Yazidis in Turkey are not formally recognised as a distinct minority under Turkish law, despite constitutional guarantees of religious freedom. Their legal standing is shaped by a mix of constitutional provisions, the 1982 Constitution’s minority framework, and practical state policies that often limit full enjoyment of rights.
Since 2003, Germany has become the primary destination for Yazidi migrants, followed by other European states. The flows have been driven by persecution, especially the 2014 ISIS genocide, economic hardship, and differing asylum policies across Europe.
Following the UN and Iraqi Parliament’s recognition of the ISIS‑led atrocities as genocide, Yazidi survivors have been granted a suite of legal remedies, including the Yazidi Female Survivors Law, compensation programmes, psychosocial support, and avenues for criminal accountability. This article surveys the domestic and international mechanisms that constitute those remedies.
The Sheikh Adi Shrine at Lalish is the focal point of Yazidi religious architecture. This article examines its key structural features, their symbolic meanings, and how the complex has evolved from the 12th century to the present.
The 2007 Qahtaniyah car bombings killed hundreds of Yazidis and sparked a complex web of domestic and international legal responses. This article surveys the investigations, the limited prosecutions in Iraq, and the role of international mechanisms—including the UN‑backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon as a precedent—for pursuing accountability.
Ottoman tax registers (tahrir defters) and mid‑nineteenth‑century population lists provide the most systematic evidence of Yazidi settlements across the empire before the 1915‑1918 genocide. Scholars have combined these archival sources with historic maps to reconstruct village locations, demographics, and clan structures.
Since the rise of ISIS, Yazidi shrines across Syria have suffered extensive damage, yet community initiatives and international aid have enabled the restoration of several key sites. This article surveys the documented destruction, ongoing reconstruction, and the cultural significance of these holy places.
This article examines Stranbêj, the Kurdish traditional singing style of Iraqi Kurdistan, alongside the sacred music of the Yazidi Qewls and the Syriac Catholic chants of Iraq. It highlights their shared oral foundations, divergent performance contexts, and the scholarly debates shaping their modern reinterpretations.
The 2014 Sinjar genocide inflicted severe mental‑health trauma on Yazidi children, leading to high rates of post‑traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and identity disruption. Studies conducted in displacement camps and diaspora settings consistently report prevalence rates above 40 % for major psychiatric disorders.
Since the 2014 Sinjar genocide, Yazidi migration to Europe has shifted from emergency displacement to structured, policy‑driven flows. This article traces the phases, motivations, routes, and statistical trends that have shaped the Yazidi diaspora in Europe up to 2024.