Mandaeans

Mandaeans
ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ‎
الصابئة المندائيون
Mandaeans in prayer, Iran
Total population
c. 60,000–100,000[1][2][3]
Regions with significant populations
 Sweden10,000–20,000[4][5]
 Australia8,000–10,000[6][7][8]
 United States5,000–7,000[9][10][11][12][13]
 Iraq3,000[a]–6,000[14][13]
 Netherlands4,000[3]
 Iran2,500 (2015)[15][13]
 United Kingdom2,500[3]
 Germany2,200–3,000[16][5]
 Jordan1,400–2,500[17][18]
 Syria1,000 (2015)[19][13]
 Canada1,000[20]
 New Zealand1,000[5]
 Denmark650–1,200[21][13]
 Finland100 families[22]
 France500[23]
Religions
Mandaeism
Scriptures
Ginza Rabba, Qulasta, Mandaean Book of John, Haran Gawaita, etc. (see more)
Languages
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Mandaeans (Mandaic: ࡌࡀࡍࡃࡀࡉࡉࡀ) (Arabic: المندائيون al-Mandāʾiyyūn), also known as Mandaean Sabians (الصابئة المندائيون al-Ṣābiʾa al-Mandāʾiyyūn) or simply as Sabians (الصابئة al-Ṣābiʾa),[b] are an ethnoreligious group who are followers of Mandaeism. They believe that John the Baptist was the final and most important prophet. They may have been among the earliest religious groups to practice baptism, as well as among the earliest adherents of Gnosticism, a belief system of which they are the last surviving representatives today.[24][25]: 109  The Mandaeans were originally native speakers of Mandaic, an Eastern Aramaic language, before they nearly all switched to Mesopotamian Arabic or Persian as their main language.

After the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies in 2003, the Mandaean community of Iraq, which before the war numbered 60,000–70,000 persons, collapsed due to the rise of Islamic extremism and the absence of protection against it, with most of the community relocating to Iran, Syria and Jordan, or forming diaspora communities beyond the Middle East. Mandaeans have been forcibly converted to Islam, making them apostates from Islam if they revert to their religion, thereby risking being murdered. Such Mandaeans have voiced feeling unsafe in any Muslim country for this reason.[26][27][28]

The remaining community of Iranian Mandaeans has also been dwindling as a result of religious persecution over the decades. Unlike other religious minorities such as Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, Mandaeans have no protection from persecution whatsoever, similar to Baháʼís in Iran.[15][29][30] By 2007, the population of Mandaeans in Iraq had fallen to approximately 5,000.[31] There are estimated to be 60,000–100,000 Mandaeans worldwide.[11] About 10,000 Mandaeans live in Australia and between 10,000 and 20,000 in Sweden, making them the countries with the most Mandaeans.[5][7] There are about 2,500 Mandaeans in Jordan, the largest Mandaean community in the Middle East outside of Iraq and Iran.[18]

  1. ^ Bell, Matthew (October 6, 2016). "These Iraqi immigrants revere John the Baptist, but they're not Christians". The World. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  2. ^ Thaler 2007.
  3. ^ a b c "The Mandaeans – Who are the Mandaeans?". The Worlds of Mandaean Priests. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Larsson, Göran; Sorgenfrei, Simon; Stockman, Max (2017). "Religiösa minoriteter från Mellanöstern" (PDF). Myndigheten för stöd till trossamfund. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Hanish, Shak (2019). The Mandaeans In Iraq. In Rowe, Paul S. (2019). Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East. London and New York: Routledge. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-317-23379-4.
  6. ^ "The strength within: The role of refugee community organisations in settlement-Case study: Sabean Mandean Association". Refugee Council of Australia. January 26, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Hegarty, Siobhan (July 21, 2017). "Meet the Mandaeans: Australian followers of John the Baptist celebrate new year". ABC. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  8. ^ Hinchey, Rebecca. "Mandaens, a unique culture" (PDF). NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  9. ^ MacQuarrie, Brian (August 13, 2016). "Embraced by Worcester, Iraq's persecuted Mandaean refugees now seek 'anchor'—their own temple". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference office was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Sly, Liz (November 16, 2008). "'This is one of the world's oldest religions, and it is going to die.'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  12. ^ Busch, Matthew; Ross, Robyn (February 18, 2020). "Against The Current". Texas Observer. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e Farhan, Salam; al Roomi, Layla; Nashi, Suhaib (October 2015). "Submission on behalf of the Mandaean Human Rights Group to the Human Rights Committee's Periodic Review of Iraq in October 2015" (PDF). OHCHR. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Salloum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ a b Contrera, Russell. "Saving the people, killing the faith – Holland, MI". The Holland Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  16. ^ Verschiedene Gemeinschaften / neuere religiöse Bewegungen, in: Religionswissenschaftlicher Medien- und Informationsdienst|Religionswissenschaftliche Medien- und Informationsdienst e. V. (Abbreviation: REMID), Retrieved 9 October 2016
  17. ^ Castelier, Sebastian; Dzuilka, Margaux (June 9, 2018). "Jordan's Mandaean minority fear returning to post-ISIS Iraq". The National. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  18. ^ a b Ersan, Mohammad (February 2, 2018). "Are Iraqi Mandaeans better off in Jordan?". Al-Monitor. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  19. ^ Sido, Kamal (October 7, 2010). "Leader of the world's Mandaeans asks for help". Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  20. ^ Fraser, Tim (July 31, 2015). "Canadians working to rescue Mandaean people on brink of extinction in Iraq". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  21. ^ Schou, Kim; Højland, Marie-Louise (May 6, 2013). "Hvem er mandæerne?". Religion.dk(Danish). Retrieved November 4, 2021.
  22. ^ Koskinen, Paula (July 14, 2014). "Mandealaiset saivat joukkokasteen Pyhäjärvessä". Yle. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  23. ^ "Religion: la Touraine, refuge des Sabéens-Mandéens". la Nouvelle Republique. April 23, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  24. ^ McGrath, James (January 23, 2015), "The First Baptists, The Last Gnostics: The Mandaeans", YouTube-A lunchtime talk about the Mandaeans by Dr. James F. McGrath at Butler University, retrieved November 3, 2021
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference BuckleyOrigin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Crawford 2007; Deutsch 2007; Thaler 2007
  27. ^ "Mandaeans of Iraq". Genocide Watch. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009.
  28. ^ "Saving the people, killing the faith". The Holland Sentinel. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  29. ^ "Smena yur adresa – Pereregistratsiya yuridicheskogo adresa" Смена юр адреса – Перерегистрация юридического адреса [Change of legal address – Re-registration of legal address] (in Russian). Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  30. ^ al Sheati, Ahmed (December 6, 2011). "Iran Mandaeans in exile following persecution". Al Arabiya. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  31. ^ Deutsch 2007.


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