What happened to the Yazidis in 2014?
In August 2014, the Yazidis became victims of a genocide by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its campaign to rid Iraq and its neighbouring countries of non-Islamic influences.
Who are the Yazidi people in Iraq?
Also called Yezidi, Daasin, or Ezidi, the Yazidi are a Kurdish-speaking ethnoreligious community based in Northern Iraq who practice a syncretic religion influenced by pre-Islamic Assyrian traditions, Sufi and Shiite Islam, Nestorian Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. Their rich oral tradition is their primary way of passing on their beliefs,
Who are the Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar?
Most of the trapped people are members of the Yazidi religion, one of Iraq’s oldest minorities. They were forced to flee to Mount Sinjar in the Iraqi north-west region, or face slaughter by an encircling group of Islamic State (Isis) jihadists.
What is the holiest place of the Yazidi religion?
The holiest Yazidi shrine is the tomb of founder Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir in Lalish, near Mosul, Iraq. The faithful make an annual pilgrimage there to observe the holiday of Jema’iyye, the Feast of the Seven Days. Yazidi society is hierarchical.
Are there Yazidis in the United States?
A community of Yazidis have settled as refugees in the United States of America and Canada. In particular, a very large community of Yazidis now live in Lincoln, Nebraska.
What is the difference between Yazidis and Kurmanji?
A mostly Kurmanji–speaking ethnoreligious group or an ethnic Kurdish minority. Yazidis (also written as Yezidis) (/jəˈziːdiːz/ (listen)) are an endogamous and mostly Kurmanji-speaking group, indigenous to Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
What is the origin of the Yazidi name?
The Yazidis’ own name for themselves is Êzîdî or, in some areas, Dasinî, although the latter, strictly speaking, is a tribal name. Some western scholars derive the name from the Umayyad Caliph Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya (Yazid I).