For general information on Eurovision Song Contest click on to http://www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision/contestants/ycny_2010/

For information on Esma Akkilic please go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision/contestants/ycny_2010/contestant_esma.shtml

It will be great if as many people as possible can tune in to BBC1 on Friday 12th March at 8:30pm and votes for Esma.

Mr. Andrew Wilcox, a student at the University of Exeter, studying for an MA in Kurdish Studies under Professor Christine Alison and Dr Hashem Ahmadzadeh is looking for the Yezidis living in Britain to interview for his research project. His dissertation thesis is a study of Yezidis living in Britain, their experience and their sense of religious identity.

My interviews would be as informal as possible and all information would be used solely for the purpose of my dissertation and would be kept entirely anonymous.

We, KSSO support and promote research on, about or by Kurdish peoples and would really appreciate if you could participate in this research or help to find some participants for the above mentioned research

If you have any queries about the research, please contact:

Andrew Wilcox
Telephone: 07790 144 956
Email: andywilcox64@hotmail.com

Brief introduction of the research

Research into notions of identity among Yezidis in the U.K.

Yezidism is a unique religion perpetuated through a rich oral cultural tradition, its antiquity and adaptability to changing circumstances can scarcely be denied. However, having been until very recently a religion maintained by orality, its presentation to the academic world has been largely that of description by ‘outsiders’. These ‘outside voices’ have historically endeavoured to make Yezidism fit within the prejudices of their own ‘world view’. This research project hopes to give Yezidis themselves the opportunity to discuss what they consider to be the nature and detail of their religion, what is important and what is not, and ultimately to contribute to the ongoing work of redressing some of the prejudices held against this minority religious community.

Equally, and more specifically, the research seeks to discuss the experiences of Yezidis living in the United Kingdom. Not only do Yezidis constitute a minority group but, as Andreas Ackerman has said of the German Yezidi diaspora, they are in fact a ‘double minority’. A minority within a minority, and due to the even smaller numbers of Yezidis living in the UK this is more significant.

The focus of this research is upon the difficulties which may be encountered by Yezidis in conducting aspects of their religious practice and in assuring the continuance of their religion in the conditions of isolation implied by such a minority status.

The research thus proposes to talk with those Yezidis living in the United Kingdom who would be willing to discuss their experiences and their understandings of Yezidism. It is envisaged that this would consist of an informal one hour interview.