Yazidis in Syria

Yazidis in Syria
Total population
70,000[1][2] (est.)
Languages
Northern Kurdish (Kurmanci), Arabic
Related ethnic groups
Iranian peoples

Yazidis in Syria may refer to people born in or residing in Syria of full or partial Yazidi origin.

The Yazidi religion dates back to pre-Islamic times. During the 15th and 16th centuries, they migrated from southern Turkey and settled in their present mountainous stronghold of Jabal Sinjar in northeastern Syria and Iraq. Although some are scattered in Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus, Iraq is the center of their religious life, the home of their Amir, and of the tomb of their most revered saint, Sheikh Adi. Once semi-nomadic, most Yazidis are settled, have no great chiefs, and speak the Kurmanji language.

Yazidis in Syria live primarily in two communities, one in the Al-Jazira area and the other in the Kurd-Dagh.[3] Population numbers for the Syrian Yazidi community are unclear. In 1963, the community was estimated at about 10,000, according to the national census, but numbers for 1987 were unavailable.[4] There may be between about 12,000 and 15,000 Yazidis in Syria today,[3][5] though more than half of the community may have emigrated from Syria since the 1980s.[6] Estimates are further complicated by the arrival of as many as 50,000 Yazidi refugees from Iraq during the Iraq War.[6] Since 2014, some Yazidis of Iraq have entered Kurdish-controlled areas of Syria to escape the persecution of Yazidis by ISIL.[7][8][9]

In 2014, there were about 70,000 Yazidis in Syria, primarily in the Al-Jazirah.[1][2]

Notable Yazidis

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Yazidi in Syria Between acceptance and marginalization" (PDF). KurdWatch. kurdwatch.org. p. 4. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Andrea Glioti (October 18, 2013). "Yazidis Benefit From Kurdish Gains in Northeast Syria". al-monitor. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Allison, Christine (2004-02-20). "Yazidis i: General". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 20 August 2010. There are probably some 200,000-300,000 Yazidis worldwide.
  4. ↑ Federal Research Division. Syria. "Chapter 5: Religious Life". Library of Congress Country Studies. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  5. ↑ Commins, David Dean (2004). Historical Dictionary of Syria. Scarecrow Press. p. 282. ISBN 0-8108-4934-8. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  6. 1 2 Megalommatis, Muhammad Shamsaddin (28 February 2010). "Dispersion of the Yazidi Nation in Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Europe: Call for UN Action". American Chronicle. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  7. ↑ Sly, Liz (10 August 2014). "Exodus from the mountain: Yazidis flood into Iraq following US airstrikes". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Chulov, Martin (11 August 2014). "Yazidis tormented by fears for women and girls kidnapped by Isis jihadis". Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Krohn, Jonathan (10 August 2014). "Iraq crisis: 'It is death valley. Up to 70 per cent of them are dead'". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 August 2014.

"Yazidis". Syria: A country study (Thomas Collelo, editor). Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress of the USA (1987).  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

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