within the larger global community of both Kurds and
Muslims more generally, with whom historical relations have in many contexts been hostile.
As Kurds they also represent an often persecuted minority in their adopted countries. These
factors have prompted Yezidi migration from homelands in the Middle East to Western Europe and beyond.
From the outset it is important to note that in the South Caucasus the terminology used to refer to Yezidis is varied and, at times, confused. This is a reflection of different discourses of Yezidi and Kurdish identity over which there are varying views within Yezidi communities.
The term Yezidi itself refers properly to adherents of the Yezidi religion, who are nevertheless in other ethnographic terms, such as language, Kurdish. Yezidi selfidentification with the wider global Kurdish community fluctuates in accordance with given frames of reference (religion, language) and ongoing political developments.
In some contexts the religious distinction has given rise to claims that the Yezidis are not Kurds but belong to a separate ethnic group. In Armenia especially, the extent to which Yezidis should be seen as Kurdish, or as belonging to a separate ethnic group, has been a matter of often acrimonious debate for some twenty years. Distinguishing Yezidi from Kurdish identity does not appear to be relevant for the global Yezidi community, however,
which identifies freely with a Kurdish identity. The fact that these debates do not resonate with the wider global community of Yezidis suggests that they derive from factors in the local political environment. Although some authors have opted for the term “Yezidi-Kurd” as a compromise recognizing these fluctuations, in this study the term “Yezidi” will be used since the focus here is on the community defined by the Yezidi faith rather than Muslim Kurdish populations.





Tags: yazidisinfo   yazidisineurope   yazidiidentity   езиды   идентичностьезидов   езидыевропы  



An Overview of Yezidi Identity

2019/03/downl-1552288531.jpg
Read: 5775     15:09     11 Март 2019    

The Yezidis are a heterodox Kurdish-speaking community, originating in northern Iraq and
distinguished from other Kurds by adherence to the Yezidi religion, a minority faith of diverse origins. The Yezidis of the South Caucasus form part of a larger Yezidi global community, located predominantly in the historic homeland of the Yezidi faith, northern Iraq, and also in Turkey, Syria and, increasingly, Western Europe.
Yezidi communities are notable for their status as a double minority.2
As followers of the
Yezidi faith they form a minority within the larger global community of both Kurds and
Muslims more generally, with whom historical relations have in many contexts been hostile.
As Kurds they also represent an often persecuted minority in their adopted countries. These
factors have prompted Yezidi migration from homelands in the Middle East to Western Europe and beyond.
From the outset it is important to note that in the South Caucasus the terminology used to refer to Yezidis is varied and, at times, confused. This is a reflection of different discourses of Yezidi and Kurdish identity over which there are varying views within Yezidi communities.
The term Yezidi itself refers properly to adherents of the Yezidi religion, who are nevertheless in other ethnographic terms, such as language, Kurdish. Yezidi selfidentification with the wider global Kurdish community fluctuates in accordance with given frames of reference (religion, language) and ongoing political developments.
In some contexts the religious distinction has given rise to claims that the Yezidis are not Kurds but belong to a separate ethnic group. In Armenia especially, the extent to which Yezidis should be seen as Kurdish, or as belonging to a separate ethnic group, has been a matter of often acrimonious debate for some twenty years. Distinguishing Yezidi from Kurdish identity does not appear to be relevant for the global Yezidi community, however,
which identifies freely with a Kurdish identity. The fact that these debates do not resonate with the wider global community of Yezidis suggests that they derive from factors in the local political environment. Although some authors have opted for the term “Yezidi-Kurd” as a compromise recognizing these fluctuations, in this study the term “Yezidi” will be used since the focus here is on the community defined by the Yezidi faith rather than Muslim Kurdish populations.





Tags: yazidisinfo   yazidisineurope   yazidiidentity   езиды   идентичностьезидов   езидыевропы