We have successfully transitioned into a new phase of ministry and I can now come back to writing. If you are keeping up then you probably thought I forgot to publish part 2 :) Not true, I just had to take time to finish well. If you have not read Kurdish Identity Part 1 please take a minute and do that before reading this.

There is nothing uncommon about the inner struggle for identity. The questions: "Who am I?" and "why do I exist?" are both things that have to be answered. The most natural place to start when answering these questions is to look at where we came from. My Dad is a minister, my Grandad and Great Grandad were farmers and I'm not really sure before that. Ultimately, if you go back all the way to the beginning, ...

The Middle East is full of complex social problems. I am not a politician, activist or sociologist. I am just a man who wants to be a good friend to my Kurdish and Turkish neighbors. Many Kurds are desperately trying to establish their identity in the eyes of the world.  Kurds are distinct from Turks and Arabs. The existing nations that they call home each wish they would simply assimilate into the culture of that nation.  Those who have refused to assimilate have a culture that sets them apart from the others in language and tradition.  There is fault on both sides and a long history of conflict, torture and terrorism.  Even now in Turkey many Turks refuse to acknowledge the Kurds and simply call them “mountain Turks”.