The recognition of the Yazidi religion is not a political concession—it is a fundamental human right and an essential step toward building a democratic, pluralistic, and inclusive Syria.

Sami Sheebo Australia

Yazidis in Syria: A Century of Denial... A State Refusing Recognition and a People Paying the Price of Their Religious Identity

Since the establishment of the Syrian state in 1920, no religious community in the country has endured as much legal exclusion and political marginalization as the Yazidis. For over a century, successive Syrian governments of various names and ideologies have shared a singular, unifying policy: denying the Yazidi religious identity and stripping its adherents of their most fundamental constitutional and human rights. Today, despite recurrent rhetoric surrounding the construction of a new Syria built on citizenship and pluralism, the Syrian Interim Government continues the exact same path forged by the Bashar al-Assad regime—as if a century of injustice were not enough. The Yazidis remain officially unrecognized, devoid of genuine political representation, and stripped of any legal protection for their religious distinctiveness, in a blatant continuation of systemic exclusion.

The Yazidi population is primarily concentrated in Rojava, particularly in Afrin, Hasakah, and Qamishli, where they constitute one of the region’s authentic, historic communities. They have never been a marginal or isolated group; rather, they have always been an integral part of both the Kurdish and broader Syrian social fabric, making immense sacrifices to defend their land and existence. Dozens of their youth fell in the war against ISIS, others perished during the Turkish invasion of Afrin, and entire families were martyred in the events of Sheikh Maqsoud. Alongside their comrades in the ranks of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), they fought valiantly to defend Rojava against terrorism and occupation. Yet, to this day, their blood has not earned them legal recognition of their religious identity within the Syrian state and its Interim Government.

The issue is not confined to a mere lack of symbolic recognition; it extends to an entire legal infrastructure that denies the very existence of the Yazidi faith. The Syrian state does not treat Yazidism as a recognized religion unlike Islam or Christianity and there is no specific law regulating their personal status or guaranteeing their right to practice their rituals in accordance with their religious traditions. Consequently, Yazidis are forcibly subjected to Islamic jurisprudence, whether in matters of personal status, within state institutions, or even in government school curricula. This constitutes a clear violation of freedom of belief and the most fundamental principles of equal citizenship.

Politically, the landscape is equally bleak. For over a hundred years, the Yazidis have lacked any genuine representation within the parliament or state institutions. This reality did not change even after the former regime lost control over vast parts of the country, leading to the emergence of the Syrian Interim Government and its draft interim constitution. This transitional phase, which was supposed to lay the groundwork for a new social contract, effectively entrenched the ongoing erasure of the Yazidis, treating them as though they fall entirely outside national calculations.

Despite the extensive efforts made by Yazidi and Kurdish intellectuals, and notwithstanding the numerous conferences and meetings held in Rojava (across its diverse political parties) and in Europe demanding the constitutional and legal recognition of the Yazidi religion, all these initiatives have hit a wall of political indifference. Neither has the Syrian Interim Government shown any willingness to respond, nor have legislative bodies taken any serious steps to redress this historical injustice. This reflects a profound lack of genuine political will to build an inclusive state that embraces all its citizens.

The continued denial of the Yazidis' legal existence after more than a century is no longer just an administrative oversight or a legislative failure; it has become a systematic policy of exclusion. This casts serious doubt on the credibility of any rhetoric concerning democracy, pluralism, and human rights in Syria today. A state that claims to respect diversity cannot continue to ignore an ancient religion and a people who have sacrificed their lives to defend the homeland, only to keep them constitutionally unrecognized as if they were second-class citizens. Nations are measured by their capacity to protect their most vulnerable communities, not by their ability to repeat empty slogans. As long as the Yazidis are denied full recognition of their rights, talks of a "New Syria" will remain nothing more than political discourse devoid of the most basic elements of justice.