Legal Issues Yazidis Face When Translating Their Names Internationally

This encyclopedia entry examines the specific legal challenges that Yazidis encounter when their names are transliterated into non‑Arabic scripts for use in international documents, travel, and asylum procedures.

The term “Yazidi name transliteration” (Kurmanji: navê yêzidî) refers to the process of converting Yazidi personal, family, and place names from their native scripts (Arabic‑based, Latin‑based Kurmanji, or Cyrillic) into the Latin alphabet used by most international authorities, while preserving legal identity and cultural authenticity.

Pronunciation & orthography

The core Kurdish‑Kurmanji spelling is navê yêzidî. In Arabic script it appears as ناڤێ یەزیدی, while some diaspora communities use a Cyrillic form навэ езиди. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) rendering is /naˈve jeˈzidi/. Common English misspellings include “Yazidi,” “Yezidi,” and “Yazidi” (the latter often conflated with the broader ethnic label).

Main exposition

Domestic legal framework in Iraq

Iraq’s 2023 Law on Religious Identity requires every citizen’s official documents to list a state‑recognized religious affiliation (e.g., “Muslim,” “Christian,” “Yazidi”). The law also mandates that names be entered in Arabic script, with transliteration into Latin letters left to the discretion of civil‑registry officials (Northwestern Law, 2025). For Yazidis, whose names often contain the character “ê” or the sacred element “Şêx” (Sheikh), the mandatory Arabic rendering can erase distinctive phonemes, leading to mismatches on passports and visas. This creates a de‑facto barrier to international travel and to the recognition of Yazidi identity abroad (see source [3]).

International asylum and recognition standards

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) notes that Yazidis self‑identify first by religion and then by ethnicity, a distinction that must be reflected in asylum claims (EUAA, 2024). However, inconsistencies in name transliteration often cause procedural delays: asylum officers may misclassify a Yazidi name as Arab or Kurdish, undermining the applicant’s claim to protected status. The EUAA guidance explicitly advises caseworkers to verify the original Kurdish spelling before accepting a Latin‑script version, but implementation varies across member states (see source [4]).

Documentary challenges and forced assimilation

Yazidis have reported that officials sometimes alter the spelling of surnames to align with dominant Kurdish naming conventions, a practice traced back to post‑2003 political pressures for assimilation (CPT, 2005). For example, the surname “Êzî” may be recorded as “Ezi” or “Yazidi” in Latin letters, erasing the theological reference to the deity Melek Taus. Such alterations can affect property records, voting registers, and inheritance rights, compounding the community’s fear of cultural erasure (see source [1]).

Impact of the 2014 genocide on naming practices

After the ISIS genocide, many Yazidis were displaced and issued new identity documents in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The KRI administration introduced a standardized Latin transliteration scheme that often omitted diacritics, further distancing official records from traditional spellings (Allison, 2024). Survivors of sexual violence also faced additional hurdles: children born of rape were sometimes registered under the perpetrator’s name, contravening Iraqi law that seeks to preserve the mother’s lineage (see source [3]).

In the oral tradition

The qewl (sacred hymn) corpus contains numerous references to the sanctity of personal names, especially those invoking the figure of Şêx Adî. One verse states, “

Navê Şêx Adî li dilê me ye, her çi bê navê wî nebe

” (“The name of Sheikh Adi lives in our hearts; without his name we are nothing”). This oral emphasis underscores why forced alteration of names is perceived as a spiritual violation (Allison, 2024).

Scholarly disagreement

Kreyenbroek argues that Yazidi names constitute an ethnic marker distinct from religious affiliation, and therefore should be protected under minority‑rights provisions of international law. Açıkyıldız counters that because Yazidism is a syncretic faith, names function primarily as religious identifiers, making them subject to the same legal regimes that govern other faith‑based naming conventions. Both positions influence how courts interpret the Iraqi religious‑identity law (see sources [2] and [3]).

Common misconceptions

Regional variation

In the Sinjar region, names often retain the “ê” vowel (e.g., “Berîvanê”), while in Sheikhan the same name may appear as “Berivan”. Syrian Yazidis, many of whom fled to Turkey, have adopted Turkish‑style Latin spellings that drop diacritics altogether. In the Caucasus diaspora, Cyrillic transliterations add another layer of variation, leading to multiple official versions for a single individual. These differences complicate cross‑border verification and can trigger legal disputes over identity consistency.

Timeline

Data table