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Kakai
The Kakai are an ancient but persecuted sect.
Who are the Kakai?
Dr. Zyad Fareeq: We are an independent Kurdish religion, with no affiliation to other groups such as Christians, Muslims or Yazidis. Our religion is a secret one. The information available online about the Kakai religion is mostly wrong. You may find the name of the Kakai book online, but you will never find the whole text of it.
In Iraq some believe it is a tribe or a social system, but it isn’t, it’s a religion.
Kakai beliefs are isolated socially because of our beliefs and some people will say it is Muslim or Shia’. We are suffering a cultural-genocide as well as physical persecution and our faith is being attacked.
We have our own book and our own beliefs which are quite different from Islam. We don’t pray or fast during Ramadan and we don’t believe in heaven or hell. We also believe in reincarnation. Because of the isolated and secretive nature of the Kakai faith, some Kakai believe that we are Muslims or Shiites, but this is not true.
Clarion Project: Is the persecution just coming from ISIS or also the Iraqi Government?
Fareeq: The persecution comes from the Islamic religion. The surrounding population of the Kakai population in Daquq is mostly Sunni and they do not accept the Kakai religion. We will vanish unless protected. My goal one day is to be able to openly proclaim that I am Kakai without fear. At the moment Kakai are very afraid to introduce themselves and their religion to everyone. The persecution has been going on for hundreds of years, but the persecution wasn’t as bad as it is now, what with Iraq being so unstable and the activities of ISIS.
Illustrative picture.
Clarion Project: If ISIS finds someone is Kakai what will they do?
Fareeq: They won’t simply kill them, it will be much worse. They regard the Kakai like Yazidis, not like Muslims. They will kill the men in horrific ways and kidnap the women into sex-slavery. Kakai villages have fallen to ISIS, but the residents fled before the jihadists arrived.
However many temples, some of which are hundreds of years old have fallen into the hands of ISIS. They have destroyed temples near Mosul and around Daquq.
Clarion: What is the situation for Kakai in Iran?
Fareeq: The situations are very different. In ancient Mesopotamia one of the names used to refer to God was El-Ah. When Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the founder of Islam Muhammed, arrived in Iran, he was regarded as a deity by the Kakai, since he had the power to do everything. Not only are the names El-ah and Ali very similar, the Kakai believe that a divinity can be manifest within a person and ascribe this divinity to Ali.
Due to the divine reverence towards Imam Ali shown by the Kakai, Shiite was dominated Iran treated the Kakai better than Sunni Muslims did.
Kakai Muslims in Iraq were forced to keep quiet about their beliefs about Imam Ali due to fear of persecution from Sunni Muslims.
The Azadi Tower in Tehran. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Clarion: What Can People in the West do to Help Kakai?
Fareeq: People in the West can help the Kakai by making human rights organizations more aware of the plight of the Kakai people. Civil society organizations and local governments should have Kakai representatives so that Kakai rights can be protected.
Clarion: Is the Kurdish Regional Government Better for Kakai Rights?
Fareeq: The Kurdish government doesn’t really care about minority rights. However, there are some Kakai members in the PUK, but they are just representing themselves, not Kakai in general. There is no participation from the Kurdish government in trying to raise awareness of the Kakai. Even though you have the legal right to declare your religion, you can be killed by extremists living in Erbil and other places for openly declaring yourself as a Kakai.
Iraqi counter-terrorism forces. (Photo: © Reuters)
Clarion: What would you like to see governments do to help?
Fareeq: The Iraqi government must enact legislation which allows Kakai to be open about their faith and to practice their ceremonies, but I don’t think the Iraqi government can or will do this. As to the US, we hope that America pushes the Iraqi government to protect the rights of religious minorities. We also hope human rights organizations in America will work to protect Kakai in Iraq.
We don’t want financial help, we just people not to kill us.
Kakai
513 – 009
https://discerning-Islam.org
Last Update: 04/2021
