In recent years, more YouTube videos and online articles have appeared attempting to explain the Ezidi religion. Many of them claim to “debunk” the myth that Ezidis are “devil worshippers.” While this may appear helpful on the surface, the way these topics are presented often repeats harmful narratives and spreads misinformation instead of correcting it. A recent example is the YouTube video Yézidisme : les adorateurs du démon ? by Arcana les Mystères du Monde, which follows this same pattern.
At first glance, such content seems educational. However, when examined closely, it reveals deeper problems in how Ezidis and the religion of Sharfadin are being framed and discussed.
This is clearly wrong for the following reasons:
1. It is time to stop feeding this narrative about associating Ezidis and their religion with devil “worshipping”. It is an association that Islamists have created and that has nothing to do with Sharfadin. Stop justifying and continuing to build sources about “devil worshipping”. With this logic, all religions should be discussed and defended from being “devil worshipping”, because all other religions are considered to be non-believers, kuffar and devil worshippers. Why not make videos about why Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism are not devil worshipping?
This framing is not neutral. Even when the intention is to “defend” Ezidis, constantly repeating the accusation keeps it alive. No other religion is introduced in this way. The starting point should be what Sharfadin actually teaches; not a false accusation created by outsiders.
2. Ezidis are not Kurds and they do not form the identity of the Kurds. It is true that the “Kurmanji-speaking” part of the Kurds mainly descends from Ezidis who were forced to convert to Islam, but to equate Ezidis, their religion and culture with the Kurds is morally and scientifically wrong. How can the Ezidi religion be considered to form the “Kurdish identity” when there is not one “Kurdish” identity and the fact that Kurds have and continue to discriminate against and massacre Ezidis? This has happened for centuries, and to rename this as “Ezidis forming the identity of the Kurds” is pure ignorance and disrespect to historical facts.
Presenting Ezidis as part of another identity erases their distinct history and lived reality. It also ignores the long record of persecution that contradicts such claims.
3. There is no such thing as “Yezidism”. The term does not exist in the Ezidi religion (Sharfadin) and is a modern creation in an attempt to diminish the Ezidi (ethnic and religious) identity to being only a religious identity, and thereby relabel them as “Kurdish”.
Using incorrect terminology is not a minor issue. It reshapes how people understand Ezidis and reduces a people with a long and continuous history into a simplified newly created and false identity that does not reflect their identity.
Stop Spreading Misinformation and Propaganda!
Content creators, journalists, and educators have a responsibility to present accurate and respectful information. Repeating harmful myths and islamist ideology, even in an attempt to deny them, does not correct them. Misrepresenting Ezidis as part of another identity or using incorrect terminology further deepens misunderstanding.
If the goal is education, then the starting point must be clear: speak about Ezidis and Sharfadin on their own terms. Explain what SHarfadin is, not what it is not! Do this without distortion, without imposed labels, and without repeating narratives that have historically been used to harm them.
