Michael Yon: Lost in Translation

Michael Yon is a freelance journalist currently reporting from Iraq.

In this recent dispatch from Michael Yon: Online Magazine, he travels to the village of Yezdinar. Here we learn of an ancient and mysterious religion called Yezidism. It is an interesting combination of Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and even Zoroastrianism. They love and respect both Jesus and Mohammed, although they do not believe them to be prophets. These people were heavily oppressed under Saddam Hussein's regime and they were labeled "Satan worshippers" by the one time dictator. Here is an excerpt:

Mr. Qatou described how Saddam's army grabbed two men, each twenty years old, shot them, and then forced the families pay for the bullets.

Mr. Yon continues to interview Mr. Qatou and we learn he was once a POW in Iran for 8 years. We also learn of the utter destruction Saddam wrought onto this village. Most importantly, however, we learn of the rebuilding and hope that the US led liberation of Iraq has brought these people.

An Iraqi. A Kurd. A Yezidi. A village Headman. Whatever the label, more than forty years after his birth, this man came home. Only now, after the latest war, does Mr. Qatou finally have confidence in the peace, after more than a half century of life lived under orders or under sentence.
This seemed like the moment to ask the question, "What do you think of the United States?"
"We cry when America loses one soldier. We pray for the soldiers every night."
Many Kurds had expressed the same sentiment. One had said poetically: "For every drop of American blood, we shed one thousand Kurdish tears."

The Yezidi are isolated and mysterious. While they do live peacefully among the Kurdish people, they are still sometimes viewed suspiciously as they cling very closely to the teachings of their ancient religion.

Interesting fact: Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims. So much for there being no Sunnis cooperating in the new Iraqi government.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AND CHECK OUT THE PICS, IT IS FASCINATING.