News Center – The Yazidis of Şengal and Yerevan constitute an essential and deeply rooted component of the Kurdish nation. Yet contemporary political and identity discourse often places them in a position of marginalization or detachment from the Kurdish body, portraying them as an “other with faith.” This reality is not solely tied to a history of genocide, exclusion, and ongoing statelessness; it also reveals an intellectual shortcoming within Kurdish movements in forming an inclusive and pluralistic collective identity. Although Ottoman and Safavid sources—as well as modern nationalist texts—considered the Yazidis part of Kurdish society, external pressures such as radical Islamism, combined with weak internal representation and support, have contributed to identity fragmentation.

Redefining Kurdish identity requires recognizing the Yazidis as a foundational, resilient component and guardians of historical memory. No comprehensive narrative of Kurdish identity can be complete without wounded Şengal and exiled Yerevan.

In this section of the report, we present the history of the Yazidis in Şengal, highlighting their transformation from a religious community defined by its beliefs into a social and political force with an emerging, adaptive identity. We also explore how external historical experiences reshaped the Yazidis’ position within Kurdish and regional dynamics, turning them from merely a faith-based group into an active political actor demanding representation and recognition.

The Yazidi Community in Şengal: From Isolation to Self-Organization

The presence and role of the Yazidi community in Şengal, in northern Kurdistan, across five historical periods—before Islam, during the era of Ottoman caliphate-led cleansing campaigns up to the 20th century, throughout their integration into the Iraqi state, during the political fate of the Yazidis in Şengal after 2003, and during the 2014 genocide and the rise of the resistance units—show that the Yazidis have always been engaged in a struggle between exclusion and survival, rejection and self-organization, marginalization and centralization. Today, they have transformed from a community defined primarily by religious beliefs into a resilient force with an emerging political identity.

The Story of the Yazidis of Şengal Before and After Islam

The Yazidi community is one of the oldest groups in West Asia, maintaining a stable and organized presence in Mesopotamia and the mountains of Şengal. Before the emergence of Islam, the Yazidi belief system was a blend of religious and philosophical traditions inherited from ancient Mesopotamian civilizations, along with elements from Mithraism, Zurvanism, and Zoroastrianism. During this era, the mountains of Şengal were not merely a geographical homeland but served as a center of faith and political life, where the Yazidis maintained their own political structure, consisting of religious hierarchies, local leaders, and distinct rituals.

With the rise of Islam in the 7th century and the establishment of Islamic caliphates, the social and religious systems of the region underwent significant transformation. Yazidi beliefs were not recognized as an independent religion; instead, they were labeled as heresy or disbelief. As a result, Yazidis were denied the protections and legal status granted to “People of the Book” under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates.

During the Islamic caliphate period, Yazidis faced increasing and systematic pressures due to the lack of recognition of their faith. This led to their exclusion from the tax and social systems. Many were forced to convert to Islam or faced marginalization; they were pushed away from power structures and deprived of land ownership, forcing them to seek refuge in mountainous regions such as Şengal. The suppression of religious practices and confiscation of sacred sites gradually weakened their religious and symbolic legitimacy. Yet, this also turned Mount Şengal into a geopolitical sanctuary for the Yazidis, where forms of self-governance and cultural resistance developed despite ongoing marginalization.

The history of the Yazidis in Şengal after the advent of Islam reflects a combination of ideological-religious domination and the continual reproduction of ethnic and religious resistance that persisted into the modern era. The arrival of Islam did not represent a path of integration or civilizational dialogue for the Yazidis; rather, it was associated with denial, exclusion, and marginalization—a trajectory that continued in different forms through the Ottoman Empire, modern nation-states, and ultimately extremist groups such as ISIS.

 

The Political Fate of the Yazidis

The fall of the Ba’ath regime in 2003 marked the beginning of a new phase of chaos and sectarian violence. This change did not improve the conditions of the Yazidis; instead, it left them in a dangerous political and security vacuum. Sinjar became a buffer zone between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, making the Yazidi community hostage to geopolitical competition.

Sinjar was one of the disputed areas between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Region. While the Peshmerga forces were ostensibly responsible for security in the region, they did not establish any protection structures for the Yazidis. In practice, the Yazidis became hostages to ethnic policies—they were neither fully recognized as Yazidis nor fully affiliated with the Arab-centered government in Baghdad.

When ISIS invaded Sinjar in August 2014, they carried out a genocide that claimed the lives of over 5,000 men, while thousands of women and children were forced into sexual slavery and labor. The Peshmerga withdrew without fighting, leaving the Yazidis unprotected and shattering their trust in official institutions. The only intervention that prevented total annihilation came from fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), marking a turning point in the Yazidis’ political consciousness.

Shingal Yazidis between 2014 and 2025

More than a decade after the ISIS attack, the Yazidi community still faces political instability, a lack of basic services, and security threats. Although the Iraqi government allocated 50 billion dinars in 2023 for the reconstruction of Sinjar, disputes between the central government and the Kurdistan Region delayed implementation. By April 2024, only 43% of over 300,000 displaced Yazidis had returned home, while infrastructure remained in disrepair.

The ISIS attack represented a pivotal turning point; the Yazidis shifted from being victims to agents of resistance and self-organization. For the first time, military forces called the “Sinjar Protection Units” were established by Yazidi youth, inspired by the principles of “Democratic Self-Administration” proposed by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. These units contributed to strengthening both the security and political identity of the Yazidis.

In classical narratives, the Yazidis were viewed as an isolated and marginalized minority. However, the involvement of the YPG/PKK redefined their role. Yazidis are no longer merely defenders of their physical survival; they have become bearers of a political project for self-governance, self-defense, and local sovereignty within the framework of the “Democratic Confederation.” Similar to the YPG in Rojava, Yazidi women organized themselves into their own units (YJŞ), a historic first in the Yazidi community.

This transformation was not just a defensive reaction to genocide; it marked the beginning of a broader social and political project, transitioning from historical marginalization to self-organization. Despite regional opposition and ongoing security threats, this project has succeeded in establishing a model of local resistance. Today, the future of Sinjar is closely linked to the ability of this project to endure and maintain cohesion.

Sinjar and Yerevan have always been cradles of Yazidi identity—the former through its mountains and enduring crises, the latter in the dispersed and complex Caucasus region. The next section will examine how the Yazidi experience in the Caucasus intersects with the resistance and identity of the Sinjar Yazidis, by reviewing the history of Kurds in the Caucasus—from pre-socialist autonomy to contemporary political marginalization—and their complex relationship with the Yazidi community of Sinjar