Yazidis hoping for new special place
KHALED Ali is part of one of Toowoomba’s largest ethnic and religious minority groups — a rich and vibrant culture that predates Christianity and Islam by thousands of years.
Yet five years after settling in the Garden City while escaping conflict in the Middle East, the 4000 Yazidi residents still have no place to practise their faith, and pass on their traditions and culture to their children.
Mr Ali and sheikh Dakhil Al-Ali, the community’s most prominent religious leader, are hoping to create a new shrine and place of worship in Toowoomba for Yazidi residents.
The ancient and often misunderstood monotheistic culture, which is centred around northern Iraq but has communities all over the world, has a strict caste system that governs marriages and families.
More importantly, its cultural practices and knowledge are passed on through language rather than via a religious text.
“Everything we keep in our heart — Dakhil will transfer the knowledge of the Yazidi religion to his kids, and they will transfer it to their kids,” Mr Ali said.
This makes a central place, like an old church or hall that could hold about 150 people, essential to run classes in their Kurdish language, teach the religion to children and hold special events like weddings.
Mr Ali said the Yazidis also wanted to create a marker, similar to a cenotaph, that could act as a central rallying point for holidays or to mark anniversaries like the 2014 Sinjar Massacre in Iraq at the hands of ISIS.
“It doesn’t have to be inside Toowoomba, because if we have something like that, it will need space,” he said.
“If you have gatherings, most people will go to this marker.
“The second thing is funerals – we are similar to indigenous people, because when someone passes away, everyone goes to that person’s place to mourn and pay respects.”
After several years of passive assimilation in Australia, Mr Ali said many children had started forgetting Kurdish, meaning some families could not understand each other.
“Because they go to school six hours a day, they learn English, they have nothing else in their mind,” he said.
“When they come back home, they learn English and forget about the Kurdish language.
“They forget about our culture and there is nowhere to teach them.”
Mr Ali said the community was also seeking a space to create a cemetery for Yazidis, noting this could also be the spot for the marker.