Yezidi delegation visits Russian Orthodox leader in Moscow

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church, Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, received a delegation of Yezidi (Ezidi) leaders on Friday, led by Yezidi representative and crown prince, Hazim Mir Tahsin Beg, and Baba Sheikh, the religious leader of the Ezidis.

“They went to Russia, but, as a Ezidi delegation, and they met with religious leaders,” Ido Baba Sheikh, the brother of Baba Sheikh told Kurdistan 24. 

The Ezidi delegation was invited by the Orthodox Church.

“It’s a normal meeting for the establishment of new relations with the Russian Orthodox Church,” Majid Hassan Ali, Ph.D. on religious minorities in Iraq, Bamberg University told Kurdistan 24.

“We asked the Russian Church to allow the Yezidi community in Moscow to build a new Temple,” in the capital, he added.

“For centuries, you [the Ezidis] were persecuted, we know about these persecutions and empathize with your people because the Russian Orthodox people were also persecuted, especially in the 20th century,” said Patriarch Kirill during the meeting.

Moreover, he recognized the suffering of the Ezidi people at “the hands of terrorism.”

The Ezidis were the victim of genocide after the Islamic State (IS) took over large swaths of territory in northern Iraq in August 2014, and abducted thousands of Ezidi women, whom they enslaved and abused, and executed thousands of others.

“We know how many of your brothers died, how many women were tortured, how many children were lost. The world should know about the sufferings of your people,” Patriarch Kirill emphasized. 

He added that representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church at various international platforms often voiced their concerns about the situation of the Ezidi community in Iraq and “strongly protested terrorists” who targeted the Ezidis.

The Patriarch also affirmed that Ezidis were well-protected in Armenia, Russia, and Georgia.

“We see that you are aware of the fate of our people and we hope that the Russian society will learn more of the tragedies that our people have experienced over several centuries,” Hazem Mir Tahsin-Beg reportedly said.

Editing by Nadia Riva