Portal:Kurdistan/Selected article/2007/May

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The Yazidi or Yezidi (Kurdish: Êzidîtî or Êzidî)(Arabic,يزيدي or ايزيدي) are adherents of a Middle Eastern religion with ancient origins. Yazidi belong to the smallest of the three branches of Yazdânism. The other branches of Yazdânism, Alevism and Yarsanism, differ from Yazidism by recognizing the Islamic practice of taqiyya (dissimulation). The three branches are geographically split and mutual contacts are rare. Yazidis are primarily ethnic Kurds, and most live near Mosul, Iraq with smaller communities in Armenia (some 40,000 according to 2001 census), Georgia, Iran, Russia (31,273 as per 2002 census), Syria, and Turkey. Yazidi