2017/06/01 by Richard Foltz · 4 citations
Social Sciences · #Turkey's Politics and Society #Islamic Studies and History #Religion and Society Interactions
paper · doi:10.1163/18747167-12341309
openalex publication_date 2017/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
The religion of the Yezidi Kurds, which has often been inaccurately characterized as “devil-worship,” has been claimed by Kurdish nationalists since the 1930s as the “original” religion of the Kurdish people. It has likewise been asserted that the Yezidi faith is a form of Zoroastrianism, the official religion of Iran in pre-Islamic times. These notions have won official support from most Kurdish political organizations and have broadly penetrated Kurdish society. The identification of Yezidism with Zoroastrianism is historically inaccurate, however, and should be seen as a product of modern nation-building ideology. Sentimental attachment to Yezidism and/or Zoroastrianism among Kurds today is best understood in most cases as a political rejection of Islam and its perceived Arab connections, rather than in terms of genuine devotional commitment.