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The Yezidi religion is one of the most unusual religions one earth. It has survived despite its status as an unrecognized religion under Islamic rule, and through many onslaughts against it's Kurdish followers. The Kurds live in a largely autonomous region between northern Iraq and Turkey, where they are considered a threat to both the Turkish government and the Iraqi rule of Saddam Hussein.

The Yezidis are a very unusual sect, possibly named after their supposed founder Yezid, the Umayyad Caliph. The Yezidi revere the Prophet Mohammed and the Sufi mystic Adi Musafir, a descendent of the Umayyad Caliphs (Kalifs). Adi is credited with writing many of the Yezidi Holy texts and is most likely to be the originator of the faith in its current form. Islamic writings mention the religion as early as the fourteenth century, but some scholars link them to Mithraism, Zoroastrianism, and even ancient Iraqi Buzzard worshippers.

Yezidism is an enigma that has confounded scholars and incited debate for some time. The influence of Islam on the religion is heavy and obscures other aspects. Tantalizing clues point in every direction- rituals involving fire and prayers recited in the direction of the sun are distinctly Zoroastrian; taboos against eating lettuce and beans, baptisms, and the belief that Christ is a prophet hint at Manicheism. Other unusual aspects of Yezidi belief are the reverence of an immortal elemental spirit named Khidir; temple decorations is Lalish are distinctly Mithraic.

Yezidis are not reluctant to proselytize, and have converted many Christians and Muslims over the years. At the same time, they are a universalist religion, accepting other faiths as different manifestations of the same eternal truth. This belief might go a long way to explaining the numerous foreign elements of the faith, but it makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the faith.

Yezidi rulership is hereditary, and comes through the seven "priestly" lineages- hereditary Kurdish rulers. Yezidis number bout sixty-thousand in Iraq and Syria, 200,000 total worldwide. Yezidi clegy are patterned after the Islamic Hierarchy of Sheiks and Mullas. Pirs (priests) and Kawals (traveling preachers), kocheks, (ecstatics and soothsayers), and Murids (laymen who give financial support).

There is no specific Yezidi Holy text, but important information about Yezidi practices is contained in the Mes'haf i Resh, or "black book" attributed to Adi's son, and the Jelwa, or "book of revelation," a brief homily attributed to Adi. Neither book is considered sacred, however- Yezidi tradition is strictly oral, and consists of hymns and prayers. Literacy is not prized in the community, and was once taboo.

Yezidi feast days follow the Zoroastrian/Mithraic calendar. The most important Feast day is that of Jam, when the various Yezidi groups converge on Lalish, the burial place of Adi. During the Jam, the Peacock icon, representing Malek Taus, is presented to the worshippers during a seven day celebration. It coincides with an ancient Zoroastrian feast day, one of many coincidences that lead some scholars to make a connection between the two religions.

Yezidi beliefs are a complicated mixture of ancient Mesopotamian religion with elements of Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, and Mithraism. Worship centers around Angels (Yezidi is derived from the Arabic word for 'angel'), the most important of which is named Melek Taus, or the "Peacock Angel," also known as Lucifer. Lucifer plays a different role in Yezidism than in other faiths, where he is considered the chief Archangel, and the creator of the material world. In Yezidi belief, Lucifer is not a fallen angel, or the enemy of God. In Yezidi cosmology, the universal Spirit (the Supreme deity) created a pearl, which became broken after forty thousand years. Melek, or Lucifer, used the remains of the pearl to create the material world. After this creation, the Spirit created the remaining Angels. Yezidi theology claims that Lucifer was forgiven for his transgressions, and those who revere him are the spiritual elect of humanity. They are forbidden from referring to him as Satan.

The Yezidi believe that all of time is divided into six Epochs, and each Epoch has an Avatar, or Archangel. During the first Epoch, the material world and humankind were created. The Yezidi story of the creation of man follows the Judeo-Christian Adam and Eve, except that Satan is portrayed as a wise teacher rather than a temptor. Yazdan, the supreme being, is distanced from creation and is not directly invoked.

The prevailing symbol of the religion is the Peacock, in particular the bronze icons central to Yezidi worship. Some theories about the origin of the religion promote the idea that the peacock is descended from an ancient Mesopotamian religion of the region, which created icons of buzzards and bird headed idols. Some Yezidi icons may be remnants from this ancient cult (For more information on this and dozens of other religious symbols, please visit our symbol glossary.)