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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Yazidi Kurds of Iraq

The Yazidi Kurds of Iraq, numbering approximately 655,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Kurdish-speaking ethno‑religious minority whose traditional homeland spans northern Iraq, northern Syria, southeastern Turkey, the Caucasus, and parts of Iran and can also be known as Yezidi, Êzdî, Êzidî, Yezidi Kurds. They are an Indigenous people, in the Kurd people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Ethnoreligion - Yazidism. They primarily speak Kurdish, Northern.

Yezidi Kurds in Armenia photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: manothegreek

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Central Asian Peoples
Country: Iraq
People Cluster: Kurd
Primary Language(s): Kurdish, Northern (kmr)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion - Yazidism
Population: 655,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG048854

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Pray for the Yazidi Kurds of Iraq

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion - Yazidism
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

%
Ethnoreligion - Yazidism Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Kurdish, Northern
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Kurdish, Northern Speakers

Media Resources in Kurdish, Northern:

Films:

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Kurdish, Northern:

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Kurdish, Northern bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

Next steps for the Yazidi Kurds

The Yazidi Kurds are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Yazidi Kurds

The Yazidi Kurds are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Yazidi Kurds

The Yazidi Kurds are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Yazidi Kurds of Iraq

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
readPsalm 19:1-2

Pray that the lost will see the glory of God revealed in the heavens, that they will hear the good news, and that their hearts will be softened to respond to God’s call, turning to Him in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
readActs 4:31

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be filled with the Holy Spirit and speak God's Word with boldness, sharing the love of Jesus with those around them.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.
readEphesians 6:18b-19

Ask God to give believers He sends to the lost of this people group the boldness and clarity to proclaim the mystery of the gospel in a way that people can understand.

Yazidi (ROP3 - 116305) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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