• Why Jihad Watch?
  • About Robert Spencer and Staff Writers
  • FAQ
  • Books
  • Muhammad
  • Islam 101
  • Privacy

Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

How the Yezidis became Muslim

Oct 10, 2016 9:48 pm By Robert Spencer

Islamization in practice. Here is a glimpse into the future of the West. Read on.

yazidi-members-released-by-isis

“How did Yezidis become Muslim?,” by Uzay Bulut, Rudaw, October 7, 2016:

When the Islamic State (IS) terror group started its brutal expansion through Iraq and Syria, the Yezidis, an ancient and persecuted community in the region, became one of their main targets and Kurds gained global recognition as the most effective force in the region resisting the ISIS terrorists.

Though most Kurds are known to be Muslim today, many of their ancestors were Yezidis before being forced to convert to Islam. Kurdish author Yasar Batman details the persecution that Yezidis have been exposed to in his book ‘Begê, the Immortal Saint of Yezidi Kurds.’

The Yezidis are an ethno-religious community indigenous to northern Mesopotamia. Their native language is Kurdish and their ancient faith, Yezidism, has a rich oral tradition that combines aspects of ancient Mesopotamian religions including Zoroastrianism.

Batman, through interviews with people in the region, tells of the unbelievably brave and tragic life of Begê and how Yezidis have been persecuted in their native lands, focusing on the story of a Yezidi woman named Begê Samur (1894-1958) from the city of Urfa who refused conversion to Islam and held onto her Yezidi faith and identity in the face of persecution.

Begê was born in the village of Mishacerk in the city of Urfa in 1894. Her originally Yezidi tribe, the Dina Tribe, converted to Islam, but she resisted and remained a Yezidi.

Because of her devotion to her Yezidi faith, she was ostracized by her family, her relatives and the rest of the tribe. Muslim Kurds persecuted Begê. Moreover, Yezidis who recently converted to Islam also persecuted and insulted her for remaining a Yezidi.

“When there was a wedding in the village, they did not invite Begê and when they distributed food to the poor, they did not give her any,” a local told Batman.

Because she was left all alone, and preserved her faith despite all of the persecution and insults, many people – particularly women – in the Islamized Yezidi community secretly admired Begê. In time, these feelings of admiration turned Begê into a legend to the point that when people wanted to convince others, they swore on Begê, by saying “I swear on Begê’s head, grave or dead body.”

A Kurd that Batman interviews in the books tells of how Kurds were first introduced to Islam by Muslim Arab armies, “Kurds were introduced to Islam by Prophet Omar. Prophet Omar savagely put the heads of Zoroastrian Kurds on spears, one for every kilometer of the roads, to show his massacre to all of the people in the region.”

“During the savagery of Omar, the blood of so many Kurds was shed that to this day the term ‘sorka alem’ (red world) is used to describe this scene.”

“Towards 637 AD, Kurdistan was invaded and local inhabitants were massacred by Islamic Arabs coming from the southeast. Upon the order of Omar, all kinds of historical, cultural and religious documents were burnt down and destroyed. After this historical and cultural massacre, the people were banned from speaking Kurdish. They tried to impose Arabic language and religion on local people and mercilessly cut off the tongues of the people of Kurdistan who spoke Kurdish.”

Batman states in his book that almost all of the Yezidis in their native land have been forcefully assimilated. There are today mosques and classes on the Koran in once-Yezidi villages.

Batman stresses that the Turkish state, local Sunni Muslims, and Islamized Yezidis all applied enormous pressure on Yezidis who try to maintain their beliefs and culture.

The book, published in 2014, details the varied social, religious, and economic pressures Yezidis were subjected to.

For example, “when a Yezidi brought a few sacks of wheat and a donkey to a mill, they immediately asked him where he was from. When he said ‘I am from Mishacerk’ [a Yezidi village], they said ‘You are a Yezidi. Why don’t you convert to Islam?’ Then they poured his sack to the ground. Meanwhile, his donkey ran away. Then they also beat him. So the Yezidi would not only lose the wheat with which he would feed himself, but also lose his donkey.”

Batman conducted many interviews and heard stories of Yezidis being threatened with death if they did not convert, Muslims refusing to do trade with Yezidis, calling them ‘haram,’ meaning forbidden.

Yezidis were also targeted alongside Christians during the 1915 Armenian genocide. According to Batman, there was a slogan common during the genocide, “Those who kill 7 Armenians will go to heaven”. The version “Those who kill 7 Yezidis will go to heaven,” was also used.

After the end of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Turkey, founded in 1923, also made varied efforts to Islamize the Yezidis. Batman writes that the Turkish state changed the names of Yezidi villages to give them Turkish names, registered Yezidis as “members of an unknown religion,” and destroyed Yezidi temples and defaced Yezidi graves.

According to Batman, Yezidis lay their dead in graves on their backs facing the sun. But many Yezidi graves were opened, and the dead bodies were placed again according to Islamic rules – this time facing the Qibla, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.

A 30-year old man from Diyarbakir, Turkey, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the author, “There were few Yezidis left in the village of Mishacek that I knew. But they pretended to be Muslim because they were scared. And when they died, they were buried according to Islamic faith. Can you imagine that? Even though you are not Muslim, your burial ceremony is held in a mosque. This is so devastating, isn’t it?”…

Read the rest here.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Follow me on Facebook

Filed Under: Featured, Islamic supremacism Tagged With: Yezidis


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Comments

  1. t. says

    Oct 10, 2016 at 11:49 pm

    Is there is anyone, from those who run away from me when I start telling them about the coming mess, reading this?

    • t. says

      Oct 10, 2016 at 11:52 pm

      There is an extra “is”, a typo, in the comment above.

      • Sheykh Yer Weeni says

        Oct 11, 2016 at 11:34 am

        Therefore at least someone is reading it. The question for the West is, do we want to become Islamic along with the rest of the world? I know of no other power that will resist the Islamic invasion, than an international return to patriotism, followed by a bold defense against the Islamic jihad.

        • Richard Courtemanche says

          Oct 11, 2016 at 10:32 pm

          A Western return to power and control, but Western “leaders” have become cowards seemingly abandoning our civilizations to the Islamic evil fate.

    • Mazo says

      Oct 11, 2016 at 8:56 pm

      The Yazidi religion formed centuries after the arrival of Islam from a mixture of earlier religions. Yazidis are not Zoroastrians. Zoroastrianism originated in Central Asia and is not native Mesopotamian. The Kurdish ethnicity did not exist in the time of Umar and “Kurdistan” was Assyrian populated land at that time. Kurds were Iranic nomads who invaded Assyrian land.

      Umar was not a Prophet. He was a Caliph and Sahaba.

      So many fails in an imbecilic article.

      • gravenimage says

        Oct 11, 2016 at 9:10 pm

        How *dare* Yezidis follow their own faith? Mazo–like all good Mohammedans–knows that the only ‘cure’ for that impertinence is for pious Muslims to mass-murder them and use them as sex slaves. *Ugh*.

        • J D S says

          Oct 11, 2016 at 11:59 pm

          Yes the stupidity in Islam is still shining through today as it did of old..so many lives wasted…blood on the hands of so many muslims…..GOD is enlarging hell to accommodate those with all that blood on their hands, even unto today.

        • Mazo says

          Oct 12, 2016 at 12:23 am

          Cravenmirage like all craven liars thinks repeating bullshit I never said and falsely attributting it to me will make it true.

    • Roy C says

      Oct 13, 2016 at 6:35 pm

      Yes, some of us are paying attention to this continuing disaster. Obama constantly demeans and insults Christians while making no attempt to hide his deep love and respect for Islam. He has shone little interest in the plight of the Yezidis or Coptics as the slaughter by Muslims carries on. How is it that liberals can see none of this as they worship their messiah? One of the great mysteries of our time.

  2. Veka Fitzfrancis says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 2:13 am

    In time, this will be the story of Europe as well.

    • John Galt says

      Oct 11, 2016 at 10:59 am

      No it will not. I am so sick of this defeatist attitude. While it’s good to know what Islamisation means I as a huguenot protestant in Northern Ireland will NEVER surrender to Islamization ….

      NEVER.

      There are those who will bomb them and their estates into the stone age long before they bow their knees to Islamic scum.

      • Kepha says

        Oct 11, 2016 at 8:21 pm

        With you, John.

      • gravenimage says

        Oct 11, 2016 at 9:12 pm

        Hear, hear, John Galt!

        I like your username, as well.

      • J D S says

        Oct 12, 2016 at 12:27 am

        Bomb them John?? The kind of bombing you are suggesting does not exist at the present time…… may I change that to….the ones to carry it out does not exist.

        Political correctness, racism, islamaphobia and the rules of engagement have, at the present time, put a stop…. to to really stopping…. the advancement of islam in the west and with what is happening in our presidential election today, the last hold out to Islam, the U.S. is faltering. Europe, Australia and Canada have slipped so far that it will almost be impossible to recover without an immediate change of
        LEADERSHIP. Even new leadership may be impossible with the onslaught of Muslim voters. A Muslim mayor of London……Hmmmmmm!

        • t. says

          Oct 12, 2016 at 12:24 pm

          J D S, while I felt that the comment of John Galt was uplifting, I think you explained precisely why that “push back” against Islam is not anywhere near in sight!

          Islam and Muslims are using all western values, legal , financial and political systems to advance unhindered. That’s why a much needed, urgent, effective and swift response to them won’t happen unless with a temporary and immediate modification, prioritizing and /or suspension of many of those systems and values. This process should start simultaneously from the top down and from the bottom up.

          Talk about democracy and electing governments, Muslims got the numbers and counting; talk about capitalism and financial systems built on currency, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates got trillions of tons of it; talk about western legal system, more and more absurd judgement and a separate set of rules -advantage Islam and Muslims.

          In addition, swift immediate changes and modifications to the curriculum and subjects taught in schools and universities are desperately needed.

  3. eur says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 4:10 am

    Druzes
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druze

    Druzes also have been persecuted for generations, they are not Muslims or Christians, practice taqiya, passed by Muslims for Muslims not to kill them. but … also Middle Eastern Christians have to adopt Islamic behavior to the Muslim majority do not be offended … and now it’s up to us. In the Iberian Peninsula Christians during the time of al andalus could not cross the path of a Muslim, they could not ride could not fend off the aggression of a Muslim,look up a Muslim, they had to pay the jizya, practice their faith in secret, they could not build new churches or reform the olds …
    it was an abuse, there were not only forced conversions also rape of Christian women … extorted them financially until they could not take it anymore and turned to Islam to avoid paying the jizya. Many returned to Christianity as the Christian kingdoms of northern reconquered territory from Muslim invader..

    • Mazo says

      Oct 11, 2016 at 12:51 pm

      Druze are an offshoot of Ismaili Shia Muslims who view Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim as divine and absorbed beliefs from other religions, but they view the Qiran as one of their books and Muhammad as one of their holy figures. Nice try at obfuscation, moron.

    • Mazo says

      Oct 11, 2016 at 1:04 pm

      Zoroastrianism isn’t a native Mesopotamian religion. It was founded in Central Asia by Iranic peoples.

      Umar was not a Prophet. He was a Sahaba and a Caliph. Anyone with a basic knowledge of Islam knows this. A Muslim primary school student can tell you this.

      There was no place called Kurdistan in the time of Umar. The native inhabitants of northern Iraq and Southeast Turkey were Assyrian Christians. Assyrians are natives of Cizre, Dohuk and Erbil until Kurdish Muslims took their lands under Ottoman rule and slaughtered the Assyrians. Learn to read historical texts in their own languagem There are no mentions of Kurds in the time of Umar.

      Zoroastrianiam and Yazidism are not the same religions and not identical. Zoroastrians still live in Iran today and they are not Yazidis.

    • Kepha says

      Oct 11, 2016 at 8:23 pm

      Sounds as if many parts of the “black codes” we used to have in the southern states were lifted from rules the Spaniards imposed on the Indians of their colonies, and which, in turn, were imposed on Spanish Dhimmi by the Muslims.

      • Bukkdem Jizheads says

        Oct 13, 2016 at 2:02 pm

        Kepha, I am from the south and I think “black codes” were necessary, as well as the KKK. Lincoln was a cruel fool to think slaves could just walk off a plantation and survive as illiterate, landless people. They were accustomed to being cared for from the injection to the resurrection. As well, the yanks were clear-cutting the entire South, looting and raping. (We have no virgin forests)

        Every other slave-holding country was able to gradually end the practice by letting people earn their freedom. We had to lose 600K souls because of a sanctimonious jerk who gave no thought to the consequences of a giant societal upheaval.

  4. Angemon says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 5:15 am

    Kurdish author Yasar Batman

    Not to be confused with the Turkish Batman or the current Batman, Ben “That’s Gross That’s Racist” Affleck:

    • gravenimage says

      Oct 11, 2016 at 9:15 pm

      Sye Ten Atheist’s Anti-Jihad animations are brilliant. Thanks for posting this, Angemon.

  5. Gary says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 8:38 am

    ISIS to Enemies: If You Approach We’ll Kill Yazidi Sex Slaves

    …..and two years ago Obama turned a blind eye.

    His is an evil man.

  6. Jay Boo says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 10:39 am

    I can hear the feverish pounding of Mazo’s Wikipedia key strokes.

    Surely Mazo could find an ad homonym against Yezidis in need of Mazo conjuring from willfully misconstrued Wiki wanker-ing.

    • Jay Boo says

      Oct 11, 2016 at 11:10 am

      Should be ‘slander’ instead of ad homonym.

  7. TH says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 10:56 am

    There will probably be many civil wars in Europe as it is not likely that Europeans will simply submit to Islam. Who will win? If there is an upsurge of Christianity, Islam will probably lose. Christians have won many battles against Muslims despite having much smaller forces, but better tactics and technology. The average intelligence of the white population is about 15% higher than that of Muslims, due in part to Muslim inbreeding. The present faithless European society which kills millions of unborn babies and euthanizes the elderly is hardly worth fighting for. If Europe is not Christian, it is simply not Europe, but will be Eurabia.

  8. Florida Jim says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 11:24 am

    Muslims do not wan peace they want terror and control of everyone. They begin with jihad on Jews, Americans, Westerners, then spread to other sects then to other mosques then to HELL where they meet Mohammad. They do not want to assimilate just rule and kill.Killing infidels gains them paradise. Loving god, loving they neighbor and trying to do better in kindness and goodness daily while knowing Jesus Christ as Savior is the Christian way, try it, please.Love and kindness vs hatred and murder….some choice.

  9. ChipsShot says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 5:03 pm

    I Was Raised By An Islamic Terror Cult IN AMERICA!
    https://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2016/05/27/confession-i-was-raised-by-an-islamic-terror-cult-in-america/

    Muslims Don’t Assimilate, They Infiltrate
    https://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/muslims-dont-assimilate-they-infiltrate/

  10. Thomas 000 says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 6:56 pm

    Here you can read News and also some history about Ezidis

    http://ezidipress.com/en/

  11. Prof.Helen McCaffrey says

    Oct 11, 2016 at 10:10 pm

    SHAME on the intolerance of fundamentalist ISLAM and SHAME on the blind eye of the WEST.

FacebookYoutubeTwitterLog in

Subscribe to the Jihad Watch Daily Digest

You will receive a daily mailing containing links to the stories posted at Jihad Watch in the last 24 hours.
Enter your email address to subscribe.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!
If you are forwarding to a friend, please remove the unsubscribe buttons first, as they my accidentally click it.

Subscribe to all Jihad Watch posts

You will receive immediate notification.
Enter your email address to subscribe.
Note: This may be up to 15 emails a day.

Donate to JihadWatch
FrontPage Mag

Search Site

Translate

The Team

Robert Spencer in FrontPageMag
Robert Spencer in PJ Media

Articles at Jihad Watch by
Robert Spencer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Christine Douglass-Williams
Andrew Harrod
Jamie Glazov
Daniel Greenfield

Contact Us

Terror Attacks Since 9/11

Archives

  • 2020
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2008
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2007
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2006
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2005
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2004
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2003
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • March

All Categories

You Might Like

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Recent Comments

  • Walter Sieruk on Iranian top dogs approve bill to end UN nuclear inspections, increase enrichment
  • Dude on Muslim cleric: ‘We welcomed the takeover of ISIS because they wanted to implement the Sharia’
  • Infidel on Uighur leader: ‘We’re actually quite worried’ about what Biden might let China get away with
  • Infidel on Uighur leader: ‘We’re actually quite worried’ about what Biden might let China get away with
  • Mojdeh on Audio: Robert Spencer on Muslim Brotherhood influence in a Biden/Harris administration

Popular Categories

dhimmitude Sharia Jihad in the U.S ISIS / Islamic State / ISIL Iran Free Speech

Robert Spencer FaceBook Page

Robert Spencer Twitter

Robert Spencer twitter

Robert Spencer YouTube Channel

Books by Robert Spencer

Jihad Watch® is a registered trademark of Robert Spencer in the United States and/or other countries - Site Developed and Managed by Free Speech Defense

Content copyright Jihad Watch, Jihad Watch claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to their respective owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Our mailing address is: David Horowitz Freedom Center, P.O. Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, CA 91499-1964

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.