Islamic revivalism and Kurdish nationalism in Sheikh Ubeydullah’s poetic oeuvre

Abstract

This article investigates Sheikh Ubeydullah of Nehri’s Kurdish-Islamic revivalist project based on a close reading of his Mesnewi. This article primarily focuses on the fusion of the Sheikh’s Islamic revivalism with his Kurdish nationalism in his poetic work. A close reading of the Mesnewi leaves no doubt that in the mind of his author both the future of Kurds and that of his revivalist project depended on the creation of an independent state.