ISIS raised fears once again among the religious minorities in Iraq, due to the security vacuum and repeated violations in their areas, and its implementation of operations against them that left dozens of dead and wounded, the latest of which was its Saturday attack on a village of the Kakai minority in the Khanaqin district of Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, which caused at least About 7 dead and 5 injured.

In the wake of this attack, the head of the All-Kakai tribe in Iraq, Ibrahim Syed Mustafa Agha Kakai, called the three presidencies in the country to intervene urgently to stop the attacks of the organization and secure their areas, denouncing the operations that targeted them in the governorates of Kirkuk, Diyala and Nineveh by remnants of what he called "terrorism", and in front of The attention of the security authorities in some areas.

According to Kakai, ISIS attacks targeting their areas have left more than 300 victims since 2003, in addition to burning agricultural crops and bombings targeting their villages, cities and religious sites, forcing thousands of followers of this minority to move to other safe areas.

A religious hymn for the Kurdish "Kakai" Yarsi sect, which is also called Ahl al-Haq, and is one of the branches of the ancient Yezidi religion that was embraced by the Kurds before Islam, which is now divided into 3 sections; Yarsi, Yezidi, Alevi and Kurds in # Turkey. pic.twitter.com/3Jf5HVkOF8

- Counselor Zaid Al-Ayoubi (@Zaid_Alayoubi) February 8, 2020

Their rituals and customs

The word Kakaiya comes back to "Kaka", which means "older brother", and it is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions that believe in one God, and it is spread in northern Iraq. Sultan Ishaq Al-Barzanji - born in 671 AH - considers it a renewal, according to academic minority rights researcher Syed Farhad.

According to Farhad, the beliefs of the Kakai minority are based on four pillars or conditions: purity, honesty, annihilation and pardon, and they believe in reincarnation of spirits, and among the books that are considered sacred according to their beliefs: the words of the treasury or "Sarangam" which dates back to the seventh and eighth century AH, and consists of six Parts, however this book is only available to members of the community, and has not been printed or circulated.

There are many religious shrines for the Kakai community, among them: the Sultan Ishaq Mazar located in Mount Huraman in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Sayyid Ibrahim shrine in Baghdad, the central door in Baghdad, in addition to the David shop in Shirin Palace in Iran, and the Baw Mahmoud shrine in Khanaqin.

#Kakiye "Kurdish" taken from "Kaka" in the sense of brother, and this sect is called in Persian (Yarsan) (yar: friend or beloved, san: sultan # because you are an Iraqi

- The Iraqi National Museum (@ iraqmuseum881) September 15, 2016

Marriage in the Kakai community is subject to the terms of the civil law in Iraq, and they are bound by it, and its conditions, procedures, and rituals are not much different from marriage in Islam. There are some doctrinal matters known to them, such as: prohibiting alcohol, preventing polygamy, and rejecting divorce unless it is with the consent of both parties.

The Kakaien are distinguished by the long mustache, which is a cultural and religious heritage, preserving its continuity, in addition to their distinctive costume, which consists of what is locally known as the "guardianship", which is a long robe that resembles the Bedouin cloak, "jacket", and traditional tie.

The number of cocaine in the Kurdistan region of Iraq is estimated at about 250 thousand people. Their villages extend from the far east of Iraq in the areas of Halabja and Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and westward towards the areas of Tuz Khurmato, Khanaqin, Horman, Daquq, and even the Nineveh Plain in the far northwest of the city of Mosul.

The Kurdish Peshmerga forces were responsible for the security of these areas until mid-October 2017, but the reality changed after the implementation of the "law enforcement" process by the Iraqi army and the Popular Mobilization factions, and imposed their control over the disputed areas in Kirkuk, Diyala, Salahuddin and Nineveh, which came In response to the referendum in the Kurdistan region on September 25 of the same year.

Adnan Al-Kanani believes that ISIS seeks to create a rift between Baghdad and Erbil by targeting minorities (Al-Jazeera)

Create affliction

The security expert, Adnan Al-Kanani, believes that ISIS seeks to create a rift between Baghdad and Erbil, by targeting minorities in the disputed areas, and using it to create security gaps.

Among the factors that increase the movement of the organization in these areas: the presence of rules that it exploits for its activities, such as the Hamrin mountains and agricultural areas of a distinct geographical nature, facilitate its movements and cost the security services a great effort to prevent them.

These features give the organization a vital activity in these pivotal border areas represented by the Iraqi-Iranian borders, in addition to the Hamrin mountain range and the strategic depth with Kirkuk Governorate, and from there towards the areas of Sulaymaniyah Governorate in the Kurdistan Region, he says.

The organization also takes advantage of the western border areas, as well as adjacent to the Syrian border, and creates safe crossings between Salah al-Din and Anbar provinces to go to the areas surrounding the Baghdad Belt and Diyala.

The organization is trying to take advantage of the deepening problems and conflicts between Baghdad and Erbil and carry out its operations against the citizens, according to the security expert, who adds that there is no security gap between the military leaders, whether from the Kurdish or Iraqi forces, and there is a link between them with patriotism, defense of the land and unity of the class.

Rajab Asi considered that the political conflict in Iraq helped to increase security breaches in minority areas (Al-Jazeera)

Hidden intentions

There are hidden intentions behind operations against minorities in the disputed areas, the most prominent of which is the emptying of the indigenous population and the creation of a demographic change to which political intentions are added, according to researcher on minority affairs, Rajab Asi.

Assi notes that the problems faced by the Iraqi government and its preoccupation with fighting corruption and preparing for early elections and the ongoing political conflict in the country, all of which helped to increase security breaches in these areas, assuring Al-Jazeera Net that resolving these problems is very difficult at the moment and needs for a long time.