This event is organised in collaboration with the Institut Français du Proche Orient (IFPO)

Abstract

In the summer of 2014, the Sinjar (or Shingal) region of northern Iraq was attacked by the so-called Islamic State. Thousands were killed or abducted, and the jihadists destroyed numerous shrines belonging to Yezidis and other religious communities. Some sacred places were defended by local fighters and by militias affiliated with Kurdish political parties. Landscapes of Resistance traces how, in the aftermath of the genocide, stories of divine intervention in the Mountain’s defense reinforced land claims by various groups, who also rebuilt shrines and constructed memorial sites. These narratives sparked intense debate among Yezidis about their communal identity and future in the devastated region, and about which sites should be recognized as authentic shrines. Furthermore, the Islamist attacks marked the apparent end of a long history of coexistence between Yezidis, Sunni Arabs, and Shia Kurds—reflected in shifting narratives surrounding formerly shared sacred sites.

Bio

Benjamin Raßbach is postdoc researcher at the Orient-Institut Beirut currently working on narratives around shared shrines in Lebanon and the consequences of Israeli attacks on Lebanse cultural heritage. After studying Anthropology, Religion and Middle Eastern Studies at Philipps University Marburg and Leipzig University, he received his PhD in 2024 from Leipzig University.

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