Hey, all. I don't mean to overwhelm the blog with my postings on various cultural and religious matters... If I am, I can move this stuff somewhere else.

I just want to link to a journal entry by Michael Totten, a blogger who is currently in the Kurdistan part of Iraq, writing about his travels.

Totten visited the most holy ground of the Yedzidi religion, where the Yedzidi say the universe was born.
I've never heard of the Yedzidi; some parts of their religion are fascinating. The central figure of their religion is the Peacock Angel, Melek Taus. Melek Taus is a fallen angel who redeemed himself, thus Melek Taus is equated with Satan by the Muslims who live near the Yedzidi.
The story of Melek Taus' fall is similar to the story in the apocryphal Book of Adam and Eve, where God created the angels and asked them to bow only to Him. Then God created mankind and asked the angels to bow to man, as well. Melek Taus/the Fallen Angel refused to bow to man, and would only bow to God, thus disobeying God's command.
I find it fascinating that in the Yedzidi religion, this fallen angel then redeemed himself and became the central figure in the religion...

Gotta love the Internet!
C
- posted by Christoph Roggenkamp @ 2/23/2006 03:10:00 PM