PM Barzani Congratulates Kaka’is on Qultas Day

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday issued a congratulatory statement to the Kurdish Kakai community for their Qultas holiday. 

“On the occasion of Qultas Day, I would like to extend my warm congratulations to the Kaka’i brothers and sisters in Kurdistan and around the world. I hope that they have a joyful and peaceful holiday celebration,” the Prime Minister said.

The premier also noted that the Kaka’is played a significant and crucial role in the liberation movement of the Kurdish people and they “deeply appreciate their struggle and sacrifices and reiterate our commitment to defending their rights.”

Kurdish Kaka’is follow Yarsanism, a religion founded in the late 14th Century in western Iran. While its adherents are referred to as the Yarsani, the Kaka’i identity is exclusive to Iraq.

Although they primarily reside in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, members residing in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq’s disputed territories are usually considered ethnic Kurds, while the Kaka’i label is seen as their religion.

Having suffered religious persecution for many years, both historically and in recent decades, members of the community have often sought to avoid attention by keeping their practices relatively secret. While exact figures are unknown, it is estimated that at least 100,000 Kaka’is live in various parts of the country, mostly in the disputed territories such as Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Makhmour.

They are among the many minorities in Iraq that have been systematically targeted by ISIS, but as they have frequently lamented, the group has not garnered the same level of media coverage and attention as other more well-known groups, such as the Yazidis. A significant number of Kaka’i families evacuated their villages in Kirkuk’s Daquq district following the terror group’s rise to power in 2014.

Editing by Dastan Muwaffaq