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Kurdish Yazidis cancel annual pilgrimage
due to unrest
7.10.2006 |
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Erbil, Kurdistan
Region (Iraq), October 7, -- Iraq's Yazidis, a
minority religious sect who have been branded devil
worshippers by suspicious neighbours, cancelled an
annual pilgrimage Saturday over fears for devotees'
safety.
"The event will just be confined to visits and
baptism at the Kaniya Sipi temple, while the main
ceremonies will not be held due to the poor security
in Iraq," said Rashid Hassan, custodian of the
Lalish Temple near Dohuk.
Since the US-led invasion of March 2003, Iraq has
descended into chaos. Insurgent and sectarian
violence kills more than 100 people per day.
Yazidis revere the archangel Malak Taus, whom they
see as God's regent on earth but whom Christians and
Muslims call Shaytan, earning the secretive group
distrust and a reputation as being followers of the
Devil.
One of the holiest events in their calendar is the
six-day pilgrimage to the tomb of Sheikh Adi ibn
Mustafa, a 12th century religious figure, in Lalish,
in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.
There, they bathe in the river, wash figures of
Malak Taus, light lamps and sacrifice an ox.
The festival this year was expected to be especially
distinctive because of the attendance of hundreds of
Yazidis from abroad, with followers due to arrive
from countries in Europe and the former Soviet
Union.
The Yazidis are believed to be ethnically Kurdish
and their religion dates back some 3,000 years. It
contains elements of the pre-Christian beliefs of
the region, and of the Middle East's major Christian
and Muslim traditions.
For centuries they were persecuted for their
beliefs. Under former Iraqi president Saddam
Hussein, they were forefully urged to consider
themselves as Arabs in order to dilute the power of
the local Kurds.
Their right to observe their beliefs is enshrined in
Iraq's current constitution and they now hold seats
in the national assembly.
The announcement of the cancelation came on the same
day Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, sent
official congratulations to the Yazidis on the
occasion of their festival, and welcoming visiting
pilgrims.
There are an estimated half a million Yazidis in the
world, mostly living in northern Iraq, with smaller
communities scattered around Syria, Turkey, Iran,
Georgia and Armenia.
AFP
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