Intolerance and genocide in the Middle East
D.Antón
In the Middle East Asia there are many cultures, b

eliefs and religions. For various reasons, generally political and economic onrd, a mutual intolerance between different groups has developed and led to discrimination, persecution and even genocide. These religions are generally monotheistic and supposedly tolerant. However they, have resulted in discrimination, ethnic cleansing and even genocides. I take three examples of some cruelly persecuted minority groups in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan: the Yazidis, Assyrians and Hazaras.
The  Yazidis are an ancient religious ethnic community linked to the ancient Mesopotamian religions. They mainly inhabit northern Iraq where where there are more than half a million. Another half million is distributed in Syria, Turkey, Iran, Armenia and several European countries, especially Germany. Although they are ethnically Kurds, the Yazidis are a distinct and independent religious community with their own culture. They live mainly in the province of Nineveh in Iraq although there are some communities in neighbouring countries. The number of Yazidis in their homeland has been declining since the 1990s as a result of persecution and discrimination. Many  have migrated. Yazidis are monotheists, believe in God as creator of the world, which is placed under the care of seven holy beings, the main of which is Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, which makes both good and evil. Due to having different beliefs other local religious groups reject them and from August 2014, the Yezidis were attacked by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its campaign to "purify" Iraq and eliminate these "devil worshipers". They killed several thousand Yazidis and kidnapped and enslaved many women. To avoid this cruel genocide many Yazidis had to emigrate from their traditional territories.

The Assyrians or Syriacs, also known as "Chaldeans" are a very ancient Christian ethno-religious group that inhabits northern Iraq, Syria and southeastern Turkey. During World War I they experienced a systematic attack, considered genocide by the Ottoman Empire, suffered the repressive policies of the Islamic revolution in Iran, the authoritarianism of the Baathist regimes in Syria and Iraq and the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. More recently from the 2003 war in Iraq and since 2011 the Syrian Civil War they have faced ethnic and religious persecution at the hands of Islamic extremists. Among the million or more people who have fled Iraq since the US occupation nearly 40% are Assyrian. According to an official report of 2013 it was estimated that only 300,000 Assyrians remained in Iraq.
The Hazaras are an ethnic-religious group that apparently are descendants of the Mongol armies of Genghis Khan who remained in Afghanistan after his withdrawal and mixed with the local population. They inhabit a central mountainous region in the country called Hazarjat of about 50,000 km2. While they have certain traits that show their Mongolian origin speak a dialect (Hazaragi) which is a language related to Farsi (Persian) and practice the Shia version of Islam. Although they were the dominant group before the nineteenth century many were killed in 1893. Currently there are approximately 2.7 million Hazaras representing 9% of the population. After they were displaced from positions of power in the late nineteenth century they began to be discriminated against and occupy the bottom of the social hierarchy in today's Afghanistan. They have remained relatively isolated and their identity has been maintained. They suffer permanent social discrimination, aggression and even physical elimination. Many Hazaras have been killed by the Taliban (Sunni) over the past two decades because of their Shia religious affiliation.