The Mandaeans—Baptizers of Iraq and Iran

Baker

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781498246200
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

The secrets of a complex belief system that have sustained the Mandaeans in their centuries-old native lands in Iraq and Iran have been collapsing before their eyes. This little-known Gnostic sect has been hidden from global awareness until now. With a passion for the obscure, Karen Baker has delved into this secret sect, exploring the effects of the turmoil they have faced in their homeland, and are now facing in Diaspora. The Iraqi and Iranian Mandaeans have fled their homes with nothing more than the clothing on their backs, being thrust into the status of refugees, watching their traditions and cultures crumble as they encounter new lands and new cultures. This book discusses the potential receptivity of Mandaeans to Christianity through several perspectives including an evaluation of their relationship to the Gnosticism of the first through third centuries CE as well as its syncretic adaptations to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It will be of interest to those interested in little-known cultures from a historical and religious perspective; those involved with refugees and immigrants; and those who desire to understand the foundational beliefs of Mandaeism.

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Introduction

Introduction

The unrest in the Middle East has brought unprecedented opportunities to reach the unreached for Christ. The Mandaeans, a small gnostic sect, have been located primarily in southern Iraq and in southwestern Iran for centuries. This people group is classified as one of over 6,500 unreached people groups. Being defined as unreached by mission organizations means that less than two percent of the population is identified as evangelical Christians. It is a “people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize the group without outside assistance.”1 Two percent of the indigenous population has been used by the Joshua Project as the minimum percentage of a population necessary in order to impact the entire group.

The unreached status of the Mandaeans comes first from their geographic isolation in Iraq and Iran, historically making them physically inaccessible to missionary efforts. Second, their hostility to outsiders has prevented influence even from Arab Christians within Iraq and Persian Christians in Iran. Third, their gnostic belief system has been relatively unknown to Christian organizations even to the present time. Thus, usual methods of evangelism have not penetrated this sect. Their belief system is not an aberration of Judeo-Christian doctrines, nor is it a derivation of any of the major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, or even tribal or animistic practices. Because the Mandaean beliefs are in a category of their own and because of their traditional isolation from and hostility toward outsiders, reaching them has been virtually impossible geographically and philosophically.

The quest to discover who the Mandaeans are is not easily satisfied because, first, ascertaining the name of the sect is a challenge. For every name, there are different spellings; for every spelling, there are different groups, some of which have no relationship to the people of this study. The names used include: Sabia Al-Mandaean, usually shortened to Sabian; Sabaean; Subba (meaning baptizers, those who immerse themselves in water); Sabba; Mendaia or Mendai; Sabbi; and St. John Christians, later corrected to John the Baptist rather than the Apostle John.2

Part of the reason for this confusion is the secretive nature of the people themselves. Although some have revealed some of their secrets to various authors, the information is not always consistent. Even within the sect, knowledge of beliefs, practices, and history among its adherents is neither widely understood nor consistent. Their self-identification varies based on the listener. To someone they consider unfriendly, they will call themselves one of the various forms of Sabaean, but within their community and to friendly outsiders, they identify themselves as Mandaeans.3 This book refers to this people group as Mandaean unless a direct quote uses another name.

Second, further complicating the matter is the fact that “Mandaean” refers to one who both belongs to a specific ethnic group and adheres to a specific religious belief. “Once they have abandoned their specific religious identity, they cease to exist as a separate ethnic group.”4 Thus, finding Mandaeans who may have converted to another religion is difficult as they may no longer respond to the ethnicity of Mandaeism in a census. The Mandaeans have lived in seclusion for centuries along the marshes of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq and the Karun River in Iran. The world around them, primarily Muslim, has had little influence on their ancient practices. However, since the early years of the twenty-first century, the tumult of the Middle East has forced their dispersion to twenty-five countries around the world.

The total, worldwide population of Mandaeans is difficult to estimate for three reasons: 1) conflicting and unavailable information, and the lack of specifics on this population within the greater populations of the countries they live in (especially Iraq and Iran); 2) identification of Mandaeans who are no longer in Iraq, Iran, or the Middle East; 3) lack of clarity regarding the identity of Mandaeans who have left the sect. Using the most conservative and most current estimates in 2017, there are between 30,000–70,000 Mandaeans worldwide.5

Population distribution is even harder to obtain due to political unrest in Iraq and Iran, and emigration patterns that are difficult to track.6 The countries with the highest estimated numbers of Mandaeans are: Sweden (10,500), Australia (10,000), Iran (10,000), Canada (6,000), Iraq (5,000), the United States (4,000), and Holland (4,000). Within the United States, there are small Mandaean communities in Michigan, California, Florida, Texas, Nebraska, Massachusetts, and Maryland.7 However, even these locations fluctuate in the United States due to internal migration and the lack of official tracking of immigrants who are in America legally. Finally, the term Mandaean refers both to one who belongs to a specific ethnic group and to one who adheres to a specific religious belief. Their ethnicity is tied to their religion, and if one leaves the religious sect, he is no longer considered ethnically Mandaean.8

Pre-2003 estimates of the worldwide population of Mandaeans ranged from 60,000 to 100,000. Because of the inability to convert into the sect, and the decreasing access to priests throughout all of these locations, continuing their rituals and traditions has become increasingly untenable. “After more than 2,000 years of practicing their gnostic faith almost entirely in Iraq and Iran, some Mandaean-Americans fear their ancient beliefs may fade in the U.S. unless they can agree on a cultural course that keeps traditions intact while dealing with the pressures of American society.”9 Some predict that the Mandaeans are on the brink of extinction; that the Mandaeans will be fully decimated within 30 years; or certainly by the end of this century.10

The three wars in Iraq and the ongoing conflict have had the potential of bringing not only physical freedom, but also spiritual freedom to the Iraqi Mandaeans. The Persian Gulf War (1990–91), Operation Desert Storm (1990–91), Operation Freedom (2003–11), and the presence of ISIS (2014–present) have produced the largest Diaspora of Mandaeans in history, scattering Mandaeans throughout the world.

Persecution of this people group began with Saddam Hussein’s forces. In the aftermath of the Iraqi government’s demise, sectarian and criminal groups, extremists from both Shiite and Sunni Muslims, have persistently targeted the Mandaeans. Some of the methods used to harass and intimidate both adults and children have included: rape of women in front of their husbands; forced marriage of Mandaean women and young girls to Muslim men; rape of young girls; forced male circumcision (a sin in their religion); kidnapping for ransom; illegal confiscation of property; bombing and burning of their homes and shops; executions for refusal to convert to Islam; forced circumcision of young boys, making them ineligible to be Mandaeans; pressure to evac...