Yazdânism

Yazdânism, or the Cult of Angels, is an assumed single pre-Islamic, native religion of the Kurds. The term was introduced by Kurdish scholar Mehrdad Izady to represent what he considers the "original" religion of the Kurds as the primary inhabitants of the Zagros Mountains, until their increasing Islamization in the course of the 10th century.

According to Izadi, Yazdânism is now continued in the denominations of Yazidism, Yarsanism, and Ishikism (Alevism). The three traditions subsumed under the term Yazdânism are primarily practiced in relatively isolated communities, from Khurasan to Anatolia and southern Iran.

The concept of Yazdânism has found a wide perception both within and beyond Kurdish nationalist discourses, but has been disputed by other recognized scholars of Iranian religions. Well established, however, are the "striking" and "unmistakable" similarities between the Yazidis and the Yarezan or Ahl-e Haqq, some of which can been traced back to elements of Ancient Indian Vedic philosophy and pre-Zoroastrian Mithra-worship.