| Yarsanism یارسان | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Ethnic religion |
| Classification | Iranian, Abrahamic |
| Scripture | Kalâm-e Saranjâm |
| Theology | Syncretic |
| Region | Iraqi Kurdistan, Iranian Kurdistan |
| Language | Kurdish languages; Gorani language |
| Founder | Sultan Sahak |
| Origin | late 14th century Western Iran |
| Members | c. 500,000[1] to 1,000,000 (in Iran)[2] |
| Other name(s) | Ahl-e Haqq, Kaka'i[3] |
 |
Yarsanism (Kurdish: یارسان, romanized: Yarsan), Ahl-e Haqq (ئەهلی حەق, Ehlê Heq/Ehli Heq;[4][5] Persian: اهل حق), or Kaka'i,[3] is an inherited, syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran.[6] The total number of followers of Yarsanism is estimated to be over half a million[1] to one million in Iran.[7] The numbers in Iraq are unknown. Followers are mostly Kurds from the Guran, Sanjâbi, Kalhor, Zangana and Jalalvand tribes.[1] Turkic-speaking Yarsan enclaves also exist in Iran.[1]
Some Yarsanis in Iraq are called Kaka'i.[3] Yarsanis say that some people call them disparagingly as "Ali Allahi" or "worshipers of Ali", labels which Yarsanis deny. Many Yarsanis hide their religion due to the pressure of Iran's Islamic system, and there are no exact statistics of their population.[8]
The Yarsanis have a distinct religious literature primarily written in the Gorani language. However, few modern Yarsani can read or write Gorani, as their mother tongue is Southern Kurdish or Sorani.[9]
Their central religious book is called the Kalâm-e Saranjâm, written in the 15th century and based on the teachings of Sultan Sahak.
- ^ a b c d Hamzeh'ee (1990), p. 39.
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2004) p. 82
- ^ a b c "'If we stay a secret, there will be a genocide'". BBC News.
- ^ Hamzeh'ee, M. Reza Fariborz (1995). Krisztina Kehl-Bodrogi; et al. (eds.). Syncretistic Religious Communities in the Near East. Leiden: Brill. pp. 101–117. ISBN 90-04-10861-0.
- ^ P. G. Kreyenbroek (1992). Review of The Yaresan: A Sociological, Historical and Religio-Historical Study of a Kurdish Community, by M. Reza Hamzeh'ee, 1990, ISBN 3-922968-83-X. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol.55, No.3, pp.565–566.
- ^ Elahi, Bahram (1987). The path of perfection, the spiritual teachings of Master Nur Ali Elahi. ISBN 0-7126-0200-3.
- ^ Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2004) p. 82
- ^ "نگاهی به آئین یارسان یا اهل حق". BBC News فارسی. November 27, 2011.
- ^ C. J. Edmonds (1957). Kurds, Turks and Arabs, Politics, Travel and Research in North-Eastern Iraq, 1919-1925. Oxford University Press. p. 195.