Abgeschlossene Forschungsprojekte

From Orthopraxy to Orthodoxy – Christian Influences on Yezidism in the Diaspora?

PD Dr. Khanna Omarkhali (Usoyan)

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The Yezidi religious tradition, both sacred texts and priestly learning, has been transmitted orally in a non- or semi-literate milieu until recently. The resulting increase in literacy among Yezidis accelerated acceptance of Western ideas and concepts, which gave rise to a profound change in the way many community leaders thought of and defined its religion. Orthopraxy and the individual spiritual authority of hereditary religious leaders had traditionally been key factors defining the Yezidi tradition. Now, however, the new multi-religious milieu of the Diaspora brought an intensification of contacts with the mainly Christian culture of the West. We are now witnessing initiatives to compile all significant religious texts into a new, written ‘Scripture’, and also observe trends towards standardisation and unification of their tradition, including textual tradition, system of beliefs and rituals. The project also studies the Christian discourse on Yezidism, particularly in Germany, as it affected the worldview of the Yezidis in European Diaspora as regards the development of a theology and canonisation.

The project „From Orthopraxy to Orthodoxy – Christian Influences on Yezidism in the Diaspora? The Discourse on Canonisation, Standardisation and Unification of Tradition among Yezidis in Western Europe” was financed by the Käte Hamburger Kolleg “Dynamics in the History of Religions between Asia and Europe”, the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) of the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 10.2017-03.2018.

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The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written

PD Dr. Khanna Omarkhali (Usoyan)

The project „The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written. Categories, Transmission, Scripturalisation and Canonisation of the Yezidi Oral Religious Texts” studies the Yezidi religious textual tradition, containing descriptions of many hitherto unknown aspects of the oral transmission of Yezidi religious knowledge.

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This project studies the Yezidi religious textual tradition, containing descriptions of many hitherto unknown aspects of the oral transmission of Yezidi religious knowledge. It presents a detailed account of the ‘mechanisms’ underlying various aspects of the tradition. It shows how the religious textual tradition functioned – and to a certain degree still does – in its pre-modern way, and also describes the transformations it is currently undergoing, including the issues and processes involved in the increasing trend to commit religious knowledge to writing, and indeed to create a written canon.

The project was sponsored by DFG and GSGG. It ended as habilitation treatise in 2016.

Publikation: Khanna Omarkhali, The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written. Categories, Transmission, Scripturalisation and Canonisation of the Yezidi Oral Religious Texts. Series: Studies in Oriental Religions 72, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2017.

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Religious Minorities in Kurdistan: Beyond the Mainstream

PD Dr. Khanna Omarkhali (Usoyan)

The project „Religious Minorities in Kurdistan: Beyond the Mainstream” seeks to analyse how religious minority groups operate in mainly Kurdish-speaking regions, which have seen numerous conflicts and transformations since the turn of the 21st century.

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The project “Religious Minorities in Kurdistan: Beyond the Mainstream”, which resulted in the edited by Khanna Omarkhali volume, represents an account of the various religious milieus flourishing beyond the Islamic mainstream in all parts of Kurdistan. The miscellany describes how the religious minority groups operate within the Kurdish regions, which themselves have been subject to numerous conflicts and social as well as political transformations at the turn of the 21st century. This volume emphasizes recent developments affecting these communities, in particular their social and religious lives. Six chapters are dedicated to the Ahl-e Haqq (Yarisan/Kaka’is), Yezidis, Alevis, the Haqqa and Khaksar Sufi traditions, the Shabaks, as well as to the Jewish and Christian communities in Kurdistan.

Publikation: Khanna Omarkhali, Religious Minorities in Kurdistan: Beyond the Mainstream. Series: Studies in Oriental Religions 68, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2014.

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Kurdish Reader (Kurmanji)

PD Dr. Khanna Omarkhali (Usoyan)

The teaching book by Khanna Omarkhali „Kurdish Reader: Modern Literature and Oral Texts in Kurmanji. With Kurdish-English Glossaries and Grammatical Sketch” comprises an exciting collection of texts in Kurmanji, the northern dialect of the Kurdish language. It was published in 2011.

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The book is designed to help students with a basic knowledge of the Kurdish language to enhance their fluency by studying a variety of texts ranging from literary and folklore to non-narrative prose works. The first part of the book focuses on the literary works, both prose and verse, from all parts of the Kurmanji speaking countries. As the first part of the book presents the development of written tradition, part two introduces the reader to a range of variants of Kurmanji from Turkey, Armenia, Russia, Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenia, and Khorasan, each conveying the richness of their forms. The Reader contains Kurdish–English glossaries and a grammar section.

Publikation: Khanna Omarkhali, Kurdish Reader. Modern Literature and Oral Texts in Kurmanji: With Kurdish-English Glossaries and Grammatical Sketch, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2011.

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Gott und die heiligen Wesen im Yezidismus und bei den Ahl-e Haqq

PD Dr. Khanna Omarkhali (Usoyan)

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Yezidismus und die Religion der Ahl-e Haqq sind zwei eng miteinander verwandte religiöse Traditionen, die Elemente einer präislamischen Religion bewahren. Beide Gruppen glauben an einen Schöpfergott, der die Kontrolle über die Welt sieben Heiligen Wesen in die Hand gegeben hat. Der Anführer dieser Heiligen Wesen, Tawusi Melek im Yezidismus und Soltan Sahhak bei den Ahl-e Haqq, wird besonders verehrt. Als eine Arbeitshypothese soll folgendes angenommen werden: Während in der Tradition der Ahl-e Haqq die Heiligen Wesen noch weitgehend in derselben Weise dargestellt werden wie in der alten iranischen Religion, d.h. als individuell wahrgenommene Wesen mit ihren eigenen Legenden und Charakteristika, ist im Yezidismus diese Individualität auf der ‚theologischen’ Ebene einer Vorstellung von mehr oder weniger unterscheidbaren Wesenheiten gewichen, die sich eher als eine Gruppe denn als Individuen vorgestellt werden. Diese Verwischung der Individualität hat wichtige Auswirkungen auf das Verständnis von ‚Theologie’ bei den Yeziden gehabt. Bei einigen Wissenschaftlern hat dies dazu geführt, die Existenz einer yezidischen ‚Trinität’ zu postulieren, während andere wiederum die Existenz der ‚Heiligen Wesen’ betonen und sogar von einem ‚Pantheon’ sprechen.

Das Projekt „Gott und die heiligen Wesen im Yezidismus und bei den Ahl-e Haqq: Status, Eigenschaften, Rollen“ wurde von dem DFG Graduierten-Kolleg 896 „Götterbilder – Gottesbilder – Weltbilder: Polytheismus und Monotheismus in der Welt der Antike“ gefördert und 2010 beendet.


Kulturelles Gedächtnis der Yezidi-Gemeinschaft in Deutschland hinsichtlich religiöser Fragen

Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, mit PD Dr. Khanna Omarkhali, Dr. Khalil Rashow, Zekiye Kartal M.A.

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Yezidism is a minority religion that is largely based on tradition rather than scripture. In the homelands – Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Transcaucasia – its world-view is closely connected with local culture, and most easily understood in that context. From the 1960s onwards, an increasing number of Yezidis from Turkey, Iraq and Syria were forced to migrate to Western Europe. After the fall of the Soviet Union many Yezidis from Armenia and Georgia moved to Russia and the Ukraine. This work addresses the question of differences in perception of the religion between Yezidi migrants who grew up in the homeland and those who were mainly socialised in the Diaspora. It is based on extensive qualitative research among Yezidis of different generations in Germany and Russia.

The project „Kulturelles Gedächtnis der Yezidi-Gemeinschaft in Deutschland hinsichtlich religiöser Fragen“ was sponsored by the DFG. It ended in december 2005.

Publikation: Philip G. Kreyenbroek in collab. with Z. Kartal, Kh. Omarkhali, and Kh.J. Rashow. Yezidism in Europe: Different Generations Speak about their Religion. Göttinger Orientforschungen, III. Reihe: Iranica. Neue Folge; 5. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2009.

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Der iranische Film als Zeugnis gesellschaftlicher und kultureller Entwicklungen

PD Dr. Katja Föllmer

Das Projekt "Der iranische Film als Zeugnis gesellschaftlicher und kultureller Entwicklungen" widmete sich dem Wandel der Genderrepräsentation und Sozialkritik im populären iranischen Film vor und nach 1979.

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Das Projekt "Der iranische Film als Zeugnis gesellschaftlicher und kultureller Entwicklungen" widmete sich dem Wandel der Genderrepräsentation und Sozialkritik im populären iranischen Film vor und nach 1979. Hier standen vor allem iranische Adaptionen amerikanischer Hollywood-Filme im Fokus und der Vergleich zu den amerikanischen Gender-Darstellungen. Aus dem Projekt ist folgender Artikel hervorgegangen:

(2017) „The rebellious man and the courageous woman: Social criticism and gender relations in Iranian film production before and after the Islamic Revolution“ in: Beyond the Islamic Revolution: Perceptions of modernity and tradition in Iran before and after 1979, ed. by Amir Sheikhzadegan and Astrid Meier, Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, pp. 131-154.


Weitere abgeschlossene Forschungsprojekte

  • Raumkonzeption im früheren Zoroastrismus. Kosmische, kultische und soziale Aspekte: Dr. Kianoosh Rezania, Gefördert von der DFG bis April 2014. Beendet.

  • Der Khaksar-Orden zwischen Ahl-e Haqq und schiitisch-mystischen Orden: Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Dr. Shahrokh Raei, Gefördert von der DFG ab August 2009.

  • Die Tradition der Ahl-e Haqq: Texts, narratives, observances: Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek.

  • Dokumentation von Sprache und Kultur der Gorani: Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Prof. Dr. L. Paul (Hamburg), PD Dr. Geoffrey Haig (Kiel). Gefördert von der Volkswagenstiftung.

  • Mündlich überlieferte religiöse Texte der Yeziden: Übersetzung und Kommentierung: Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Dr. Khalil Rashow. Gefördert von der DFG. Beendet.

  • Deixis in Soghdian and other Eastern Iranian Languages: Dr. Antje Wendtland.

  • Digitales Archiv iranischer Texte, Iranian Sound Archive: Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek.

  • Hçrbedestân and Nçrangestân: Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, Dastur Dr. Firoze M. Kotwal, Mumbai. Beendet.

  • Edition und Kommentierung jüdisch-persischer Dokumente vor allem aus dem 11.-14. Jahrhundert: Dr. L. Paul, in Zusammenarbeit mit der Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Projektdauer: 1/98 - 12/99. Gefördert von der Volkswagen-Stiftung. Beendet.