War of Narrative

Yazidis have existed and, in fact, nurtured themselves in the middle East for many centuries. But, in the last decade, they have been a centre of persecution at the hands of Islamic terrorism. Let’s take a look into the story of Yazidis.

Who are the Yazidis?

Yazidis are a monotheistic minority community residing mainly in northern Iraq and nearby regions of the Middle East. Their population is limited to 700,000 to 1,000,000 in the whole world. Yazidis mainly speak Kurmanji or Kurdish language.

What is the history and origin of Yazidis?

The term “Yazidi” derives from the word “Ez da”, meaning “I am created”. They also refer to “Xwede ez dam” meaning, “God created me”.

The origins of Yazidis can be traced to ancient mesopotamian civilization, Mithraic religion and Zoroastrianism.

Mesopotamians were people residing in the middle East and North Africa before the Abrahimic religions started taking control. They dominated the area from as early as 10,000 BC to 5th Century BC. They were mainly polytheistic people worshipping nature gods. The Abrahimic religions in the area are influenced by the mesopotamian philosophy and faiths.

The Mithraic and Zoroastrian faiths which are also said to have influenced the Yazidis are pre Abrahimic faiths and philosophy. There are dualistic, polytheistic as well as monotheistic ideas which developed within them.

The Yazidis believe in one God who created the world and left it in care of seven mysteries known as “heft sirr”. They believe in Tawuse Melek or Melek Taus who is also referred as Peacock angel.

Melek Taus is considered as a messenger of God sent by him to take care of the people.

How are the Yazidis Connected with Hindus?

There are many similarities in philosophies and traditions which suggests that Yazidism traces its roots to the Sanatana Culture. For instance, “heft sirr” or the seven mysterious figures might have been influenced by the Seven Sages or Sapta Rishis. They are born from Lord Brahma who again produced the world and propagated the knowledge in form of Scriptures and texts.

Vaivasvat Manu, who is son of Vivaswan or Surya Dev, is the leader of humans who guides the them to a better life and takes care of them as a father and king. Melek Taus is such a figure who can be compared with Manu.

Zoroastrians, who are said to have influenced the early Yazidis, are strongly linked to the Vedic Culture. The “Ahur” is said to have descended from Asur (which Zoroastrians despise) and “Daevas” are Devas or deities in Sanatana Culture.

Mithraism which is also an ancient faith in that area and proposed influencer of Yazidis revolves around Supreme God Mithra, who is the God of Light and truth, who shows light to nomads. Mithra is very much similar to Mitra, or Surya in Vedic tradition. I don’t think I need to explain about Mitra here to you guys.

Similar to Hindus, Yazidis respect and worship nature and it’s members like trees, snakes and other creatures. They too believe in rebirth and karma.

What we can say is that Yazidis are the long lost brothers of Hindus whose ancestors were probably separated from us at some point back in antiquity.

How Islam has affected Yazidis?

After Islamic Conquest of forced conversions and Caliphate began, many Yazidis succumbed to the atrocities and converted to Islam. They were known as Kurds. Today, they are so much in percentage that few Pro Islamic Scholars identify Yazidis as a subgroup of Kurdish tribe. That is certainly not the case.

Ottoman Empire has played an important role in limiting the number of Yazidis in the area during Medieval period by the means of mass conversion to Sunni Islam and Massacre when failing to do so.

Yazidis, at general, hate Kurds for the fact that they gave up the fight and converted to Islam. More than that, Kurds have been waging the “Holy war” against Yazidis and have been trying to convert them.

The Sufi missionaries and Catholic Christian missionaries have been trying to convert the Yazidis by maligning their tradition. They term Melek Taus as Satan who was thrown out from heaven — which is certainly not acceptable to Yazidis.

It is the constant persecution at the hands of Kurds and the Islamic terrorists that Yazidis are at the verge of extinction. The genocide of 2014 at the hands of ISIS was most gruesome act to wipe out them from middle East.

In 2014, when Islamic State took over the regions of Iraq and Syria, thousands of Yazidis were executed by ISIS. Many succumbed to death while trying to flee.

The plight of Yazidi women has been most haunting for human civilization. They are systematically raped and torchered to death by the terrorists. They are sold in market with a price tag as a sex slaves. Many girls have narrated these haunting stories to the world. All of this persecution is justified with the verses in a certain “book” which cannot be named. The United Nations estimated the figure of those killed to be 5000 in 2014.

Why Hindus should take a cue from Yazidis story?

Yazidis have let themselves to be diluted and digested by Islam and Kurds for a larger period. This led to their persecution by the same converted Kurds. The weakened remaining Yazidis were then wiped out by Islamic terrorism.

Hindus though are in majority in India and yet they are facing similar issues in many parts of the nation. In Pakistan, Hindus have been almost wiped out by the same forces. So is the scenario of Hindus in Bangladesh.

It is high time that We take note of this and start recognizing our roots and revive our tradition. Else, we will be digested by the missionaries from two of the biggest vultures in the present world.

Also read: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj: An Outstanding Leader

The Feminist Movement was started in the West with the intent to create gender equality in society. Today, let’s be honest, girls, it has come a long way to mean male-bashing, female supremacy, and oppressing masculinity to the core.

In India, This movement has been hijacked and imported by the Leftists groups. As they have done with all other movements, they have used this movement as a tool to attack the Hindu Culture and our traditions while whitewashing and covering up the problems in other faiths, especially of the Abrahamic religions.

Hence, it is necessary to take a brief look at a few contrasting points. Let’s dive in:

Condition of Women: Sanātana Culture vs. Abrahimic Faiths

Hindus have been worshipping goddesses and they are manifestations of the universal and supreme energy. Mahākalī, Mahālakṣmī, and Mahāsarasvatī are even, at times, placed higher than their divine consorts. It is described in the scriptures that all which we see around us is an illusion created by yogmāyā the supreme goddess.

On the contrary, we can’t find any such reference in the Abrahimic faiths.

Christianity believes that Eve, the first woman, was responsible for the sufferings of human beings on this earth. All human beings are descendants of Eve so they share her “sin” since their birth. It is only washed away when you seek forgiveness and pray to Jesus. Basically, all Christians are “born-sinners” because they are born from a woman.

In Islam, women are considered “Maal-e-ganimat”. Islam considers the intellect of a woman to be half of the man. She is only considered a tool to procreate as much as she can.

Christians and Muslims (males) never gave any position or opportunity to any female unless they are forced to. According to them, males are source of power and women should not be given any responsible task. Any mosque doesn’t have a female ulema. Similarly, you won’t find any female priests in the churches.

But, we Hindus proudly say that women are Śakti (source of all energies). They are worshipped as symbols of Māta Pārvatī.

आदौ माता गुरो: पत्नी ब्रह्ममणि राजपत्निका |

धेनुर्धात्री तथा पृथ्वी सप्तैता मातर: स्मॄत: ||

Our own mother (i.e. one who gives birth to us), guru’s (teacher’s) wife, wife of a brāhmaṇa, wife of a king, a cow, a nurse and the earth are our universal mothers. They are to be respected as one respects his/her own mother.

The English-educated Neo-Feminists, who are brainwashed by the West, should stop lecturing Hindus about women empowerment. Let’s see why.

When Lakṣmi Bāi, Naiki Devī, and Velu Nachiar were leading our armies against the invaders, the Catholic Church was burning women in Europe in the name of witch-hunting. Islam still has evil practices like Triple Talaq, Halala, and female genital mutilation.

Arundhatī and Anusuyā are exemplary teachers in the Gurukula Paramparā of Indian education system. Whereas, position of women in education among the Abrahimic faiths is negligible.

While there is no textual evidence of moral policing on the clothing of women in Hinduism, Islam has strict rules on how women should cover her body in public with burkha. There are strict laws and severe punishments if a woman doesn’t follow general code of conduct provided in Sharia’h.

The ĀdiŚakti is the manifestation of the source of energies possessed by the Trimurti (viz. Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh) as they couldn’t eliminate powerful evils themselves because of being male.

Also Read: Ramayana Trails: An Introduction

We never treated women as objects unlike modern religions.

We have various women who achieved the status of goddesses by their deeds and feats. When a woman represents knowledge, she rides on a hamsa (white swan). When she has to kill Mahiṣāsura, she comes in the form of Durgā.

We won’t treat women as “abala nari” as she has every power but in the modern world although it is suppressed by ignorance due to the social disorder.

Conclusion:

In our system, women built families & contributed to build nation by nurturing rooted, honest, goal-oriented, dhārmik warriors who, later, built the whole nation.

But modern feminism has destroyed families & roots by mocking our ancient system.

As a result, feminism, which is contributed to destroying societies, became corrupt, nurtured drugs / alcohols addiction, gender-neutral social evils as there are no women-centric objectives, except the promotion of selfish, individualistic Cārvāka System.

Image Credits: All Images have been taken from Google and The Indian Rover does not claim any rights on the images and paintings.

Who are the Yazidis and Why are they relevant to Hindus?