Religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century
Yarsanism یارسان
Yarsan shrine of Shah Hayas in the village of Wardik near Mosul in Iraq
Type
Ethnic religion
Classification
Iranian
Scripture
Kalâm-e Saranjâm
Theology
Syncretic
Region
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]
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Yarsanism (Kurdish: یارسان, romanized: Yarsan), Ahl-e Haqq (ئەهلی حەق, Ehl-e 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.
^ abcdHamzeh'ee (1990), p. 39.
^Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2004) p. 82
^ abc"'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.
Yarsanism (Kurdish: یارسان, romanized: Yarsan), Ahl-e Haqq (ئەهلی حەق, Ehl-e Heq; Persian: اهل حق), or Kaka'i, is an inherited, syncretic religion founded...
Yazidism shares with Kurdish Alevism and Yarsanism a lot of similarities that date back to pre-Islam. Yarsanism (also known as Ahl-I-Haqq, Ahl-e-Hagh or...
religious symbol in Yarsanism) Chukar partridge (primary cultural symbol) Peafowl (religious) Capra (genus), a religious symbol in Yarsanism Van cat (regional)...
century) was a Kurdish religious leader who reformed the modern beliefs of Yarsanism and moreover considered to be the fourth of seven incarnations of God...
beauty. Most Lurs are Shia Muslim. Historically, many Lurs adhered to Yarsanism but almost the whole Yarsani Luri population has converted to Shia Islam...
Yazidism shares with Kurdish Alevism and Yarsanism many similar qualities that date back to the pre-Islamic era. Yarsanism (also known as Ahl-I-Haqq, Ahl-e-Hagh...
Mandaeans and Yarsanis. There is a large population of adherents of Yarsanism, a Kurdish indigenous religion, estimated to be over half a million to...
rites. There are also important minority religions like the Baháʼí Faith, Yarsanism, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism, Mandaeism, Druze, and Shabakism, and in ancient...
around 40%. The remainder follow Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism and Yarsanism. The religious development of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian culture in...
of the main Mandaean community, which once was 60,000–70,000 strong. The Yarsan or Ahl-e Haqq is a syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late...
charges (made by Zoroastrians) of harm to both Zoroastrianism and Islam. Yarsanism, a religion which is believed to have been founded in the late 14th century...
diaspora. There are also important minority religions like the Baháʼí Faith, Yarsanism, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism, Mandaeism, and Shabakism. Religions in West...
of Indo-European origins, include Zoroastrianism, Yazdânism, Uatsdin, Yarsanism, Manichaeism, and Yazidism. Gnosticism, including historical traditions...
Druze are not Muslims, and do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In Yarsanism, a religion founded by the Kurdish mystic Sultan Sahak, Ali is thought...
The following is a non-exhaustive list of links to specific religious texts which may be used for further, more in-depth study. Pyramid Texts Coffin Texts...
Muslims – minority faiths include Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Zoroastrianism. The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish;...
(Mesopotamian Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic) Religion Predominantly Islam (Sunni (60%) and Shia (30%)) Smaller minorities Zoroastrism, Yazidism and Yarsanism,...
Religion Pre-Abrahamic religions Islam Christianity Judaism Zoroastrianism Yarsanism Language Azerbaijani Persecution March Days Deportations from Armenia...
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