Yazidis

Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (/jəˈziːdiz/ ^ⓘ;^[24] Êzidî),^[25] are a Kurdish-speaking^[26] endogamous^[27][28] religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran,^[29][30][31] with small numbers living in Armenia and Georgia.^[32][33] The majority of Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the governorates of Nineveh and Duhok.^[34][35]

There is a disagreement among scholars and in Yazidi circles on whether the Yazidi people are a distinct ethnoreligious group or a religious sub-group of the Kurds, an Iranic ethnic group.^[36][37] Yazidism is the ethnic religion of the Yazidi people and is monotheistic in nature, having roots in a pre-Zoroastrian Iranic faith.^{[38][39][40][41][42]}

In the aftermath of early Muslim conquests, Yazidis faced persecution and were accused of heresy. In the 18th and 19th centuries, 72 genocidal massacres took place, described as state-sanctioned violence. However, under the Government of the late Ottoman Empire, Yazidis lived peacefully in proximity with their Muslim neighbours.^[32] In modern times, Yazidis face persecution particularly by ISIS.^[43] Due to ongoing terrorist attacks in Kurdish regions, many Yazidis sought refuge in Western countries.^[44]

The 2014 Yazidi genocide that was carried out by the Islamic State saw over 5,000 Yazidis killed and thousands of Yazidi women and girls forced into sexual slavery,^[45] as well as the flight of more than 500,000 Yazidi refugees.^[46][47][48]