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INTRODUCTION
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leader and after his death the saint, and ended by making of him the incarnation of God in the present age. 26 With this they joined elements drawn from Christianity, 27 with here and there a trace of Judaism, and with large survivals of the persistent old Semitic heathenism, many of which they share with their neighbors of all creeds. Difficult problems, 28 however, remain unsolved, especially the origin and nature of the worship of Melek Tâ'ûs. 29 The certain thing is that the actual religion of the Yezidis is a syncretism, to which Moslem, Christian (heretical, rather than orthodox), pagan, and perhaps also Persian religions have contributed. 30
