Prize for outstanding Kurdologist: Omarkhali inspires science!

Prize for outstanding Kurdologist: Omarkhali inspires science!

On April 14, 2025, Prof. Khanna Omarkhali was awarded the Jemal Nebez Prize 2025 by the Institute for Iranian Studies at the Free University of Berlin. This prestigious prize is awarded every two years by an independent commission Jemal Nebez Foundation awarded in Berlin. Omarkhali was recognized for her outstanding contributions to Kurdology, particularly her work in the field of Yazidi studies.

The Jemal Nebez Foundation welcomed the decision to award the prize. Omarkhali, who was surprised at her nomination, accepted the honor with joy. The award ceremony takes place in a context that also addresses the challenges of the Kurdish population and the geopolitical tensions in the region. Omarkhali's research has generated international resonance and represents an important basis for the study of religious minorities in the Iranophone region.

Academic achievements and research priorities

Prof. Khanna Omarkhali is considered a leading scholar in the field of Yazidi theology, oral tradition and social structures within the Yazidi community. Her research includes the systematic documentation of Yazidi religious texts and their transition from oral to written transmission. The themes of her works offer fascinating insights into the development of religious practice and textual culture in the Yazidi community.

Omarkhali has been working at the Institute for Iranian Studies at the Free University of Berlin since 2019. She previously held teaching and research positions at the Georg-August University of Göttingen and completed her habilitation in 2017 on the writing of Yazidi religious texts. Her academic career began at Saint Petersburg State University, where she studied Iranian philology and religious studies and received her doctorate in 2006. Her research interests include not only Yazidi, but also Kurdish literature, linguistics, dialectology and social structures in Kurdish and Pashtun societies.

Social and political contexts

The issue of the award is reinforced by the ongoing geopolitical tensions, particularly in the Middle East. In this context, the Jemal Nebez Foundation points to the Anfal campaign of 1987, in which 182,000 Kurds died. The focus of world politics is currently on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which offers hope for lessons for the Kurdistan question and the Middle East conflict.

As part of the award ceremony, the foundation will also publish a poem by Franz Grillparzer that is intended to provide consolation. At the same time, the board announced that new writings by Jemal Nebez were in the works. The Board of Directors of the Jemal Nebez Foundation invites the public's support and membership to promote Kurdish language, culture and science.

The work of Omarkhali and the activities of the Jemal Nebez Foundation offer important perspectives on the situation of the Kurds and their cultural heritage that needs to be preserved. Their academic contributions are important not only to the scientific community, but also to the broader public interested in issues of identity and cultural diversity.