Yezidis

Small Middle Eastern religion with ancient origins. They worship Lucifer in the form of a peacock. Thus they have often been called 'Satanic' or 'devil-worshippers'. But they do not consider Lucifer to be rebellious or evil, unlike Western followers of Satanism; thus the term is inaccurate.

Historically, the monotheistic Yezidis are a religious minority of the Kurds. Purportedly, they have existed since [2,000 B.C.]?. Yezidi belief may have been been tied to Mithraism. Prior to the rise of Islam, it may have been the original religion of the Kurds.

Sheik-Adi Ibin Mustafa in about 1162? AD radically changed the Yezidi religion, so that some people believe the previous form of belief was in fact, a different religion from what is currently called Yezidi belief.

It has been argued that there is a similarity to the Process Church, in that they were often viewed as Satanic on the grounds that they worshipped both Christ and Satan; It is unclear whether they believe as the Process Church does, that Satan had turned from his evil ways and become reconciled to Christ, and that both were coming at the end of the world to judge humanity, Christ to judge and Satan to execute judgment.

As a conveniently distant religious belief, many non-Yezidi people have written about them, and ascribed facts to their beliefs which have dubious historical validity. The Yezidis have been claimed as an influence on Aleister Crowley's Thelema.

---

http://www.yezidi.org