Yazidis in Germany

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Yazidis came first in larger groups in the 1960s as part of the recruitment of Turkish workers to Germany . Their persecution and oppression as a religious minority , who aredefamedby many as alleged devil worshipers , led to a great wave of refugees from Turkey , Iraq and Syria from the 1980s onwards. Yazidis are mainly represented in the federal states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia . The number of Yazidis in Germany is estimated at 190,000 to 200,000. In the European diaspora , some of its religious and social norms have changed.

Demonstration by Yazidis in front of the US Embassy in Berlin on October 22, 2014; in Washington, the US State Department also received Yazidi representatives from Germany.

History of immigration

Immigration from Turkey

As a result of the guest worker policy introduced by Germany , a large number of Turkish Yazidis were able to immigrate from Turkey to the Federal Republic in early 1964. In order to enter the country, the guest workers had to be perfectly healthy and literate. At first it was mainly young men who had either completed a five-year schooling or had learned to read and write halfway during their military service. Economic interests probably led the first Yazidis to Germany. Only after the federal government stopped recruiting guest workers on November 23, 1973 , more Yazidis came to Germany through family reunification or the asylum procedure. After the third military coup in Turkey in 1980 , increasing oppression drove the Yazidis to flee to Germany.

The first Yazidis from Turkey worked mainly in agriculture in their homeland . In general, most of the Yazidis came from very simple social backgrounds and were not very educated. The Yazidi girls and women were mostly illiterate because their families, for fear of harassment or kidnapping, did not send them to school. This is why the first generation had a very low level of education until the end of the 1980s . It was not until the second generation that Yazidis also used the educational opportunities in Germany. For the majority of the Yazidis living in Germany, a qualified education for their children is very important today because it enables them, among other things, to integrate into German society and gain access to the German labor market.

Immigration from Syria

Syrian Yazidis form the second largest group of Yazidis living in Germany. Their immigration took place mainly between 1980 and 1990. In Syria , where they were mainly settled in Afrin and in the province of al-Hasakah , they were not recognized as a religious community. In a 1962 census in al-Hasakah, 120,000 Kurds, including Sunnis and Yazidis, were stripped of their Syrian citizenship ; they were declared foreigners . By 2006, more than 300,000 Kurds were stateless . After Halil Savucu, the founding member of the Central Council for Yezidis in Germany, they were given certain rights such as B. the right to vote , possession and property rights or the right to leave the country withheld. He also writes that Yazidi children, in contrast to Christian students, were forced to take Islam lessons in schools.

Immigration from Iraq

Saddam Hussein

In Iraq, Yazidis suffered increasing repression and discrimination from the Ba'ath regime under Saddam Hussein in the 1970s . The goal of the dictator at the time was to force Arabize all Yazidis and Kurds in Iraq. During the Anfal operation against the Kurds, many Yazidis were forcibly expelled from their villages and resettled in camps. In the late 80s and early 90s, many Yazidis fled to Europe .

After the end of the Ba'ath regime

In contrast to Turkey or Syria, Iraq recognizes Yazidism on paper. Since 2007, however, some conservative Islamic scholars ( ʿUlamā ' ) have been calling for a fight against the “unbelieving” Yazidis. In 2007, around 500 Yazidis were killed by Islamic fundamentalists in the villages of Til Ezer and Siba Sheikh Khidir in northern Iraq .

Especially after the second Iraq war in 2003 and from 2009, an increasing number of Yazidis fled Iraq to Germany. But especially after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and the Shingal genocide by the terrorist organization of the Islamic State on August 3, 2014, the number of Yazidis rose in Germany.

Immigration from other countries

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Yazidis from the former CIS states Armenia and Georgia as well as Russia and Ukraine also moved to the Federal Republic.

Recognition and asylum classification in Germany

In 1982, the person familiar with the local conditions Orientalist procured Gernot Wießner the University of Göttingen with an advisory opinion of the Administrative Court Stade the asylum legal recognition of the Yezidis as refugees . In 1993 this status was generally established before the Lüneburg Higher Administrative Court after the German Federal Constitutional Court had decided on June 30, 1992 to grant the Yazidis permanent asylum . However, this ruling only had consequences for those asylum procedures that had not yet been finalized at the time of the ruling .

In 1989, Herbert Schnoor, as Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, paved the way for the Yazidis to remain on a political level . He had previously traveled to Turkey to personally convince himself of the oppression and discrimination against the Yazidis. The Society for Threatened Peoples , of which Wießner was a member of the advisory board, campaigned for the Yazidis as a human rights organization .

Since the 1990s Yazidis have been group persecuted in Germany because of their religion and are therefore recognized under asylum law. Until before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war , Syrian Yazidis only had a toleration that did not constitute a legal residence status . Due to the political situation and the danger posed by the Islamic State in Iraq, Yazidis are currently not being deported from the Federal Republic.

Number and distribution

There is no reliable information about the exact number of Yazidis living in Germany. Yazidis themselves estimate their number in Germany at 190,000 to 200,000 people. The Religious Studies Media and Information Service (REMID) has given their number unchanged since 2015 at around 100,000 Yazidis, but points out that their number has now increased due to immigration and is higher according to the Yazidis' self-assessment.

The Yazidis mainly settled in southern Lower Saxony and northern North Rhine-Westphalia . They often form larger communities in this region, as in Bad Zwischenahn , Hanover , Oldenburg , Kalkar , Celle , Kreis Celle , Bielefeld , Halle (Westf.) , Wilhelmshaven , Emmerich , Rees , Cologne and Cleves and increasingly in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . But Yazidis also live in Giessen , Frankfurt am Main , Berlin and in southern Germany .

Yazidi communities and associations

Yazidi burial ground in Hanover

At the beginning of the 1990s, the Yazidis founded cultural associations and communities in Germany. These associations are a place for religious festivals , interreligious dialogues with other religious communities and Yazidis from other countries of origin. In addition, the premises are also used for the ritual washing of the deceased Yazidis. Various educational programs and discussion events about the Yezidi religion, tradition , culture and history are also offered in order to make Yezidism more transparent and understandable.

In addition, some communities also publish their own magazines in German , Kurdish or Arabic such as B. "Dengê Ezîdiyan", "Roj", "Lalish" or "Qandîl". One of the most important goals of the associations is to educate children, adolescents and young adults about their culture and religion as well as the norms and values associated with them , because parents often cannot find suitable answers to their children's religious questions. In addition, the cultural associations try to make clear how they can reconcile their religion and their Yazidi identity with European values. The "Federation of Yazidis in Germany eV" is the largest organization with more than 15 member associations, in which Yazidis of Turkish origin come together. Many Yazidis demand that their religious teachings and cultural rites be written down in order to encourage personal engagement with their own religion . On the one hand, this is intended to make Yezidism more understandable and, on the other hand, a presentable theology helps to legitimize one's own religiosity and the actions associated with it. In 2007 the Central Council of the Yezidi in Germany was founded with the aim of “promoting and maintaining religious and cultural tasks of the Yezidi communities” and “representing the common political interests of the Yezidi community”.

In mid-2009, the Ezidische Akademie (EA) was founded as an educational institution in Hanover from the forerunner Ezidisches Colloquim . In 2011 the Society for Christian-Ezidische Cooperation in Science and Research was established . In 2012, the Society of Yezidi Academics (GEA), based in Essen, was founded, the world's largest Yazidi academics association, with a “central goal of the association being cross-border and interdisciplinary scientific cooperation” and “research into the Yazidi and Ezidism”.

Burial and grave culture

Yazidis are buried with members of their own religion. Some customs and traditions in Germany are not possible without modifications . For example, burial on the day of death, as is common in the Middle East among Yazidis, is difficult to perform. Traditionally, for example, the deceased is buried facing east ( sunrise ) and his coffin is lifted up three times in the cemetery chapel and at the grave immediately after the sermon . The main symbol on the graves in Germany is a sun .

There are now special grave fields for deceased Yazidis in various German municipal cemeteries. In 1990 the first Yazidi burial ground was set up in the New Cemetery in Wesel . Although most of the Yazidis live in Celle , they do not have their own burial ground there. The largest field with around 200 graves is in Hanover-Lahe . Other Yazidi burial grounds are on:

Social changes in the diaspora situation

Position of woman

In the countries of origin, Yazidi women were not treated on an equal footing with men. This unequal treatment is presumably not motivated by religion, but rather based on the traditional and oriental- patriarchal culture of their home regions. According to Savucu, predominantly women of the third and fourth generation in Germany refuse the gender roles customary in previous generations . They grew up with an individualistic culture and various educational opportunities and therefore live more according to German-European than Yazidi norms. The longer the Yazidis have lived in Germany, such as the guest workers who immigrated in the 1970s, the more they orientate themselves towards the Western model of equality between men and women. The situation is different for those Yazidis who only recently fled to Germany because of the wars in Iraq and Syria. These are still strongly influenced by their patriarchal model. The external appearance of Yazidi women has also changed in the European diaspora . For example, she wears her hair down or has it cut. According to Yazidi custom , a woman does not have her hair cut except in the event of a bereavement , explains Savucu.

The ethnologist Bânu Yalkut-Breddermann writes about the division of labor between women and men:

“During migration, the traditional division of labor between women and men has partially reversed. In many cases, women in the diaspora had better chances of finding wages and work (mostly than cleaning women). So their husbands had to stay home and look after the children. The new division of labor between women and men means that women are increasingly involved in discussions that also concern religious questions. "

- Bânu Yalkut-Breddermann

Marriage regulations

The strict marriage regulations of the Yazidi faith and the modern influences in the Diaspora create increasing tensions, especially between young women and older family members. The traditional bride price , which has to be paid by the husband's family before the wedding, is up to 70,000 euros in the German diaspora communities. In Germany, legal recognition is denied for the bride's family to raise a bride price insofar as the marriage cannot be made dependent on the payment of a bride price, nor does such a bride price constitute an obstacle to separation. Also, suits for subsequent payment of the bride price or for repayment of the same in the event of a failed marriage due to a violation of common decency are generally not successful.

Another important topic is the strict endogamy law , which obliges Yazidis to marry only within their religious community and within their religious caste . Even if some German Yazidis reject these customs these days, they are still very important for the majority of the Yazidi community in the diaspora in order to be able to continue to exist as an ethnic group, emphasized the head Mir Tahsin Saied Beg in an interview.

In Germany, too, there were cases of forced marriage among Yazidis (for both sexes). The proportion of Yazidis among all women who turned to counseling institutions because of an impending forced marriage was 9.5% in a study by the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth. Chief Tahsin Beg criticizes the forced marriage:

“Even if forced marriage has become a rarity, it should be rejected even in individual cases. I can not understand. Esidi youths should always marry out of love for one another, lead a normal marriage and thus establish an Esidi household. Forced marriages have no prospect of a long and happy marriage, which is why it is doomed to failure. It is absolutely not acceptable. "

- Mîr Tahsîn Beg

Cases of blood revenge between hostile extended families and alleged honor killings became public ; The killing of the Jesidin Arzu Özmen was expressly described as an "honor killing" in the first instance sentence against five of her siblings.

Divorces

Divorce is a sin among Yazidis . Since the 1990s, however, the divorce rate has also increased among them. Many of these marriages were often not concluded according to current law , but only according to the Yezidi rite. This form of marriage is practiced less and less among European Yazidis.

Role of the Yazidi clergy

In Yezidism the spiritual dignitaries are responsible for clarifying the orally transmitted religious texts. However, some of them no longer live in Germany or in the countries of origin of the Yazidis and could therefore no longer fulfill their religious duties, at least according to some German Yazidis. On the other hand, education and socialization in Germany enable the Yazidis to deal critically and reflectively with their religion and their Yazidi identity . According to Savucu, most dignitaries have now completely withdrawn from the Yazidi community.

Physical culture and clothing

According to old Yezidi custom , the mustache is a sign of particular piety , honor and masculinity . Today, however, Yazidi students and young people in Germany hardly practice this custom anymore. Another element of religious tradition is not to wear a particular shade of blue, especially in clothing. This taboo is related to the love of nature in Yezidi society, where the color blue symbolizes the sky. Accordingly, avoiding this color expresses respect for God . Most of the Yazidis do not adhere to this custom today, neither in Germany nor in Kurdistan .

Future of Yezidism

According to Kreyenbroek, younger Yazidis today identify more with European values ​​and ways of thinking and view the traditional understanding of religion as restrictive and outdated. Therefore they turn more and more away from their Yazidi faith. Rather, they strive for an individualistic life. This attitude leads to the fact that the older generation of Yazidis in particular fears that they will permanently lose their religion, tradition and culture due to the social and modern influences in Germany. For the future, Mir Tahsin Beg wishes that Yezidism in the diaspora will be reformed and that the Kurdish language will continue to be spoken in exile. This is to avoid a loss of identity in Germany.

Confrontation with Islamists

In August 2014 there were clashes between Yazidis and Islamists in Herford (North Rhine-Westphalia). The occasion was a poster campaign for a protest demonstration by Yazidis living here against the persecution by the IS terrorist group in Iraq. After an initial spontaneous confrontation, the two groups appeared armed and in their hundreds and had to be separated by several hundred police officers.

Well-known Yazidis in Germany

literature

Web links

Commons : Yezidism  - Images and Media Files
Wiktionary: Jeside  - explanations of meanings, word origins , synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Yazidis in Northern Germany. The second home , Jean-Philipp Baeck, taz, August 16, 2014
  2. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 85 f.
  3. ↑ a b Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 96.
  4. ↑ Kreyenbroek: Yezidism in Europe . 2009, p. 43.
  5. ↑ a b Kreyenbroek: Yezidism in Europe . 2009, p. 42.
  6. ↑ Buried alive. International refugees. P. 1.
  7. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 89 f.
  8. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 91.
  9. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 92.
  10. ↑ Zeit Online: Death of the Small Peoples . http://www.zeit.de/2007/35/Tod_der_kleinen_Voelker [07/28/2017].
  11. ↑ Ute Winsemann: Immigration of Iraqi refugees: Mayor calls for concept. In: Weser Courier . January 1, 2010, accessed August 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ Article: PZ interview with the sociologist Miriam Geoghegan about the lifestyle of the Yezidi refugees from Iraq. ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Pforzheimer Zeitung . July 19, 2011, accessed August 25, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pz-news.de
  13. ↑ Ludger Osterkamp: Gütersloh: Aid for Yazidis secured - city extends its funding project, integration is considered a success. In: New Westphalian . January 18, 2012, accessed August 25, 2014.
  14. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 93.
  15. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 88 f.
  16. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 94.
  17. ↑ a b Yalkut-Breddermann: The change of the Yezidi religion in the diaspora. 1999, p. 51.
  18. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 93.
  19. ↑ According to the Central Council of the Yazidis, cf. Yazidis in Germany - Farewell to Afrin In: Deutschlandfunk , March 26, 2018.
  20. ^ Yazidis in Germany organize. In Deutschlandfunk , January 26, 2017.
  21. ^ Membership numbers: Yeziden REMID
  22. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 30.
  23. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 138.
  24. ^ Affolderbach / Geisler: The Yeziden. 2001, p. 27.
  25. ^ Affolderbach / Geisler: The Yeziden . 2001, p. 27.
  26. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 138 ff.
  27. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 141.
  28. ↑ Self- image , goals and tasks. In: yeziden.de , August 31, 2016.
  29. ^ Lutz Brade: The Ezidische Akademie. Review - Outlook. ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Ezidische-akademie.de. Self-presentation, accessed November 30, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ezidische-akademie.de
  30. ↑ Founding d. Christian-Ezidi society. ( Memento of the original from September 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: ezidische-gemeinde.de. Ezidische Gemeinde Hessen e. V., 2011, accessed August 25, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ezidische-gemeinde.de
  31. ↑ Founding of “one step towards friendship” - the “Christian-Ezidische Society for Cooperation in Research and Science” association brought into being. In: Kreisanzeiger . February 26, 2011 ( online ( memento of March 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) in the Internet Archive ).
  32. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 139 f.
  33. ↑ Homepage: gea-ev.net. Society of Yazidi Academics (GEA), accessed on August 25, 2014.
  34. ^ Langer: Migration and ritual transfer . 2005, p. 257 f.
  35. ^ Langer: Migration and ritual transfer . 2005, p. 254 f.
  36. ^ Langer: Migration and ritual transfer . 2005, p. 255 f.
  37. ^ Kartal: Yeziden in Germany . 2007, p. 247.
  38. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 234.
  39. ↑ Philip G. Kreyenbroek et al. a .: Yezidism in Europe. Different Generations Speak About Their Religion (= Göttingen Orient Research: Iranica. Volume 5). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-447-06060-8 , pp. 46-48 (English).
  40. ^ Higher Regional Court of Hamm : Judgment of January 13, 2011 - I – 18 U 88/10. In: dejure.org. Retrieved November 23, 2014 .
  41. ↑ Dulz: The Yazidis in Iraq . 2001, p. 91.
  42. ↑ a b c Yazidis in Germany interview with the head Mîr Tahsîn Beg. In: Religionen im Interview , [26. January 2017].
  43. ↑ Thomas Mirbach, Torsten Schaak, Katrin Triebl: Forced marriage in Germany. Number and analysis of consulting cases. In: bmfsfj.de , March 28, 2011, pp. 34–35 ( PDF ; 1.6 MB).
  44. ↑ Detmold Regional Court : Judgment of May 16, 2012 Az. 4 Ks-31 Js 1086 / 11-10 / 12 Rn. 222. In: openjur.de. Retrieved November 28, 2014 .
  45. ^ Kartal: Yeziden in Germany. 2007, p. 249.
  46. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 195 f.
  47. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, pp. 203f.
  48. ↑ Savucu: Yeziden in Germany . 2016, p. 204.
  49. ↑ Kreyenbroek: Yezidism in Europe . 2009, p. 44.
  50. ↑ Tagay: The Eziden and the Ezidenum . 2016, p. 147.
  51. ^ Yalkut-Breddermann: The change of the Yezidi religion in the diaspora. 1999, p. 60.
  52. ^ Attack on Yazidis - large-scale police operation in Herford. In: Spiegel Online . [7. August 2014].
  53. ↑ GZSZ star worries about relatives in Iraq! In: Bunte , [20. August 2014].