The French information agency France Press has published an article on the largest Yazidi temple, which is under construction in a small Armenian village.

According to the article, the largest community of Yazidi is in Iraq, where they are constantly persecuted by Islamic jihadists.

Currently nearly 35,000 Yazidis live in Armenia, where they have only one tiny temple.

The new temple called Quba Mere Diwane is being constructed in Aknalich village, which is in 35 kilometres from the capital city Yerevan, thanks to funding by a wealthy Moscow-based Yazidi businessman Mirza Sloyan.

The new 25-metre-high structure is built from granite and marble.

Armenia’s largest minority group of Yazidis is well integrated into Armenian society, enjoys freedom of religious belief, and publishes Yazidi-language newspapers and textbooks. Fearing assimilation, Yazidis disourage marriage outside the community.

"We have no state and, as a vulnerable minority, we risk imminent assimilation if we stop protecting our traditions," said Sheikh Hasan Hasanyan, the spiritual leader of the Armenian Yazidis.

He expressed hope that the new temple expected to open this year, "will become a major spiritual centre for Yazidi pilgrims from all over the world."