Aug 22, 2014

The voice of the Yazidi minority was heard thanks to Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil, who called out to the entire world, decrying the fate of her people under the control of the Islamic State (IS). However, other Iraqi minorities live under similar — or even worse — circumstances, but have nobody to voice their concerns to the world. Instead, they face their seemingly inevitable fates under the control of IS.

Iraq is home to some of the world's rarest minorities, many of whose very existence will be threatened if their situation further deteriorates under IS oppression and violence in Ninevah.

The Shabaks are one such minority. Their religion, language and culture are so rare that they have faced oppression for decades. They now face IS violence, and have either fled their hometowns or been killed by the dozens.

Shabaks have been in Ninevah for over five centuries, with no certain indicator of their real origins. Their language is Indo-European, which includes a wide-ranging vocabulary of Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Kurdish. The majority of Shabaks are Shiite — with a minority Sunni — but their traditions differ from other Shiites. They also have a shared heritage with Sufi traditions. They care more about building takiyah (khanqah), where Sufis gather to practice their religious traditions, instead of mosques.

Shabaks live alongside Christians, Yazidis and other minorities in Taklif, Bashiqa, Bartla, Qaraqush and some suburbs of Mosul. Unofficial statistics indicate they total 250,000 and they only exist in Iraq.