Yazidi in Russia

Introduction / History

The Yazidi are a Kurdish people who follow an old religion related to Zoroastrianism, but which has remnants of Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. They were persecuted along with other Kurds in Iraq by Saddam Hussain and have been misunderstood by Muslims controlling them for centuries. They are scorned and despised as "devil worshippers," mostly because of their beliefs regarding the "Peacock Angel."

They are located primarily in the Nineveh province of northern Iraq. The sacred valley of Lalish is the center point of their culture. Though some live in Syria, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia, many have emigrated to parts of Europe. Almost all of the Turkish Yazidi population has emigrated to Germany. The Armenian and Georgian populations largely relocated to Russia.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Yazidis are mostly monogamous. They are a closed community which avoids prolonged contact with non-Yazidis, accepts no converts and have been known to kill a daughter who marries outside their religious community. Though they are ethnically Kurdish, their separate religion alienates them from the other Kurds.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Yazidis believe God created the world and then created 7 archangels to rule it. One of them, the Peacock Angel, passed a test by God in which he would not bow down and worship Adam. As a result he was made the "god of this world." This story is similar in Islam regarding Satan. However, the Muslim belief is that Satan was punished for not bowing down. The Peacock Angel is "Melek Taus" or "Shaytan". The latter is the name in the Koran for Satan, leading many to wrongfully view them as Satan worshippers. Yazidis are forbidden to speak the name "Shaytan."

The Yazidi world view revolves around angels. Besides praying toward the sun, they will fast for certain angels who control the affairs of this world. They aren't supposed to wear the color blue or eat lettuce. Their holy day is Wednesday and they aren't supposed to take showers on that day. They celebrate New Year's Day as the first Wednesday in the month of Nisan. This is the day they believe the Peacock Angel comes to the Earth as God's representative. Their calendar adds 4,750 years to the Gregorian calendar.

During their pilgrimage to the valley shrine at Lalish, 55 km east of Duhok in Northern Iraq, they will kiss the sacred stone black snake and enter the temple. There they baptize their children, tie colorful cloth to the tomb of the 12th century Sufi mystic who reformed the Yazidi religion, hug pillars, light fires and perform other rituals. If possible, they will carry dirt from Lalish with them and conceal it behind a veil in their home.

Yazidis believe that they are descendants of Adam, but not of Eve. Instead, they have descended separate from others through Adam's other wife, Jar or Jer.

What Are Their Needs?

They believe Christ is the light of God but are more focused on angels and pleasing them.

They need to hear the gospel and see living Christianity in practice. This will be very difficult given their isolation from others.

Prayer Points

Pray for Russian believers to reach out to the Yazidi people in their midst.
Pray for the light of Christ to shine upon them, drawing them to the King of kings.
Pray for the Lord to use dreams and visions to crack the Yazidi community and open them to the power and goodness of Jesus Christ.
Pray for believers among them to be accepted as Yazidis who believe in Jesus and not rejected as cultural traitors.

Text Source:   Joshua Project