A Parsi Times reader recently shared a picture of some currency notes with Zarathushtra’s image, purported to be the currency of Kurdistan. He inquired whether this was real and if all Kurds were officially Zoroastrian. Our response was Kurdistan isn’t a country or a sovereign state, but a geographic region in Iraq and the currency of Iraq is the Iraqi Dinar. The currency with the image of Zarathushtra is not legal tender, nor recognized anywhere even in the region where Kurds reside. However, in Iraq, the Kurds do make up the majority group in the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) which has its own distinct government, known as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

About Kurdistan

Nearly 25 – 35 million Kurds inhabit a mountainous region straddling the borders of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Armenia. Despite making up for the fourth-largest ethnic group in the Middle East, they have never obtained a permanent nation state. The problem with an independent Kurdistan is that several sovereign nations will have to cede territory to form this new nation. There are sizable Kurdish populations in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Kurds possess a semi-autonomous region only in Iraq (KRI), not the other three countries. For now, these nations are unlikely to cede territory for a Kurdish state, with Turkey battling its Kurdish population for decades.

About the Kurdish people

Kurdistan inhabitants, particularly the Yazidis, continue to attract global media attention. Over three decades ago, in the Bombay Samachar (March 21, 1993), Zoroastrian scholar, Dr. Pallan R. Ichaporia noted that the Yazidi faith was a heavily corrupted form of Zoroastrianism mixed with other beliefs, barely recognizable as the original religion. He remarked that those claiming Zoroastrians exist within the Kurdish nation were, “living in a dream world.” Supporting his view, the Editor advised Zoroastrians to focus on their own communities in India, the UK and USA.

However, Zoroastrianism has witnessed a quiet revival in Kurdistan since 2015, fueled by Kurdish nationalism and disillusionment with Islam after ISIS violence. Thousands have reportedly embraced the faith of their ancestors, viewing it as a vital part of Kurdish identity and history. Many see Zoroastrianism as a link to their pre-Islamic roots and a way to assert cultural pride against state oppression.

The first official fire temple opened in Sulaymaniyah in 2016, and the Yasna Association now represents the community within the Kurdistan Regional Government. Although official figures are unavailable, a 2024 survey estimates nearly 5,000 adherents in the region. For many Kurds, this revival is more than a spiritual choice, it’s a cultural and nationalist statement reclaiming their heritage.

Who are the Yazidis?

The Encyclopedia Britannica (1986) describes the Yazidi faith as a syncretic blend of Zoroastrian, Manichaean, Jewish, Nestorian Christian, and Islamic elements. Believed to descend from supporters of Umayyad Caliph Yazid I, Yazidis consider themselves separately created from humanity and maintain strict segregation. Though scattered and numbering under 100,000, they have a structured society led by a Chief Shaykh as spiritual head and an Amir, or prince, as their secular leader.

At the heart of Yazidi belief is Malak Taus, the Peacock Angel, worshipped in peacock form as the ruler of the universe alongside six other angels. All seven serve under the supreme God, who, after creating the universe, no longer intervenes directly. They are venerated through seven bronze or iron peacock figures known as Sanjaq, the largest weighing nearly 700 pounds.

Yazidis reject dualism, denying the existence of evil, sin, the devil or hell. They believe spiritual purification occurs through metempsychosis or transmigration of souls. According to Yazidi tradition, when the devil repented for his pride, God forgave him and restored him as chief of the angels, a belief that has unfairly labeled them as ‘devil worshippers’. Their chief saint, Shaykh Adi, a 12th-century Islamic mystic, is believed to have achieved divinity through metempsychosis. His tomb at Ash-Shaykh Adi, near Mosul, is the focus of their annual pilgrimage. Yazidi sacred texts include Kitab al-Jilwah (Book of Revelation) and Mashaf Rash (Black Writing), along with revered Arabic hymns praising Shaykh Adi.

According to the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, the Yezidis are a distinct religious community of around 50,000 people spread from Mosul to the Caucasus, including Van, Diarbekr and Bitlis. They call themselves Dasni and speak a Kurdish dialect. The community is led by a Khalifah, a descendant of Shaikh Adi, supported by Shaikhs, Kavvals, and Faqirs, with priesthood passed down hereditarily. Known for their bravery, intelligence, and cheerful yet calm temperament, they maintain higher-than-average moral standards, practice cleanliness, and their women are unveiled and receive guests freely. Being completely illiterate, they handed down their traditions orally. Their main festival is on 10^th August, in Ba’adri, marked by a flagellant procession near the tomb of Shaikh Adi ben Musafir, who died in 1155, where fires of naphtha and bitumen burn continuously.

The origin of the word, ‘Yezidi’ likely derives from the Avestan Yazata (deity) or Persian Yazdan (God). Though they recognize Muhammad and Abraham as prophets and practice baptism, they are neither Muslim nor Nestorian. Their beliefs combine Iranian and Assyrian Magian elements. Their cult of fire is Iranian. They regard the devil as a creative agent of God for producing evil and therefore worthy of reverence. As per the Encyclopaedia, “The Yezidis say that God made the world beautiful. Then Malik-Taus appeared before him and said that there could be no light without darkness, no day without night, and accordingly he caused night to follow day.” Dr. R C Zaehner, in ‘The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Living Faiths,’ considers the Yezidi faith as an “aberrant form of the Sufi movement”.

Alleged Devil Worshippers

Joseph T. Parfit writes in his book, ‘Marvellous Mesopotamia’, “The Yezidees or ‘Devil-worshippers’ inhabit a number of unkempt villages near Mosul and in the Sinjar Mountains… They have many excellent characteristics, though they are profoundly ignorant and superstitious. It is hardly correct to call the Yezidees ‘Devil worshippers’, for they all believe in a great God who created the universe; but they pay deference to the ‘Prince of this world’, lest they should suffer his vengeance.” They avoid words starting with Satan’s initial, calling him the ‘Prince of Darkness’ or ‘Exalted Chief.’ Many practice baptism, make the sign of the cross, and kiss church thresholds.

Alleged Revival of Zoroastrianism

Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims following the Shafi’i school, though minorities practice Alevism, Sufism, Yazidism, Shi’a Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Zoroastrian population estimates in Iraqi Kurdistan vary widely, from 80,000–100,000 according to the US State Department, to around 5,000 in 2024 (Wikipedia article). Zoroastrianism is officially recognized by the Kurdistan Regional Government, and its influence has grown in recent years due to a revival of the faith and efforts to promote it through NGOs.