Yazidis in Armenia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Yazidis in Armenia are the largest ethnic and religious minority in the country. The Yazidis are mostly ethnic Kurds who live in the west of Armenia and are adherents of the smallest of the three branches of Yazdânism. Relations between the Yazidis and the ethnic Armenian majority have varied.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early 20th century
Many Yazidis came to Armenia and Georgia during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to escape religious persecution, as they were oppressed by the Ottoman Turks and the Sunni Kurds who tried to convert them to Islam. The Yazidis were massacred alongside the Armenians during the Armenian Genocide, causing many to flee to Russian held parts of Armenia.[1] The first ever Yazidi school opened in Armenia in 1920.[2]
[edit] Nagorno-Karabakh War
Due to the ethnic tension created by the war with Azerbaijan, the Yazidi community has renounced its ties with the mostly Muslim Kurds that fled the country and tried to establish itself as a distinct ethnic group. The Yezidis showed Armenian patriotism during the Nagorno-Karabakh war when many died in service.[2]
[edit] Present situation
According to the 2001 Census, there are about 40,000 Yazidis in Armenia.[3] According to a 2007 U.S. Department of State human rights report, "As in previous years, Yezidi leaders did not complain that police and local authorities subjected their community to discrimination"[4].
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Photogallery: Armenia's Yezidi Kurds
- The Situation of Yezidis in Armenia
- Armenia: Yezidi Identity Battle
- Being Yezidi
- Interviews on the Yezidis in Armenia
- Yezidis in Armenia Blog
- Yezidi Pilgrimage to Shamiram Photos
- Portraits of Yezidi Children
- Les Kurdes yézidis en Arménie
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