Sabian Mandaeans are an ancient ethnoreligious minority who claim ancestry to John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus. Mandaean communities still exist in limited numbers in the border territories of southern Iraq and Iran. They speak a version of Aramaic known as Mandaic. Neither Christianity, Islam, Judaism nor Zoroasterism, the Mandaean religion contains a variety of ancient elements that attest to the group’s antiquity. Their faith is a proto-religion that asserts that they descended from Adam – who they consider to be the first to receive Mandaean religious instructions.
Family is held to be of the highest importance in Mandaean life.[1]
The term ‘Mughasilah’ is first seen in the writings of Muhammad Ibn Ishaq Ibn Al-Nadim. Ibn al-Nadim wrote about a baptizing sect that he calls Sabat al-bata’ih (Sabians of the Marshes).[2] He also calls them informally al- Mughasilah: “the Baptists” or “ones who wash themselves.” The Mandaeans resided in the marshy area of the lower plains of Babylonia and continue to live predominately in and around Shat al-Arab and the rivers that converge on it. As is the case with Christians and Jews, Islamic teaching grants Mandeans “dhimmi” status and classification as a “protected” sect. Traditionally, when a Mandaean family converts to another religion, they are no longer considered Mandaean, even if ethnic identity is not abandoned.
Demography
At present, there are thought to be around 70,000 Mandaeans. Due to continuous forced conversions and violence, the Mandaean numbers have greatly declined. Since the first Gulf War, thousands of Mandaeans have left Iraq and Iran due to oppression and discrimination.[3]
Geographic Distribution
The group’s ancestry can be traced back thousands of years to ancient Mesopotamia.[4] The majority of the Iranian population can be found in Khuzestan Province.
Historic Hardship
As early as the 3rd century C.E., Mandaeans were discriminated against on the basis of their ethnic and religious identity. In 224, the Mandaeans were persecuted by the Sassanians, the group that defeated the Parthians.
As a small minority, the group has been regularly oppressed over the centuries, with five documented massacres or ‘pogroms’ against them: 14th century in Umara by Sultan Muhsin Ben Mahdi; 1782 in southern Iran and eastern Iraq during a Muslim conquest; 1837 in Muhamra; and 1870 in Shuster by the ruler of Iran, Nassir Al-Deen Shah.[5]
Ongoing Hardship
Continued discrimination towards the Mandaeans in Iran persists due to the practice of gozinesh, or selection, which was adopted by the Guardians’ Council (the body charged with reviewing laws and policies to ensure compliance with Islam and the constitution). Gozinesh applies to all unofficial religious and ethnic groups, restricting participation in many vital areas of civic life, particularly education.[6]
