Mir Hazim Tahsin Beg on Saturday met in Duhok with some 250 Yezidi representatives from across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq to inform them he had chosen Sheikh Ali Ilyas as spiritual leader. According to Yezidis religious rules, only the Mir has the authority to name a new spiritual leader.
All those present in the meeting showed their consent to the Mir’s decision “by standing up after the decision was made,” Sheikh Shamo, head of Lalish Temple’s High Committee, told Rudaw.
“The subject should not be politicized,” warned Shamo, who is also an advisor for Yezidis affairs to Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. He called on the whole Yezidi community to respect the decision “because the Mir’s decisions cannot be invalidated.”
A group of Yezidis in Shingal, however, refused to recognize the new spiritual leader, saying their opinion had been ignored.
“We do not have any problem with anyone elected as the new spiritual leader and we congratulate and respect them, but if they do not listen to the Shingalis on this matter and do not consider our opinion, we will not accept their election either,” said Sheikh Salih, the son of a temple leader.
The Shingal group said they plan to select their own spiritual leader on Sunday.
Mir Hazim, who succeeded his father after his death last year, does not have the full support of the Yezidi community. A group in Shingal protested his selection saying his mother is not from the Mir bloodline and that he was put into the post with political backing.
Sheikh Ali Ilyas was born in Duhok province’s Sheikhan in 1979. His father was the spiritual leader of Yezidis from 1978 to 1995. He will be inaugurated during a religious ceremony in Shingal on Wednesday. Then, he will be called Baba Sheikh – a title given to all spiritual leaders. His predecessor passed away on October 1 after being hospitalized for health complications.
Additional reporting by Ayub Nasri
