The religion of the Yezidi Kurds, which has often been inaccurately characterized as “devil-worship,” has been claimed by Kurdish nationalists since the 1930s as the “original” religion of the Kurdish people. It has likewise been asserted that the Yezidi faith is a form of Zoroastrianism, the official religion of Iran in pre-Islamic times. These notions have won official support from most Kurdish political organizations and have broadly penetrated Kurdish society. The identification of Yezidism with Zoroastrianism is historically inaccurate, however, and should be seen as a product of modern nation-building ideology. Sentimental attachment to Yezidism and/or Zoroastrianism among Kurds today is best understood in most cases as a political rejection of Islam and its perceived Arab connections, rather than in terms of genuine devotional commitment.

自1930年代以来，库尔德民族主义者就将耶齐迪·库尔德人（Yezidi Kurds）的宗教常常不正确地描述为“拜魔”，这是库尔德人的“原始”宗教。同样有人断言，叶兹迪信仰是琐罗亚斯德教的一种形式，琐罗亚斯德教是前伊斯兰时期伊朗的官方宗教。这些观念赢得了大多数库尔德政治组织的官方支持，并广泛渗透到库尔德社会。从历史上看，将耶齐德主义与琐罗亚斯德教主义相鉴别是不准确的，应被视为现代国家建设意识形态的产物。如今，在大多数情况下，对库尔德人对Yezidism和/或Zoroastrianism的情感依恋在大多数情况下最好理解为对伊斯兰教及其与阿拉伯人的联系的政治拒绝，而不是真正的奉献承诺。