Initial interest in Yezidi Studies at LMU
Research on Yezidi Studies at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) was initiated in 2017 through the efforts of Dr. Qader Saleem Shammo, with the direct academic, financial, and sustained moral support of Prof. Dr. Andreas Kaplony, Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies (Lehrstuhl für Arabistik und Islamwissenschaft) and Speaker of the Munich Center for Near and Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Central Asian Studies (Münchner Mittelost-Mittelmeer-Mittelasien-Zentrum). This initiative marked the beginning of the institutional development of Yezidi Studies at German universities particularly LMU and Leipzig University, and laid the foundation for subsequent research projects dedicated to the history, religion, culture, and society of the Yezidis.
Although several attempts had previously been made to introduce Yezidi Studies as an academic field, these efforts had not reached the stage of sustained institutional development. The establishment of the postdoctoral research project at LMU marked the beginning of systematic academic research dedicated to Yezidi history, religion, and society within a German university.
The first research project at LMU in this field was conducted at the Institute for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Department of Arabic Studies, as a postdoctoral project by Dr. Qader Saleem Shammo under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Andreas Kaplony. The project examined the genocides perpetrated against the Yezidis throughout history and compared them with the genocide committed by the called Islamic State (ISIS) against the Yezidi community in 2014.
The success of this pioneering research significantly strengthened academic interest in Yezidi Studies and established LMU as the leading institution in Germany for the development of this emerging field. The initiative subsequently provided the scholarly foundation for the establishment of a specialized Center for Yezidi Studies at the University of Leipzig, an academic partner of LMU in the field of Yezidi studies. Through these developments, Yezidi Studies gained recognition as a distinct academic field within German higher education and later evolved into a dedicated academic unit at the University of Leipzig.
Supported by LMU Munich through Prof. Dr. Andreas Kaplony and by the University of Leipzig through Prof. Dr. Sebastian Maisel (Arabische Sprach- und Übersetzungswissenschaft), and in cooperation with additional academic institutions in Germany and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, research on Yezidi history, religion, culture, and society continues to expand. Throughout this process, Dr. Qader Saleem Shammo has played a central role as the principal researcher and a key driving force in the development of Yezidi Studies, initiating and conducting major research projects while fostering national and international academic cooperation. The field remains dynamic through ongoing research projects, scholarly conferences, and international collaborations, contributing to a deeper academic understanding of Yezidi heritage, religion, history, culture, and the historical experiences of the Yezidi community.
1. Research Projects
This postdoctoral project constituted the first comprehensive academic study at LMU devoted specifically to Yezidi Studies. It examined the historical continuity of genocidal violence against the Yezidis and analyzed the 2014 ISIS genocide within its broader historical and ideological context.
The project culminated in the publication of the monograph “From Fatwā to Genocide: Historic and Contemporary Manifestations of the Islamic Genocide against the Yezidis”, a pioneering scholarly study documenting and analyzing the history of genocides committed against the Yezidis and exploring the religious, historical, and intellectual discourses that facilitated these atrocities.
2. Research Project (2023–2026)
Project Title: Neubeurteilung der Schutzbedürftigkeit der Yeziden durch die sunnitischen Gelehrten
Extended Title: Brutale Behandlung führt zu Schutz: die Neubeurteilung der Schutzbedürftigkeit der Yeziden durch die sunnitischen Gelehrten nach ihrer Verfolgung durch den „Islamischen Staat
This study searches for the roots of Islamic hostility towards the Yezidis and their religion by comparing historical and contemporary Islamic attitudes and behaviors. It provides a summary of the perspectives of the Arab scholars prior to and following the 2014 invasion against the Yezidis.
The primary aim of this project is to determine whether the recent genocide committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) has changed the historical stereotypical thoughts of Muslims toward the Yezidis and their faith, which had led to violence and genocide against them and were the cause of their persecution throughout history.
Hence, this research rests on determining whether or not the Yezidis will be subject to more genocide, and it aims to provide different conclusions for preventing the occurrence of further persecution against the Yezidis by radical Islamic groups.
Two postdoctoral research projects emerged from this project.
a. Postdoctoral Research Project (June 15, 2023 - February 15, 2025)
Institution: Institute for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Project title: After the 2014 Genocide: Islamic Scholars’ Perception of the Yezidis and Yezidism
What are the origins of Islamic hostility towards the Yezidis and their religion? Can the historical cycle of Islamic violence against them be resolved? And have Islamic jurists and scholars reconsidered their views on Yezidis and Yezidism after the genocide of 2014? All these are valid questions - to which this work seeks some answers. For centuries, Muslim attitudes towards Yezidis have been shaped by Islamic scholarly decrees and fatwās. They in turn set the stage for subsequent religious rulings. The author compares historical and contemporary Islamic attitudes and actions with a focus on the perspectives of Muslim jurists and scholars. In his study he analyses the principles behind Islamic fatwās and other official statements regarding the Yezidis. He explores not only the motivations behind them, but also their impact on the religious minority. The author wishes to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of the past in the hope of thus paving the way for a peaceful coexistence of Yezidis and Muslims.
- The project is conducted in cooperation with:
- Prof. Dr. Sebastian Maisel, Orientalisches Institut, Arabische Sprach- und Übersetzungswissenschaft (Universität Leipzig)
- Dr. Christoph Günther, Department of Religious Studies, Chair of Muslim Cultural and Religious History (Universität Erfurt)
- University of Dohuk, Center for Genocid Studies
- Yezidi Studies Center
b. Postdoctoral Research Project (February 15 – December 31, 2025)
Institution: Institute for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Project title: The Yezidis in Kurdish Nationalist and Islamic Discourses after the 2014 Genocide
In the aftermath of the 2014 genocide perpetrated by ISIS against the Yezidis, one critical issue has been largely overlooked: How are the Yezidis represented in Kurdish nationalist discourse within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq? And how are they portrayed in Kurdish Islamic religious discourse beyond Iraq’s borders? This book examines how the Yezidi genocide has been appropriated for political, symbolic, and strategic purposes—often disconnected from genuine efforts at compensation, justice, or the reconstruction of Sinjar. It reveals the persistent displacement of Yezidis, the failures of compensation and reconstruction mechanisms, and the ways in which survivors have been drawn into instruments of political contestation. The study also examines how Kurdish political parties engaged Yezidi individuals in their responses to Yezidi suffering and the genocide. The author argues that the future of the Yezidis—and peaceful coexistence in the Kurdistan Region—is now at serious risk. Real change can only occur if Kurdish leaders fundamentally reconsider their approach to the Yezidis and abandon policies that have demonstrably failed.
The project is conducted in cooperation with:
- Prof. Dr. Sebastian Maisel
- Prof. Dr. Robert Langer (Universität der Bundeswehr Munich)
- Yezidi Studies Center, Leipzig
- Duhok Polytechnic University (DPU) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq