Toowoomba Yazidi community want shrine, special place to teach culture, religion to children

They’re one of Toowoomba’s largest ethnic groups, with numbers of around 4000. Now the Yazidi community say they need a special place to teach their kids about their culture, saying some are forgetting their language and religion.

Dakhil Al-Ali (left) and Khaled Ali are part of the Yazidi community in Toowoomba. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Khaled Ali is part of one of Toowoomba’s largest ethnic and religious minority groups — a rich and vibrant culture that predates Christianity and Islam by thousands of years.

Yet five years after settling in the Garden City while escaping conflict in the Middle East, the 4000 Yazidi residents still have no place to practise their faith, and pass on their traditions and culture to their children.

Mr Ali and sheikh Dakhil Al-Ali, the community’s most prominent religious leader, are hoping to create a new shrine and place of worship in Toowoomba for Yazidi residents.

The ancient and often misunderstood monotheistic culture, which is centred around northern Iraq but has communities all over the world, has a strict caste system that governs marriages and families.

More importantly, its cultural practices and knowledge are passed on through language rather than via a religious text.

“Everything we keep in our heart — Dakhil will transfer the knowledge of the Yazidi religion to his kids, and they will transfer it to their kids,” Mr Ali said.

This makes a central place, like an old church or hall that could hold about 150 people, essential to run classes in their Kurdish language, teach the religion to children and hold special events like weddings.

Khaled Ali is part of the Yazidi community in Toowoomba. Thursday, July 7, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

Mr Ali said the Yazidis also wanted to create a marker, similar to a cenotaph, that could act as a central rallying point for holidays or to mark anniversaries like the 2014 Sinjar Massacre in Iraq at the hands of ISIS.

“It doesn’t have to be inside Toowoomba, because if we have something like that, it will need space,” he said.

“If you have gatherings, most people will go to this marker.

“The second thing is funerals – we are similar to indigenous people, because when someone passes away, everyone goes to that person’s place to mourn and pay respects.”

Yazidi genocide survivors L-R Nihad Alawsi 19, Baran Omar Ali 32, Khudeeda Omar Qoolo 50, Shami Said Shamo 66, Faha Biso Ali 22, together just outside Toowwoomba, QLD. Nihad (front) was taken hostage, sold as a child bride, had a son Isa (now 3) who has been taken from her and absorbed in to ISIS, but all are experiencing ongoing horrors from ISIS, with family members either being held hostage for ransom. Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

After several years of passive assimilation in Australia, Mr Ali said many children had started forgetting Kurdish, meaning some families could not understand each other.

“Because they go to school six hours a day, they learn English, they have nothing else in their mind,” he said.

“When they come back home, they learn English and forget about the Kurdish language.

“They forget about our culture and there is nowhere to teach them.”

Mr Ali said the community was also seeking a space to create a cemetery for Yazidis, noting this could also be the spot for the marker.

Yazidis who pass away are buried in a small section at Nobby cemetery, but the area is nearly full.

Anyone who would like to assist the Yazidi community can contact Mr Ali at [e-mail].

TRC Mayor Paul Antonio. Picture: Kevin Farmer

CITY LEADER SUPPORT YAZIDI PLACE OF WORSHIP

Mayor Paul Antonio is among several Toowoomba leaders to express support for the Yazidi community to a central place to share their culture and religious practices.

Mr Antonio was approached by representatives from the community a year ago and said he would like to see something established.

“They have been in discussions with a place of worship, but at this point in time there’s no resolution,” he said.

CatholicCare CEO Kate Venables, whose organisation provides support services for the Yazidi community, said a shrine or hall dedicated to their language and culture.

“I think it is part of a sense of belonging,” she said.

“Enabling them to use a hall could fuel their sense of belonging.

“I would suggest that their spiritual health and wellbeing is tied to identity and who they are. “A place of worship could benefit both their identity and mental health issues.”