Ancient, pre-Islamic religious sect targeted in Iraq
Iraqi Yazidis are paying a heavy price for their tenacious adherence to their religious practices...
Attacks on Yazidis have surged recently and almost all Yazidi families living outside the autonomous Kurdish region have fled the country...
Most of the killings were perpetrated on religious grounds as fundamentalist and Islamist groups see them as infidels who either have to convert or be killed.
The Yazidi religion is a conglomeration of different faiths and includes traces of Christianity, Islam and Zorastrianism. They worship the fallen Angel abhorred by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
They have their main sanctuaries in Iraq close to the northern city of Mosul but currently are situated within the semi-independent territory Iraqi Kurds have carved up for themselves.
There are nearly half a million Yazidis in Iraq and most of them live in two major localities –- in Shaikhan north of Mosul and Sinjar to the west.
Read entire article at Azzaman (Baghdad, Basra, London)
Attacks on Yazidis have surged recently and almost all Yazidi families living outside the autonomous Kurdish region have fled the country...
Most of the killings were perpetrated on religious grounds as fundamentalist and Islamist groups see them as infidels who either have to convert or be killed.
The Yazidi religion is a conglomeration of different faiths and includes traces of Christianity, Islam and Zorastrianism. They worship the fallen Angel abhorred by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
They have their main sanctuaries in Iraq close to the northern city of Mosul but currently are situated within the semi-independent territory Iraqi Kurds have carved up for themselves.
There are nearly half a million Yazidis in Iraq and most of them live in two major localities –- in Shaikhan north of Mosul and Sinjar to the west.