High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
Always a Stranger – The Future of the Mandaean Community inthe “New Iraq.”
Shane E. Hensinger Politics of the Middle East Professor Simon Davis New York University
Table of Contents
Mandaean Beginnings ..............................................................................................3Early life in Mandaean communities ......................................................................4Arab Nationalism, Baathism and the Mandaeans ....................................................4The Iran-Iraq War and Mandaeans in Iran ...............................................................6Mandaeans from Gulf War I to Gulf War II .............................................................7The Mandaean Community in the “New Iraq.” .......................................................7Conclusion .............................................................................................................10Works Cited ............................................................................................................12
Abstract
The Mandaean community in Iraq has survived for over 2,000 years bymaintaining a strong sense of cohesiveness rooted in the waters of the riversTigris and Euphrates and the marshes and rivers of Southern Iraq. Mandaeanshave weathered invasions by Muslims, Mongols, Persians and Turks and through persistence and ingenuity have kept their small community together. In the face of overwhelming numerical superiority by Sunni and Shiite Muslims they have proven resilient, following the commands of their faith to use knowledge,dialogue and escape as the main weapons of self-defense.The invasion of Iraq in 2003 by coalition forces led by the Americans and theBritish was welcomed by the Mandaean community who thought they would benefit from the promises of tolerance and democracy made by the politicalleaders of the invading armies. Mandaeans are a pacifist people, strictly forbidden by their religion from carrying weapons. The chaos and violence unleashed by theinvasion has decimated their community – ordinary Mandaeans, their leaders andlay people have all been targets for assassination, kidnapping, forced conversion,torture, rape, expulsion and other forms of violence. Their temples have beentargeted for destruction and their numbers have been reduced from an estimated50,000 - 60,000 before the invasion to an estimated 2,500 - 5,000 today.This is the story of an ancient people in an ancient land who have foundthemselves thrust into the geopolitical maelstrom created by forces beyond their control. This project is the narrative of their attempts to find a place in the “newIraq” amid the dawning realization that to save themselves and their religious andcultural identity the Mandaeans may have to abandon the land of their forefathers,the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates or what today is referred to as“Iraq.”2
Mandaean Beginnings
The Mandaean religion is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world.Commonly (and mistakenly) referred to as “The Last Gnostics” Mandaeans arefollowers of John the Baptist and are completely independent of Judaism,Christianity or Islam. They consider themselves the true children of Adam, thefirst man and in particular the direct descendants of Shem, son of Noah. In Arabicthe Mandaean community are sometimes called “Sabeans” (sābi ūn) and arethought by some to be the group referred to in the Qur’an as protected (Ahl al-Kitāb) “people of the book” along with Christians and Jews (Lupieri 3).Mandaeans have traditionally spoken a dialect of Aramaic but the pressures of cultural homogenization have led to a decline in the number of native speakersand the majority of Mandaeans now speak only Arabic or in Iran – Farsi.As are the beginnings of most religions early Mandaean history is shrouded inmystery, but it is thought Mandaeans came to Iraq and Iran within 30 years of thecrucifixion of Jesus. Mandaeans view both Christians and Jews as unclean and because they do not practice circumcision are particularly appalled by that particular Jewish custom. They also are opposed to celibacy for priests and intheir ancient texts compare Christianity to “a dried up river” (Lupieri 252)Mandaeans require free flowing water (
Iardna
) for their religious purposes and sohistorically they have settled near rivers, springs and streams. In Mesopotamiaand the Persian Empire the locations of the Tigris and Euphrates and Karun riversand in particular the delta of the Tigris and the Euphrates proved hospitable to theMandaeans.The water Mandaeans use for consumption and for baptism cannot be “broken”,meaning it cannot be piped or taken from its original free-flowing source such asa river or a spring. Mandaean services mandate full-immersion baptism at leastonce a week and more often when “polluted.” Examples of pollution are manyand include eating meat that hasn’t been prepared in the Mandaean-ritual fashionor having any contact with a woman who is menstruating (Weinberger).In Iraq and Iran the Mandaeans developed the historical trades they would carryforward into the modern age – goldsmiths, blackmiths, carpenters, jewelers and inthe modern era proprietors of liquor stores, physicians and pharmacists (Saidi,Int). They developed their own tight-knit communities in Southern Mesopotamia,Baghdad and as far north as Mosul (Lupieri 7). In the Persian empire Mandaeanssettled primarily in the ethnic-Arab province of Arabistan (Khuzestan).3
Add a Comment
LakeHMMleft a comment
HisRoyalHighness replied: