An ancient religious sect, with less than 1m followers worldwide, largely concentrated in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and parts of Iran. Since Sunday, around 40,000 Yazidi from the north of Iraq have been trapped in the Sinjar Mountains in the northwest of the country, having fled their homes in the nearby town of Sinjar after it was attacked by militants from the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS). A further 200,000 have reportedly fled the area. The Guardian reports that Kurdish troops stationed nearby have been forced to withdraw, and that at least 500 Yazidis, including 40 children, have been killed in the past week. The Yazidi have suffered violence throughout the recent fighting in Iraq; according to al-Jazeera, IS were accused of killing six Yazidi in May, and a group claiming to be part of IS kidnapped 24 Yazidi border guards in June.
What is their religion?
Linked to the ancient faith Zoroastrianism, the Yazidi religion revolves around the worship of seven angels, of whom Malak s ("peacock angel") is the most important. Above all of these is a supreme God, who created the universe, but the Yazidi god no longer has any direct interest in the world. Yazidi deny the existence of evil, rejecting the notion of sin, the devil and hell—this makes them “antidualists.” They believe in a form of reincarnation, whereby the spirit is purified as it migrates through different bodily forms until it achieves divinity. Shaykh Ad, a 12th century mystic and chief Yazidi saint, is believed by followers to have managed this.
Why are they being persecuted?
The Yazidi are reported to believe that they are descended from Adam, rather than Adam and Eve, and are distinct from the rest of mankind. Consequently, they separate themselves out from whatever community they live in. The Yazidi have been persecuted by Sunni militants in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003, and historically have faced persecution from nearby Muslim communities, as Malak s is often misidentified as the Judeo-Christian devil. This has led to Yazidi throughout the world being derided as “devil worshippers.”
What is likely to happen next?
International reaction to the plight of the Yazidi in Iraq has been muted; the attentions of global policymakers have been distracted by on-going violence in the Ukraine, Gaza and Libya. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council warned that those responsible could face trial for war crimes, but this is unlikely to deter fighters in an organisation which has reportedly been responsible for crucifixions, mass firing squads and other atrocities. UNICEF have also called for urgent international assistance, stressing that food and water supplies on the mountain are likely to be running low. The Obama administration is now considering airdropping aid to help the besieged Iraqis, the Guardian reports, and a UN spokesman has said that “some” Yazidi have been rescued. But without further help the situation could be dire; IS have made huge advances across the north of Iraq in the past two days, today capturing the strategically important Mosul dam. It looks increasingly unlikely that local troops will be able to assist the trapped Yazidi.
