Mandaeans

There are several indications of the ultimate origin of the Mandaeans. Early religious concepts and terminologies recur in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Yardena (Jordan) has been the name of every baptismal water in Mandaeism.[19] The Mandaic language is a dialect of southeastern Mesopotamian Aramaic with significant Akkadian influences and is closely related to the language of the Babylonian Talmud, as well as Syriac. They formally refer to themselves as Nasurai (Nasoraeans). A priest holds the title of Rabbi[20] and a place of worship is called a Mashkhanna.[21] According to Mandaean sources such as the Haran Gawaita, the Nasurai inhabited the areas around Jerusalem and the River Jordan in the 1st century CE. There is archaeological evidence that attests to the Mandaean presence in pre-Islamic Iraq.[22][23] Some scholars, including Kurt Rudolph, connect the early Mandaeans with the Jewish sect of the Nasoraeans.[23] The Mandaeans are considered to be part of the indigenous people of Iraq.

It appears that Mani, the founder of Manichaeism, was partly influenced by the Mandaeans.[24]

A number of ancient Aramaic inscriptions dating back to the 2nd century CE were uncovered in Elymais. Although the letters appear quite similar to the Mandaean ones, it is doubtful whether the inhabitants of Elymais were Mandaeans.[25] Under Parthian and early Sasanian rule, foreign religions were tolerated. The situation changed by the ascension of Bahram I in 273, who under the influence of the zealous Zoroastrian high priest Kartir persecuted all non-Zoroastrian religions. It is thought that this persecution encouraged the consolidation of Mandaean religious literature.[25] The persecutions instigated by Kartir seems to temporarily erase Mandaeans from recorded history. Traces of their presence can still however be found in the so-called Mandaean magical bowls and lead strips which were produced from the 3rd to the 7th centuries.[26]

The Mandaeans re-appear at the beginning of the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia, when their "head of the people" Anush son of Danqa appears before Muslim authorities showing them a copy of the Ginza Rabba, the Mandaean holy book, and proclaiming the chief Mandaean prophet to be John the Baptist, who is also mentioned in the Quran. The connection with the Quranic Sabians provided them acknowledgement as People of the Book, people who followed a legal minority religion within the Muslim Empire. They appear to have flourished during the early Islamic period, as attested by the voluminous expansion of Mandaic literature and canons. Tib near Wasit is particularly noted as an important scribal centre.[26] Yaqut al-Hamawi describes Tib as a town inhabited by Nabatean (i.e. Aramaic speaking) Sabians who consider themselves to be descendants of Seth, son of Adam.[26]

The status of the Mandaeans became an issue for the Abbasid al-Qahir Billah. To avoid further investigation by the authorities, the Mandaeans paid a bribe of 50,000 dinars and were left alone. It appears that the Mandaeans were even exempt from paying the Jizya, otherwise imposed upon non-Muslims.[26]

Early contact with Europeans came about in the mid-16th century, when Portuguese missionaries encountered Mandaeans in Southern Iraq and controversially designated them "Christians of St. John". In the next centuries Europeans became more acquainted with the Mandaeans and their religion.[26]

The Mandaeans suffered persecution under the Qajar rule in the 1780s. The dwindling community was threatened with complete annihilation, when a cholera epidemic broke out in Shushtar and half of its inhabitants died. The entire Mandaean priesthood perished and Mandeism was restored due only to the efforts of few learned men such as Yahia Bihram.[27] Another danger threatened the community in 1870, when the local governor of Shushtar massacred the Mandaeans against the will of the Shah.[27] As a result of these events the Mandaeans retired to the more inaccessible Central Marshes of Iraq.

Following the First World War, the Mandaeans were still largely living in rural areas in the lower parts of British protected Iraq and Iran. Owing to the rise of Arab nationalism, Mandaeans were Arabised at an accelerated rate, especially during the 1950s and '60s. The Mandaeans were also forced to abandon their stands on the cutting of hair and forced military service, which are strictly prohibited in Mandaeanism.[28]

The 2003 Iraq War brought more troubles to the Mandaeans, as the security situation deteriorated. Many members of the Mandaean community, who were known as goldsmiths, were targeted by criminal gangs for ransoms. The rise of Islamic Extremism forced thousands to flee the country, after they were given the choice of conversion or death.[29] It is estimated that around 90% of Iraqi Mandaeans were either killed or have fled after the American-led invasion.[29]

The Mandaeans of Iran lived chiefly in Ahvaz, Iranian Khuzestan, but have moved as a result of the Iran–Iraq War to other cities such as Tehran, Karaj and Shiraz. The Mandaeans, who were traditionally considered as People of the Book (members of a protected religion under Islamic rule) lost this status after the Islamic Revolution. However, despite this, Iranian Mandaeans still maintain successful businesses and factories in areas such as Ahwaz. In April 1996, the cause of the Mandaeans' religious status in the Islamic Republic was raised. The parliament came to the conclusion that "Sabaeans" were included in the protected status of People of the Book alongside Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians and specified that, from a legal viewpoint, there is no prohibition against Muslims associating with Mandaeans, who are often regarded as being the Sabaeans mentioned explicitly in the Quran. That same year, Ayatollah Sajjadi of Al-Zahra University in Qom posed three questions regarding the Mandaeans' beliefs and seemed satisfied with the answers. These rulings however, did not lead to Mandaeans regaining their more officially recognized status as People of the Book.[30]

Pre-Iraq War, The Iraqi Mandaean community was centered in Baghdad. The Mandeans originate, however, from southern Iraq in cities like Nasiriyah. Many also live across the border in Southwestern Iran in the cities of Ahvaz and Khorramshahr.[31] Mandaean emigration from Iraq began during Saddam Hussein's rule, but accelerated greatly after the American-led invasion and subsequent occupation.[32] Since the invasion Mandaeans, like other Iraqi ethno-religious minorities (such as Arameans, Armenians, Yazidi, Roma and Shabaks), have been subjected to violence, including murders, kidnappings, rapes, evictions, and forced conversions.[32][33] Mandaeans, like many other Iraqis, have also been targeted for kidnapping since many worked as goldsmiths.[32] Mandaeism is pacifistic and forbids its adherents from carrying weapons.[32][34]

Many Iraqi Mandaeans have fled the country in the face of this violence, and the Mandaean community in Iraq faces extinction.[35][36] Out of the over 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq in the early 1990s, fewer than 5,000 to 10,000 remain there as of 2007. In early 2007, more than 80% of Iraqi Mandaeans were refugees in Syria and Jordan as a result of the Iraq War. .[37] As of 2019, an Al-Monitor study estimated the Iraqi Mandaean population to be 3,000, 400 of which lived in the Erbil Governorate.[3]

The number of Iranian Mandaeans is a matter of dispute. In 2009, there were an estimated 5,000 and 10,000 Mandaeans in Iran, according to the Associated Press.[4] Alarabiya has put the number of Iranian Mandaeans as high as 60,000 in 2011.[38]

Until the Iranian Revolution, Mandaeans were mainly concentrated in the Khuzestan province, where the community used to coexist with the local Arab population. They were mainly employed as goldsmiths, passing their skills from generation to generation.[38] After the fall of the shah, its members faced increased religious discrimination, and many sought a new home in Europe and the Americas.

In Iran, the Gozinesh Law (passed in 1985) has the effect of prohibiting Mandaeans from fully participating in civil life. This law and other gozinesh provisions make access to employment, education, and a range of other areas conditional upon a rigorous ideological screening, the principal prerequisite for which is devotion to the tenets of Islam.[39] These laws are regularly applied to discriminate against religious and ethnic groups that are not officially recognized, such as the Mandaeans, Yarsanis and Baháʼís.[40]

In 2002 the US State Department granted Iranian Mandaeans protective refugee status; since then roughly 1,000 have emigrated to the US,[4] now residing in cities such as San Antonio, Texas.[41] On the other hand, the Mandaean community in Iran has increased over the last decade, because of the exodus from Iraq of the main Mandaean community, which used to be 50,000–70,000 strong.[42]

Following the Iraq War, the Mandaean community dispersed throughout the Middle East. Living as refugees the Mandaeans in Jordan number 49 families,[6] while in Syria there are as many as 1,250 families.[6]

There are small Mandaean diaspora populations in Sweden (c. 7,000), Australia (6,906 in 2016),[43] the US (c. 2,500), the UK (c. 1,000), and Canada.[35][44][45][46][47][48] Sweden became a popular destination because a Mandaean community existed there before the war and the Swedish government has a liberal asylum policy toward Iraqis. Of the 7000 Mandaeans in Sweden, 1,500 live in Södertälje.[44][49] The scattered nature of the Mandaean diaspora has raised fears among Mandaeans for the religion's survival. Mandaeism does not allow conversion, and the religious status of Mandaeans who marry outside the faith and their children is disputed.[4][33]

The status of the Mandaeans has prompted a number of American intellectuals and civil rights activists to call upon the U.S. government to extend refugee status to the community. In 2007, The New York Times ran an op-ed piece in which Swarthmore professor Nathaniel Deutsch called for the Bush administration to take immediate action to preserve the community.[37] Iraqi Mandaeans were given refugee status by the US State Department in 2007. Since then more than 2500 have entered the US, many settling in Worcester, Massachusetts.[4][50] The community in Worcester is believed to be the largest in the United States and the second largest community outside the Middle East.[16] 2,600 Mandaeans from Iran have been settled in Texas since the Iraq War.[51]

On the 15th of September 2018 the first ever purpose-built Beth Manda in Europe was consecrated in Dalby, Scania, Sweden named Beth Manda Yardna.[52][53]