Masoud Barzani congratulates Yezidis on annual Festival of Fasting

Lalish, the Yezidi (Ezidi) religion's holiest site, located in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province. (Photo: Levi Clancy/Kurdistan 24)
Lalish, the Yezidi (Ezidi) religion's holiest site, located in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province. (Photo: Levi Clancy/Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Statesman and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani congratulated members of the Yezidi (Ezidi) community in the Kurdistan Region and abroad on the occasion of the religious group's Festival of Fasting (Cejna rojîyê), also known as the Fast of Yezidi.

"On the occasion of the Festival of Fasting, I extend my warmest congratulations and blessings to the Yezidi brothers and sisters in Kurdistan and around the world," Barzani said in a statement.

The occasion is one of the Yezidi faith's holiest days and marks the third and final of three fasting days performed over a period of three weeks each winter.

Barzani expressed his hope that the holiday would bring "happiness, peace, and security to the Yezidi brothers and sisters and end their suffering."

The 2014 emergence of ISIS led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Yezidis, who the extremist group considers heretics. Most of them fled to the autonomous Kurdistan Region, while others resettled in neighboring countries in the region or Western states.

"Kurdistan is the land of peace and of many religions," the leader concluded, pledging to "continue to preserve the culture of brotherhood and profound coexistence between various groups and religions."