May 23, 2014

DAHUK, Iraq — When Nietzsche wrote "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" in 1885, he had to kill God to break the dichotomy between good and evil. In Iraqi Kurdistan, there was no need for that; adherents of Yazidism, the world's most ancient monotheistic religion, already knew this.

According to this minority Kurdish group, Lucifer, the beautiful and vain angel of heaven, did not betray God and create evil, but simply manifested himself to the world, becoming the bridge between humans and the Creator. Melek Taus, as the Yazidis call him, is still worshipped in the Temple of Lalish, the sect's holy site in northwestern Iraq. Yazidis consider themselves the direct descendants of Adam and perceive good and evil as the same faces of the same reality. Choosing the right side is up to each person’s soul.

This approach has caused nothing but pain for the Yazidi Kurds, who have been subject to many stereotypes in Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran, such as their supposed reluctance to education. Pir Mamo Othman, a consultant at the Yazidi Regional Council, told Al-Monitor, "In the past, there were no governmental schools but just religious ones. This is why many Yazidi families cut short their children’s education, fearing they are being converted to Islam." Further, the Yazidi representation of Melek Taus as a peacock has led Muslim and Christian travelers alike to misperceive certain aspects of Yazidi beliefs. The beautiful flying bird, in fact, was considered a manifestation of the devil’s power by many ancient communities and followers of the old Zarathustrian faith.

“There is no evil in the Yazidi thought,” Birgul Acikyildiz Sengul, lecturer of art history at the Merdin Artuklu University in Turkey and an expert on Yazidi culture, told Al-Monitor. For 10 years, she has conducted extensive research on Yazidi traditions and in 2010 published her book, "The Yazidis: History of a Community, Culture and Religion." “Even some famous orientalists and philosophers from the past have misunderstood their faith,” Birgul said. “People saw in them an interest about the Satan-oriented culture without focusing on the reality of their beliefs.”

Indeed, even without the "devil-worshipping mystery," the faith remains fascinating. Yazidism is a syncretic faith of old Persian and Indian traditions, as well as Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They believe in reincarnation in addition to heaven and hell. “This dualist approach is the result of a defensive mechanism developed throughout history,” Mamo said. Thus, to avoid accusations of blasphemy and Satanism, Yazidis have taken aspects of Christianity and Islam and hidden in their holy place in Lalish, which is surrounded by the three mountains Arafat, Msgat and Hzrat.