Edmonds and his scientific work on Kurdish studies

Abstract

Kurdish studies is one of the crucial branches of orientalism, which investigates topics about Kurdistan and related topics. C.J. Edmonds is considered a pioneering Kurdish studies expert whose work mainly concentrated on topics related to Kurdistan and the Kurdish people. The current research consists of an introduction and two sections and a conclusion is followed. In the introduction, some aspects of life of Edmonds are discussed. In the first section, Edmonds’s scientific works, books, and articles about the Kurdish people are discussed. In the second section, the most prominent perspectives of Edmonds's works about Kurdish people are discussed with special emphasis on his opinions about religion and sociological aspects of Kurdish people. The main question of the current study is whether Kurdish sources published in the 20th century are enough to develop a deep understanding of the Kurdish people and community after the collapse of the Othman empire, or whether they did not fully answer the questions that may arise now and then. In this case, the study also wishes to analyze the need for adopting and discussing the orientalist who wrote about Kurdish people and Kurdistan. The findings of the research indicate that Edmonds’s works are unbiased and valuable works that present a deep insight into the Kurdish people and Kurdistan.