Yarsanism The Yarsan, Ahle Haqq or Kaka'i

The Yarsan, Ahle Haqq or Kaka'i (Kurdish: ¿¿¿¿¿¿ ,Yarsan, ;¿¿ ¿¿¿ : Persian "People of Truth"), is a syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of Yarsanis is estimated at around 2,000,000 or 3,000,000. They are primarily found in western Iran and eastern Iraq and are mostly ethnic Goran Kurds, though there are also smaller groups of Turk, Persian, Luri, Azerbaijani and Arab adherents. Some Yarsanis in Iraq are called Kaka'i. Yarsanis say that some people call them disparagingly as "Ali-o-allahi" or "worshipers of Ali", which labels Yarsanis deny. Many Yarsanis hide their religion due to pressure of Iran's Islamic system, and there are no exact statistics of their population. The Yarsanis have a distinct religious literature, primarily written in the Gorani language. However, few modern Yarsani can read or write Gorani (a Northwestern Iranian language belonging to the branch Zaza-Gorani) as their mother tongues are Southern Kurdish and Sorani, belong to the other two branches of the Lurdish languages. The speakers of Sarli living near Eski Kalak are adherents.