Ethics Bytes:
Who are the Yazidis?
40,000 Yazidis were trapped on a mountain top in Iraq after a militant army of Sunnis called ISIS, seeking to establish an Islamic State, destroyed their village. President Obama ordered bombs from planes and drones to stop the ISIS from further genocide. But who are the Yazidis?
Yazidis are a small monotheistic religious minority, living primarily in northern Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia…right where much of the world’s ethnic trouble is today. They speak Kurdish but consider themselves separate from Kurds ethnically. Their religion is considered pre-Islamic and contains parts of Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. They reject the idea of sin, the devil, and hell but worship one God and honor seven angels. Many Muslims consider them devil-worshipers and Yazidis have been targets of persecution throughout history, and now, along with Christians.
Source: Joshua Berlinger, CNN, 8/8/14
