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Yazdânism, or theCult of Angels, is apseudohistoric[1] pre-Islamic religion with claimed ties relating to aMithraic religion of theKurds. The term was introduced and proposed by Kurdish and Belgian scholarMehrdad Izady to represent what he considers the "original" religion of the Kurds.[2]
According to Izady, Yazdânism is now continued in the denominations ofYazidism,Yarsanism, andKurdish Alevism.[3][4]Shabakism was also included, although it later declined as a religion.[5]
The concept of Yazdânism has found a wide perception both within and beyondKurdish nationalist discourses, but has been disputed by other recognized scholars ofIranian religions. Well established, however, are the "striking" and "unmistakable" similarities between theYazidis and theYaresan orAhl-e Haqq (People of Truth),[6] some of which can be traced back to elements of an ancient faith that was probably dominant amongWestern Iranians and akin, but separate fromZoroastrianism[2][7] and likened to practices ofpre-ZoroastrianMithraic religion.[8]
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In Yazdâni theologies, an absolutepantheistic[9] force (Haq orHaqq) encompasses the whole universe. It binds together thecosmos with its essence, and has entrusted the universe theheft sirr (the "Heptad", "Seven Mysteries", "Seven Angels"), who sustain universal life and can incarnate in persons,bâbâ ("Gates" or "Avatar").[10] These seven emanations are comparable to the sevenAnunnaki aspects ofAnu of ancient Mesopotamian theology, and they includeMelek Tawûs (the "Peacock Angel" or "King"), who has been suggested by some scholars to be equivalent of the ancient godDumuzi son ofEnki.[11]
Some scholar have pointed to the Iranic origin of these deities, in particularShaykh Shams al-Din, "the sun of the faith", who is a Yezidi figure that has many features in common with the Old Iranian GodMithra, such as being associated with the Sun, playing an important role inOaths and being involved in the annual bull sacrifice which takes place in Autumn festivals.[12][7]
Pre-Islamic theology from indigenous and local Western Iranian faiths have survived in these three religions, although the expression and the vocabulary have been heavily influenced by anArabic andPersianateSufi lexicon.[2][7][13][14][15]
The principal feature of Yazdânism is the belief in seven benevolent divine beings that defend the world from an equal number of malign entities. While this concept exists in its purest form inYârsânism andYazidism, it evolves into "seven saints/spiritual persons”.[16] Another important feature of these religions is a doctrine ofreincarnation. The belief in reincarnation has been documented among theNusayri(ShamsiAlawites) as well.[16]
The Yazidis believe in a singleGod as creator of the world, which he has placed under the care of these seven “holy beings” orangels, whose “chief” (archangel) isMelek Tawûs, the “Peacock Angel”. The Peacock Angel, as world-ruler, causes both good and bad to befall individuals, and this ambivalent character is reflected in myths of his own temporary fall from God's favor, before his remorseful tears extinguished the fires of his hellish prison and he was reconciled with God.
Melek Tawûs is sometimes identified by Muslims and Christians withShaitan (Satan). Yazidis, however, strongly dispute this, considering him to be the leader of thearchangels, not a fallen angel.[17][18] According to Christine Allison:
Because of this connection to the Sufi Iblis tradition, some followers of Christianity and Islam equate the Peacock Angel with their own unredeemed evil spiritSatan,[20][21][22][23] which has incited centuries of persecution of the Yazidis as ‘devil worshippers’. Persecution of Yazidis has continued in their home communities within the borders of modernIraq, under bothSaddam Hussein and fundamentalistSunni Muslim revolutionaries.[24] In August 2014,the Yazidis were targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, in its campaign to ‘purify’ Iraq and neighboring countries of non-Islamic influences.[25]
Yazdânis do not maintain any of the requisitefive pillars of Islam; nor do they havemosques or frequent them. They also don't follow theQuran and each denomination of this religion has its ownscriptures and texts that the adherents hold in a higher esteem than all other texts.[26][27][28][29]
From the Yarsani (sometimes also called Ahl-e Haqq or Yâresân) point of view, the universe is composed of two distinct yet interrelated worlds: the internal (batini) and the external (zahiri), each having its own order and rules. Although humans are only aware of the outer world, their lives are governed according to the rules of the inner world. Among other important pillars of their belief system are that the Divine Essence has successive manifestations in human form, (mazhariyyat, derived fromzahir) and the belief intransmigration of the soul (ordunaduni inKurdish). The Yarsani do not observe Muslim rites and rituals.[30]
The term "Haqq" (as inAhl-e Haqq) is often misrepresented and misinterpreted as theArabic term for"Truth". Instead, its true meaning is clearly explained byNur Ali Elahi (died 1974) – as being "distinct from the Arabic term and in fact, should be written as "Hâq" ("Hâq-i wâqi'") instead of "Haqq" and should be understood to be different in meaning, connotation, and essence."[31]
Yazidis, who have much in common with the followers ofYarsanism, state that the universe created by God was at first apearl. It remained in this very small and enclosed state for some time (often amagic number such as forty or forty thousand years) before being remade in its current state. During this period theHeptad were called into existence, God made a covenant with them and entrusted the world to them. BesidesTawûsê Melek, members of the Heptad (the Seven), who were called into existence by God at the beginning of all things, include Şêx Hasan, Şêxobekir and the four brothers, known as theFour Mysteries: Shamsadin,Fakhradin, Sajadin and Naserdin.[7]
Izady proposes the term as denoting a belief system which "predates Islam by millennia" which is in its character "Aryan" rather than "Semitic".[32]
Instead of suggesting that the Muslim Kurds are Yazdânis,Izady suggests that Yazdâni Kurds are not Muslim, and identify themselves as such only toavoid harm and discrimination.[33]
The view on non-Islamic identity of theYazdânis is shared byMohammad Mokri, the well-known Kurdish folklorist and historian, who states this religion to be "lessIslamic thanBaháʼísm", which had emerged fromBábism as "a new non-Islamic religion".[15]
The concept of Yazdânism as a distinct religion has been disputed by a number of scholars.Richard Foltz considers Yazdânism, or the “Cult of Angels”, as Izady's “invented religion”, which according to Foltz “owes more to contemporary Kurdish national sentiment than to actual religious history.”[2]
Iranian anthropologistZiba Mir-Hosseini states:[34]
The most notable case is that of Izady (1992) who, in his eagerness to distance the Ahl-e Haqq from Islam and to give it a purely Kurdish pedigree, asserts that the sect is a denomination of a religion of great antiquity which he calls “the Cult of Angels”. This 'Cult', he states, is "fundamentally a non-Semitic religion, with an Aryan superstructure overlaying a religious foundation indigenous to the Zagros. To identify the Cult or any of its denominations as Islamic is simply a mistake born of a lack of knowledge of the religion, which pre-dates Islam by millennia."
The alleged pan-Kurdish proto-religion called "Yazdanism" is a fabrication of contemporary Kurdish scholar Mehrdad Izady
According to Izady, Yazdanism is now continued in the denominations of Yazidism, Yarsanism, and Chinarism
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