The Death of Mir Tahsin Beg and the Future of the Yezidi Community

 
PIIS032150750007023-7-1
DOI10.31857/S032150750007023-7
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Occupation: Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Oriental Studies RAS
Affiliation: Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Occupation: Research Fellow, G.Tsereteli Institute of Oriental Studies, Ilia State University
Affiliation: Ilia State University
Address: Georgia, Tbilisi
Journal nameAsia and Africa Today
EditionIssue 11
Pages49-54
Abstract

On January 28, 2019 the religious and secular head of the Yezidis, Emir (Mir) Tahsin Beg died. The article presents some biographical features of the head of the Yezidis, highlights important aspects of the institution of Emir, its role and place in the Yezidi community. Particular attention was paid to the changes that have taken place in the Yezidi society after the attack of ISIS on the Sinjar area in August 2014, which was the main center of Yezidi community. Thousands of Yezidi men were killed, and captured Yezidi women were enslaved. The Kurdish Peshmerga guaranteed security to the Yezidis before terrorist attacks on Yezidi areas, but had fled from the Sinjar. This vividly showed the historical character of the Yezidi-Kurdish relations and led in a part of the Yezidi community to increased anti-Kurdish sentiment. This period coincided with the disease of the Emir who was not able to carry out the vigorous activity necessary in circumstances so tragic for his people. After the death of the Emir, a crisis arose regarding the election of a new head of the Yezidis. Сrisis resolution requires changes in the rules of the institution of Emir and the system of governance in the Yezidi community. In order to overcome the crisis, in the Yezidi diaspora work was initiated on the development of a “constitution”, which provides for the formalization, systematization and standardization of various aspects of religious life. An important aspect of the proposed changes is limiting the rights of the Emir, increasing the role of collective institutions, primarily the Supreme Religious Council, by introducing members of the diaspora and a number of authoritative religious figures of the Yezidis of Iraq. However, the new Emir Hazem was elected contrary to the position of part of the community. This intensified the split among the Yezidis.

KeywordsMir Tahsin Beg, Yezidis, Sinjar, Shingal, Lalesh, Kurds, Iraqi Kurdistan
Publication date02.12.2019
Number of characters23768
Cite  
100 rub.
When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 1353

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Карцов Ю.С. Заметки о турецких езидах. Тифлис, 1886. (Kartsov Yu.S. 1886. Notes about Turkey’s Yezidis. Tiflis) (In Russ.)

2. Ainsworth W.F. The Assyrian Origin of the Izedis or Yezidis-the so-called «Devil Worshippers» // Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London. 1861. Vol. 1. Pp. 11-44.

3. Layard A.H. Nineveh and its remains: with an account of a visit to the Chaldean Christians of Kurdistan, and the Yesidis, or devil worshippers; and an inquiry into the manners and arts of the ancient Assyrians. Paris: A. and W.Galignani and Co., Baudry’s European Library, 1850.

4. Açikyildiz B. The Sanctuary of Shaykh Adi at Lalish: Centre of Pilgrimage of the Yezidis // Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 2009. Vol. 72. No. 2. Pp. 301-333.

5. Edmonds C.J. A Pilgrimate to Lalish. London, 1967.

6. Furlani G. Gli interdetti dei Yezidi // Der Islam. 1937. 24 (2). Pp. 151-174.

7. Furlani G. The Religion of the Yezidis. Religious Texts of the Yezidis. Translated from Italian with Additional notes an Appendix and an Index by Jamshedji Maneckji Unvala. Bombay, 1940.

8. Kreyenbroek Ph.G. Yezidism – Its Background, Observances, and Textual Tradition, Lewiston, NY, Edwin Mellen Press, 1995.

9. Fuccaro N. Communalism and the state in Iraq: the Yazidi Kurds, 1869-1940 // Middle Eastern Studies. 1999. Vol. 35. No. 2. Pp. 1-26.

10. Lescot R. Enquête sur les Yezidis de Syrie et du Djebel Sindjar. Beyrouth: [Institut français de Damas], 1938.

11. Spät E. The Festival of Sheikh Adi in Lalish, in the Holy Valley of the Yezidis // Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU (Central European University, Budapest). 2004. No. 10. Pp. 147-157.

12. Wilson W.C.F. Northern ‘Iraq and its peoples // Journal of the Royal Central Asian Society. 1937. Vol. 24. No. 2. Pp. 287-299.

13. Guest J.S. Survival among the Kurds: a history of the Yezidis. London and New York: Kegan Paul International, 1993.

14. Guest J.S. The Yezidis: A Study in Survival. London and New York, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1987.

15. Galletti Mirella. Kurdistan: a mosaic of peoples // Oriente Moderno, Nuova Serie. 2001. Anno 20 (81). Quaderni di Oriente Moderno 3. Lerelazioni tra Italia e Kurdistan. Pp. 213-223.

16. Maisel S. Social Change Amidst Terror and Discrimination: Yezidis in the New Iraq / The Middle East Institute Policy Brief. No. 18. August 2018.

17. Natali D. The Kurdish Quasi-State: Leveraging Political Limbo // The Washington Quarterly. 2015. Vol. 38. Issue 2. Pp. 145-164.

18. van Bruinessen M. Editorial // Kurdish Studies. 2016. Vol. 4. No. 2. Pp. 119-121.

19. Leezenberg M. Transformations in Minority Religious Leadership: The Yezidis, Shabak, and Assyrians in Northern Iraq // Sociology of Islam. 2018. Issue 6. Pp. 233-260.

20. Spät E. Yezidi Identity Politics and Political Ambitions in the Wake of the ISIS Attack // Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. 2018. Vol. 20. Issue 5. Pp. 420-438.

21. Ali M.H. Draft Constitution of the World Yezidi Community (In Arab.) – https://ar.ezidi24.com/?p=17757&fbclid=IwAR3-KOiAo-P28iX4aQ6WiE7ybYBAVFkDlB7l9roRFntUkrEYsGVrut_3NE, 01.05.2019 (accessed 08.06.2019)

Система Orphus

Loading...
Up