Syria's Yazidis forced to litigate at Islamic court
Some Syrian activists have denounced a recent decision by the Syrian government asking the members of Syria's Yazidi community to litigate at Islamic courts which do not consider their religion to be an independent faith, but part of the Islamic religion.
Minority
rights advocate Murad Ismail lashed out at the decision of the Syrian
government.
The
same decision, he said, goes hand in hand with excuses used by the Islamic
State group in prosecuting the Yazidis when they occupied massive swaths of
Syria in the past few years.
The
Yazidi faith shares the same values with other religions, Ismail said.
However,
this religion has been in place as an independent faith for thousands of years
now, he added.
Ismail
said Yazidis take pride in their own faith and expect others to show respect
for this faith.
According
New Arab newspaper, the Syrian government decided to enforce laws that apply to
Muslims, when it comes to marital relations, to the members of the Yazidi
community as well.
The
Yazidis have been calling for the presence of special courts for them.
Commenting
on the decision, activist Mohamed al-Nesr said the Syrian government would
treat the Yazidis as a sect of Islam, not as an independent religious group.
The
Holland-based Free Yazidi organization criticized the decision.
It
said Yazidis would have to litigate at the Islamic courts which consider them a
"bunch of infidels".
"There
is nothing like the justice system in Syria," the organization said.
