Hazim Tahsin Said (born 1 May 1963 in
Ba'adre) is the current and official Mir (Prince) of the
Yezidis
Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The maj ...
since July 27, 2019.
Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
Hazim is the son and successor of
Tahseen Beg, who after ruling Yezidis for 75 years, died at the age of 85. Mir Hazim has previously won a seat in the
Kurdistan Region parliament
The Parliament of Kurdistan ( ku, پەرلەمانی كوردستان ,Perlemanê Kurdistanê or simply Perleman, ar, برلمان كردستان, links=https://www.parliament.krd/arabic/), also called the Kurdish Parliament (IKP), is the parl ...
, running as a
Kurdistan Democratic Party
The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional G ...
candidate in 2009.
He is married to Mayan Khairi Saeed, has two sons and a daughter. He holds a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...
at the
University of Baghdad
The University of Baghdad (UOB) ( ar, جامعة بغداد ''Jāmi'at Baghdād'') is the largest university in Iraq, tenth largest in the Arab world, and the largest university in the Arab world outside Egypt.
Nomenclature
Both University ...
.
Controversy on the Mir position
The choosing of Mir Hazim by the Spiritual Council in
Lalish
Lalish ( ku, لالش, translit=Laliş, also known as Lalişa Nûranî) is a mountain valley and temple in Shekhan, Duhok Governorate in Iraq. It is the holiest temple of the Yazidis. It is the location of the tomb of the Sheikh Adi ibn Musafi ...
led to a lot of criticism by some Yezidis; he was accused of having been chosen by KDP authorities to lead Yezidis and not by the Yezidi community itself. In addition, his mother is not of princely family background, thus leading many to believe that he is not a legitimate successor. As a result, some Yezidi notables, tribal leaders and factions with opposing affiliations, namely the
PKK
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southea ...
-affiliated
YBŞ, recognized Naif Bin Dawud as the new Mir in
Shingal
Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its ...
. However, YBŞ commanders denied that he was affiliated with PKK, instead, claiming that he was neutral.
References
Yazidi people
Yazidis in Iraq
1963 births
Living people
{{MEast-bio-stub