After walking 746 miles, Kurdish scholar and activist Kani Xulam concluded a 55-day pilgrimage on May 14, 2026, arriving at the birthplace of American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia with a message of peace, resistance, and international solidarity.

Xulam, the founder of the American Kurdish Information Network, began his journey entitled “Love is Resistance” on March 21 from the steps of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. The start date was deeply symbolic: it marked Newroz, the Kurdish New Year, which represents a time of renewal and joyful resistance. It also coincided with the 61st anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery marches, which helped lead to the Voting Rights Act and pushed the United States closer to its promise of democracy for all.

Photo courtesy of Olivia Bowdoin

Throughout his nearly two-month journey through the American South, Xulam walked not just as a scholar, but as a voice for the millions of people silenced in the ongoing struggle for Kurdish rights across the Middle East.

“If the Middle East moves toward peace, my little attempt may one day be remembered fondly by the children of Kurdistan,” Xulam told Kurdistan Chronicle. “If war remains our future, as it has so often been our past, it may be remembered only as a small candle lit against a very dark night.”

Xulam’s inspiration for the arduous trek stems from Dr. King’s own philosophy of non-violent resistance. Recalling Dr. King’s 1959 trip to India, Xulam noted that the civil rights leader told journalists he traveled not as a tourist, but as a pilgrim. Xulam views his own journey through the same lens, aiming to bring the spirit of the American civil rights movement to the Kurdish struggle.

“Generations of Kurds have tried to straighten the question mark at the end of the Kurdish question into an exclamation mark: Kurdish freedom!” Xulam said. “I am part of this generation of Kurds. My pilgrimage was an attempt to hasten that happy moment in the life of a nation.”

While Xulam originally budgeted for 55 different hotel stays along his route, he ultimately spent nothing on lodging. Instead, ordinary Americans and members of the Kurdish diaspora opened their doors, providing meals and lodging. “Our conversations over dinner were wide-ranging. We talked about Dr. King, Gandhi, Tolstoy, [Abdullah] Öcalan, the Barzanis, the Talabanis, Rojava, and Rojhilat. There were occasional references to other leaders as well,” he stated.

Among his most profound encounters was a chance meeting in Virginia with Xhalid, a Yemeni shopkeeper. For many Kurds, the wounds of the past run deep, and can hinder bridge-building with the wider Arab world. Xulam candidly noted on Facebook that for some Kurds, encountering an Arab can feel as fraught as a Jewish person encountering a German after World War II. However, Xhalid shattered that barrier with pure humanity.

When Xulam told Xhalid he was a Middle Eastern pilgrim walking for freedom, “Xhalid’s face lit up with the biggest smile he could muster.” Greeting the Kurdish activist like a long-lost cousin, the Yemeni shopkeeper refused to charge him. “Drink whatever you want, take whatever you need,” he told Xulam.

Later in the journey, as he crossed into Georgia, families such as the Knights and the Cocians went out of their way to make him comfortable, an experience Xulam described as “watching heaven being made on earth.”

The “Love is Resistance” pilgrimage follows a similar journey Xulam made in 2023. He walked from Washington, D.C. to the UN headquarters in New York City to call for more Kurdish representation and meetings with world leaders. As his physical journey comes to an end, Xulam remains hopeful that his 55-day long walk will leave a lasting footprint on the path toward peace.