Between being ‘Irticaci’ and ‘Kafir’: the Kurdish Ulama, Shayhks and Kurdish historiography

Abstract

This article engages with Kurdish ulamas’ and shaykhs’ relatively unknown narratives on manipulative shaykhs as a legitimate part of the story of Kurdish national history. The criticism against yalancı, fake, shaykhs from within the religious class is not encountered very often in Kurdish nationalist history writing. The stereotypical and generalizing approach to shaykhs in nationalist historiography hindered the diverse nature of religious class and silenced reformist discourses against the manipulation of religion. This article brings in the examples of ‘a-typical’ Kurdish ulama and shaykhs with national dreams, who delegitimized deceptive shaykhs by uncovering their deceits. As their narratives unfold, the diverse nature of the Kurdish religious class appears and the story of Kurdish nationalism becomes more complete. My findings also challenge the nationalist dichotomy that national and religious identities are exclusive of one another.