This article responds to İkbal Dürre’s claims about why Ezidis in Russia are not counted within Kurdish demographic statistics. Ezidis identify as Ezidi, not Kurdish, and Russia records them accordingly. Labeling them as Kurds ignores their distinct identity, their Sharfadin faithh. Ezidis reached Russia after the 1915 genocide that the kurds cmmited againt them.
When a Kurdish designer presented a traditional Ezidi dress on the runway in Milan, many applauded the gesture as a sign of inclusion. But is it really recognition—or appropriation? For Ezidi Times, the question runs deeper: why must Ezidis rely on others to showcase their traditions, and what does it mean when their heritage is absorbed into a broader Kurdish narrative? At stake is not just fashion, but the survival of an ancient people’s identity.
Humanity walks through history carrying the ashes of its own crimes. Every stone laid at memorials like Tsitsernakaberd whispers of lives extinguished and of promises broken — never again, we say, yet again and again, we fail. As the eternal flame burns for the Armenians of 1915, it casts a shadow that reaches Sinjar, where the Ezidi people still suffer the consequences of the genocide ISIS unleashed in 2014. Eleven years later, the wounds remain unhealed, deepened by betrayal, neglect, and cynical politics. How many more memorials must we build before we finally understand that remembrance is not enough — justice and protection must follow, or the cycle will never end?
Zara’s recent actions expose not just a troubling detachment from her Ezidi heritage, but a blatant disregard for the dignity and struggle of the people to whom she owes her very identity. In an era where the Ezidi people are still recovering from genocide and fighting for recognition, Zara has chosen not to stand with them, but to turn her back entirely—trading ancestral truth for political relevance and shallow applause. Her repeated shifts in self-identification—from Armenian to Russian, and now opportunistically Kurdish—suggest not evolution, but erasure. Even worse, her public alliance with individuals who have openly blasphemed the sacred tenets of the Sharfadin faith crosses a moral line. This is not neutrality—it is betrayal.
While many peoples throughout history have formed, merged, created languages and religions, and then gradually dissolved into larger populations and states, the Ezidis remained loyal to their traditions and faith, preserving their identity.
It is bizarre, uneducated, and a sign of very low IQ if people think they can decide the ethnic identity of a group based on political bias. An Ezidi is identified through their ethnic, religious, cultural, and linguistic identity.
Having more educated and well-established individuals benefits all Ezidis (mlete Ezdia) across the world. With more empowered Ezidis, we stand a better chance of protecting ourselves, having our voices heard internationally, and perhaps even achieving our collective dream of rebuilding our ancestral homeland, Ezdixan. But we cannot achieve this by relying solely on men. We need both male and female Ezidis who are educated, respected, and hold high-level positions. That is the path to true success and prosperity. Forcing girls into early marriages solely to bear children—children who, due to a lack of access to proper education and career development, are unlikely to become strong contributors to our society—while expecting men to shoulder all the burden, is naïve. Just look at any successful nation: observe how their women equally contribute to solving collective problems. See how strong and prosperous those societies are.
Political and Historical Prostitution Between Armenia and the Kurds – Ezidi Times looked deeper into what exactly this exhibition showcased and was shocked to find that those “historical documents and photographs of Kurdish and minority communities” were materials related to the Ezidis and Assyrians. The few materials that were labelled as “Kurdish” were actually Ezidi documents and photographs, which had been fabricated or wrongly labelled as “Kurdish.”
Many Ezidis remain unable to return to their homeland in Sinjar due to ongoing insecurity, political tensions, and the destruction left behind. Thousands continue to live in camps with limited access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. Even those who have managed to return face immense hardships, with homes in ruins, infrastructure in poor condition, and economic instability making survival difficult. Justice remains elusive, as many perpetrators of the genocide are still free, and international attention has largely faded, leaving survivors feeling abandoned.
The Ezidi people, who suffered horrific violence at the hands of ISIS in 2014, feel ignored by the government. Many Ezidis do not trust Iraq’s army or the Kurdish forces, which failed to protect them during the ISIS attacks. A recent decision to return Sunni Arab displaced persons (IDPs) to Sinjar led to protests, as many Ezidis saw it as a reminder of their trauma and the government’s lack of understanding.
Some so-called academics spread false information about Ezidis, repeating extremist ideas. Ezidi Times encourages readers to stay alert and help stop the spread of these harmful myths.
It is very ironic when many Ezidis, who don’t have enough religious or academic knowledge, actively become involved in and a tool for extremist Kurdish propaganda. What is even more ironic is the fact that these “kurd-ezidis” harass and humiliate Ezidis who stay loyal to their heritage and the suffering of their ancestors. Instead of feeling ashamed of being fooled and becoming traitors to their own heritage, they become aggressive and
The Iraqi government, police, and military forces, and all citizens of Iraq were not able to prevent and protect the minorities of Iraq. They were also, for unclear reasons, unable to bring some belated justice by prosecuting known ISIS terrorists. Is Iraq really that weak? The Iraq that fought a war with Iran for 8 years? The Iraqi army, in which thousands of Ezidis have served, defended the borders, and lost their lives? What were the military forces in the region doing when ISIS members were traveling through the country in their Toyota cars while cowardly hiding behind their masks and waving their devilish black flag?
