Yazidis in Armenia

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Malak Ta'us, the pre-eminent angel of the Yazidis
Malak Ta'us, the pre-eminent angel of the Yazidis

The Yazidis in Armenia are the largest ethnic and religious minority in the country. The Yazidis are mostly ethnic Kurds who live in the west of Armenia and are adherents of the smallest of the three branches of Yazdânism. Relations between the Yazidis and the ethnic Armenian majority have varied.

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[edit] History

[edit] Early 20th century

Many Yazidis came to Armenia and Georgia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to escape religious persecution, as they were oppressed by the Ottoman Turks and the Sunni Kurds tried to convert them to Islam. The Yazidis were massacred alongside the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide, causing many to flee to the Russian held parts of Armenia.[1] The first ever Yazidi school opened in Armenia in 1920.[2]

[edit] Nagorno-Karabakh War

Due to the ethnic tension created by the war with Azerbaijan, the Yazidi community has renounced its ties with the mostly Muslim Kurds that fled the country and tried to establish itself as a distinct ethnic group. The Yezidis showed Armenian patriotism during the Nagorno-Karabakh war when many died in service.[2]

[edit] Present situation

According to the 2001 Census, there are about 40,000 Yazidis in Armenia.[3] According to the 2004 U.S. Department of State human rights report, the Yazidis are subjected to harassment in Armenia, including the hazing of Yazidi army conscripts and poor police responses to crimes committed against the Yazidis. A high percentage of Yazidi children do not attend school, both due to poverty and a lack of teachers who speak their native language.[4]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Conditional Coexistence:Yezidi in Armenia
  2. ^ a b http://www.osce.org/documents/oy/2002/01/148_en.pdf
  3. ^ Information from the 2001 Armenian National Census
  4. ^ U.S. Department of State Report

[edit] External links