The Yarsan or Ahl-e Haqq is a syncretic religion founded by Sultan Sahak in the late 14th century in western Iran. The total number of members is estimated at around 1,000,000, primarily found in western Iran and eastern Iraq, mostly ethnic Goran Kurds, though there are also smaller groups of Persian, Lori, Azeri andArab adherents. Some Yarsanis in Iraq are called Kaka'i. Yarsanis are also found in some rural communities in southeastern Turkey

The Yarsani people have been heavily persecuted by the regime in Iran for not being recorgnised as part of the an official religoun. Yarsan people are regarded as third-class citizens in Iran because they are both Kurd and Yarsan, They are not allowed to attend the universities, take governmental positions, run for elections and have no representatives in the Iranian parliament

The Yarsan faith dates back to the 14th century in Iranian Kurdistan. Iranian Yarsan people mostly reside in Kermanshah Province in the northwest of Iran. According to a 2015-16 Amnesty International report, members of religious minorities, including Baha’is, Sufis, Yarsan, Christian converts from Islam, Sunni Muslims, and Shi’a Muslims, who became Sunni, face discrimination in employment and restrictions on their access to education and freedom to practice their faith