Support Kurdish Studies in the United States

Help Zahra Institute Educate a New Generation of Kurdish Scholars from Around the World

INTRODUCTION

Kurds are one of the largest minority groups without a state of their own. Despite centuries of marginalization, they have produced many scholars, poets and thinkers, including Ehmedê Xanî‎, Feqiyê Teyran, and Said-i Nursî (Kurdî). Nonetheless, the Kurdish legacy is barely represented in American institutions of higher education. The Kurdish language is almost never taught and American college students rarely encounter Kurdish history or literature.

WHO WE ARE

Zahra Institute, a 501(c)(3) educational non-profit, is the first and only US institution to put Kurdish Studies at center stage. We offer an online Master’s degree in Kurdish Studies, a Certificate program in Kurdish Studies, and classes in Kurmanji and Sorani Kurdish. Our goal is to make Kurdish Studies accessible to professionals, students, and academics by providing high-level, engaging courses that address a range of learners. Zahra Institute is building a creative, democratic, and welcoming community dedicated to propagating and expanding scholarship on Kurdish history, language, arts, and life.

We are particularly proud to welcome, as both students and teachers, individuals who are living in difficult circumstances, in conflict zones, or as refugees. Zahra Institute is committed to offering scholarships to support all our MA students in need, but especially those promising junior scholars coming from backgrounds of displacement or oppression. To do this, we need your help!

For more information see our website: www.zahrainstitute.org

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

MA program in Kurdish Studies since 2023 https://www.zahrainstitute.org/ma_in_kurdish_studies.html

current student enrollment: 7 in MA, 3 in Certificate, and 9 in Language program (Kurmanji and Sorani)

FUNDS WILL GO TOWARD