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| Yazidi Temple (Photo by Danpanic77) |
The Yazidis have been in the headlines lately (and well they should) for being mercilessly butchered and enslaved by Sunni militants in Iraq.
Baghdad Associated
Press reports that “hundreds of Yazidi women below the age of 35” are considered slaves by Sunni captors who have “vicious plans” for them. Approximately 50,000 Yazidis (many of whom are children) have already fled for their lives to the wilderness, where they “remain, trapped and running out of food and water.” Mass
executions of Yazidi men are also taking place.
These persecuting Sunni militants consider the Yazidis to be heretical “devil worshippers.” Wikipedia explains that Tawuse Malek (aka “Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel”) is the preeminent angel of the Yazidi Heptad of Seven Holy Beings.
Melek Taus is considered by the Yazidis to be “the leader of the archangels, not a fallen
angel.”
Nevertheless, these Sunnis insist upon equating Melek Taus with Shaitan (aka “Satan”). Because Yazidi stories tell us that Melek Taus had refused to bow to Adam (just as Satan did, although for very different reasons), the militants have declared that Melek Taus and Shaitan are one and the same.
Yazidis, like the ancient Zoroastrians before them, believe that good and evil are “in the heart and spirit of humans themselves.” May the light overcome the darkness in Iraq and everywhere.
Resources
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/08/yazidi-women-captive_n_5662805.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YazidiCopyright August 10, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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