"The Peacock King

The Yezidis are a religious minority in the Middle East number in the half a million with the majority of its population concentrated in Iraq. Saddam Hussein perpetuated in contemporary times the persecution that the Yezidi’s have historically suffered. He along with many other have referred to the Yezidis with the moniker of “Devil Worshippers.”
The Yezidi religion has heavy Islamic, Christian, Judaic and even Hindu influences. They have their own caste system and they are forbidden to marry outside of their own caste and non-Yezidis alike. According to Michael Yon the Yezidis have to two holy books; the Book of Revelation and the Black Book which is treated which is kept secret so that it might not be defamed by outsiders.
The Yezidis believe in one God and accept Jesus and Muhammad as men of faith but not as prophets and messiahs in any recognizable form. Their belief and treatment of angelic beings is what sets them apart from Christianity, Islam and Judaism (Yon).
According to Yezidi belief there are seven angels: Izrafael, Jibrael, Michael, Nordael, Dardael, Shamnael, and Azazael; and these angels were commanded to bow before none other than their divine creator. All went well for about forty thousand years until the creation of Adam; and then God commanded the angels to bow before His new creation. Six complied and a seventh, like Iblis, did not out of respect for God’s first commandment (Yon).
The identity of this angel is disputed among the Yezidis, according to Yon’s findings, as some claim it is Jibrael and others that it was Izrafael or Azazel. In any case, this angel who was the most powerful of them all in heaven and earth and the favored of God rose again as Malak T’aus (Kelly 186).
Unlike, Satan and Iblis, Malak T’aus asked for forgiveness and was forgiven by God for his transgressions. He becomes Malak T’aus a demiurge in his right and an agent of God upon the earth. His signature animal is the peacock, “for it is ‘by far the most beautiful bird in the world,’” and his title, Malak Ta’us, literally means “King of Peacocks.” The Yezidis therefore lack a Satan figure in the traditional sense of the word and consider the use of the words, “al shaitan” to be an insult against their patron angel and demi-god (Kelly 186).
The tendency towards dualism that is present in Christianity and Islam is absent among the Yezidis. Malak T’aus has no control over the hearts of men and evil actions are the sole domain of human impetus."