Mandaean Blog by Noah Kimit

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I received an inspiring e-mail today from a young Mandaean in England, Noah Kimit. He is a 16-year old who is trying to raise awareness about the plight of his people and do humanitarian work. He has created a new blog that he hopes you will read www.mandaean.wordpress.com where he writes regularly, and is trying to set up a website for his organization: Mandaean Humanitarian Movement. Currently he is planning a campaign through England's churches to collect donations for those in need. Please put a link to Noah's blog on yours if you can, and help direct readers to his site.

Book Note: The Great Stem of Souls. Reconstructing Mandaean History (Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley)

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Gorgias Press released in 2005 a book by Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, The Great Stem of Souls: Reconstructing Mandaean History. For those of you interested in Mandaeism and Gnosticism, this is a must-have reference book. It is a modern reconstruction of Mandaean history.

How did Buckley achieve this? By studying the colophons in manuscript editions of the Ginza, Canonical Prayerbook, Book of John, and other sources including Lady Drower's personal papers and letters given to Buckley by Drower's daughter. Colophons are lists of scribes and the scribal postscripts that are appended to most Mandaean manuscripts. The list of scribes extends from the current copyist all the way back to the first scribe recorded to have copied the manuscript. They present the name of the scribe and his lineage. It is quite genius I think to work through these lists as a way to resurrect Mandaean history.

I find it extremely interesting that some of the names recovered are names of women priests who were initiated into the religion by their biological fathers who were priests. This view is against the dominant one in scholarship, that there weren't ever women Mandaean priests. Buckley says this is wrong, and quotes several present-day Mandaeans who remember their ancestors talking about women priests in the past. Buckley has detected 24 women priests in the Mandaean colophons. The dates for the women she detected: ca. 200, 700, 750-800, 1300, 15th c. to early 16th c., 17th c. to mid-19th c. (pp. 181-182).

In the end, Buckley postulates that the Mandaeans are at least as old as 30 CE, that they left Palestine via the Wadi Hauran route and went to Media. Although they may have initially been a Jewish group connected to John the Baptist, they turned against Judaism in much the same way that the Jewish-Christians polemicized against Paul and pro-Gentile Christianity. She thinks that their Gnostic religiosity is very old, that they may be our oldest example of mid-first-century Gnostics. By 200 CE they were well-established in Media and lived along the trade routes tied to the Silk Road. It is in Media, she suggests, that their traditions absorbed Zoroastrian and maybe Christian ideas. She suggests that "we view the Mandaeans as the earliest example of a wide-ranging group - possible moving from Palestine to Media - creating our first evidence for Gnostic religiosity" (p. 341).

Hearing Testimony on Iraqi refugees and Mandaean Plight

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On July 25th, a hearing was held to discuss the situation of Iraqi refugees and the Mandaeans in particular. This is the record of the testimony. For the testimony about the Mandaeans, click here for Dr. Suhaib Nashi's statement. After recounting the history of the Mandaean population and their current crisis, Dr. Nashi said:

We ask of you the following:

  • That the United States Government act immediately to prevent the humanitarian disaster in the making. The USA government should take a leading role to step up and save the Mandaeans and other minorities in Iraq .
  • That the Departments of State and Homeland Security create specific guidelines that recognize that Mandaeans will in all likelihood not be safe from persecution in Iraq and should therefore provide Mandaeans with permanent protection by accepting them for resettlement with Priority One or Priority Two refugee visas similar to the Iranian Mandaeans.
  • That the US government expands the number of Iraqi refugees accepted to a much higher number and that special consideration is given to the Mandaeans and other vulnerable groups.
  • That the State Department allow United States Mandaeans who have relatives seeking asylum in Syria or Jordan to be able to sponsor these refugees to the United States.
  • That the US government should allocate funding and encourage other governments, especially the Iraqi government, to do the same for programs to provide the Iraqi refugees with the necessary means for safe and secure living on urgent bases.

Recommendations from Refugees International

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Here is a link to recommendations that are now being made by Refugees International for Iraqi Refugees. Many of these refugees are Mandaeans who are in very vulnerable situations because of their religious affiliation as neither Jew nor Christian nor Muslim.

Iraqi Refugees: Time for the UN to Fully Engage

Refugees International recommends:

The United Nations:
  • The Secretary General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator take a leadership role in directing cooperation between UN agencies, the establishment of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the region, and effective country team management.
  • Operational agencies, such as UNICEF, the World Food Program, and the World Health Organization, make responding to Iraqi refugees’ needs a priority of their work in countries hosting Iraqis; coordinate increased activities and appeals with UNHCR; and establish contingency plans to respond to the refugee crisis in the medium term.
  • UN country teams in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon make responding to the Iraqi refugee crisis a priority; better coordinate the overall UN response in each country; and join UNHCR in advocating with host governments to respect the rights of Iraqi refugees.
  • OCHA immediately establish a presence in the region to provide information and coordination support to UN agencies responding to the needs of Iraqi refuges.
Donor governments:

  • Fully fund all current and future UN appeals to respond to the Iraq displacement crisis;
  • Engage directly with individual UN agencies and insist on their greater involvement in the region.

Catholic Bishops urge Secretary Rice to increase aid to Iraqi refugees

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Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio have just returned form a mission to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. They have written a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezz Rice (dated July 26). An e-version of their letter can be read here. They voice their concern about the Iraqi refugees (Mandaeans are a vulnerable part of this population) who are “in dire need of additional support from the United States and the international community.” The bishops highlighted in their letter that the basic needs of the refugees and their families are not being met, including medical care. They say that the children are particularly vulnerable.

A 7-minute Video: Mandaeans Struggle to Keep Their Faith Alive

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James Angelos, Mary Catherine Brouder, and Peter Cox have produced a video for News21 called "An Ancient Religion Endangered by Iraq War: Mandaeans Struggle To Keep Their Faith Alive".

Here is the link to the video. It is absolutely worth taking the time to view. I haven't been able to figure out how to make a direct stream to my blog, so to view it you will have to go to this link.

Dr. Charles Haberi of Rutgers is interviewed, along with several Mandaeans who are living in the States. There are several clips of baptisms of men, women, and children, and images of a Mandaean wedding. The point of the video is to show that the Mandaeans are scattered in a diaspora, and without help, they will not survive.

This is the written accompanying report from News21 about their conference held in Canada:

CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO–It is one of the oldest religions in the world, predating Christianity. Mandaeans see John the Baptist as their greatest teacher and ritual baptisms are a staple of their faith. They speak a dialect of ancient Aramaic and are the only surviving Gnostic faith. Despite their antiquity, the Mandaean religion and people are in danger.

For two millennia, they've lived in Iraq. But since 2003, they've been leaving en masse, fleeing attacks by Islamic extremists who consider them infidels. Prior to the fighting, scholars estimate 60,000 Mandaeans lived in Iraq. Today there are fewer than 5,000. Most have fled to Syria and Jordan, among the nearly two million Iraqi refugees.

There are roughly 1,000 Mandaeans now living in North America, admitted as refugees during Saddam Hussein's reign. They are lobbying Congress to allow their Iraqi relatives to join them in the United States, where they hope to keep the their faith alive.

Mandaean Press Release

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The press release supporting Bill 2265 is beginning to circulate on the web. Here is another version on the web. If you have been directed to this website to find out more information about the Mandaeans and the situation of genocide that they face, please click here for earlier posts and here for access to my webpage. Please do what you can to support this important bill. It is the matter of life or death for many suffering people.

For More Information about the Mandaeans

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Noam Chomsky Supports Bill 2265

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Professors John Bolender of Mandaean Crisis International and Noam Chomsky asked me to post this statement in support of Bill 2265. If you wish to leave your own endorsement, please leave your name and city of residence (and any additional words) in the comments. If you wish to write directly to Congress in support of this bill's passage, please do so immediately since it is in committee right now. This link will take you to a template letter.

Professor Chomsky writes:
"I would like to express my strong support for HR 2265, the very least we can do for the people of Iraq who are suffering so bitterly from the consequences of the US-UK invasion and earlier actions, including their strong support for Saddam Hussein through his worst atrocities and well beyond. I hope particularly that the Mandaeans will be high on the priority list for rescue, in the light of the suffering they have endured and their highly vulnerable situation."
Noam Chomsky is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at MIT. He revolutionized the study of language, and of mind generally, with his arguments for the role of transformations of mental representations in generating syntactic structures, in contrast to the earlier view that
language is fundamentally, perhaps even wholly, behavioral and cultural. He has also written prodigiously on the unfairness of many power structures in society, the use of the newsmedia as propaganda tools for maintaining those structures, and the sometimes negative effects of U.S. foreign policy.

Urgent! Bill 2265 to Help Iraqi Immigrants including Mandaeans

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It has come to my attention that Bill 2265 which would confer immigration status to the U.S. for many religious minorities in Iraq, including Mandaeans, is going to the House of Representatives soon for a vote. This is the time (ASAP) to send a(nother) letter to our legislators urging them to vote in favor of 2265. Let's swamp them with letters and e-mails!

The following is a possible letter which you can use or alter as you see fit. For addresses, see my previous post.

Dear _______________________:

I would like to alert you to the suffering of the Iraqi Mandaeans, who desperately need immigrant status in western nations, and urge you to vote for bill 2265.

The Mandaeans, or Sabian-Mandaeans, are an ethnic group whose monotheistic religion is one of the oldest in the Middle East. They are followers of John the Baptist. Baptism is their main form of religious activity. The Mandaean religion began at the time of Jesus and has historical connections to ancient Gnostic movements.

The traditional homeland of the Mandaeans is in Iraq and Iran, but recent persecutions have greatly decreased their numbers in those areas. The precise total number of Mandaeans worldwide is not known but approximates 70,000. But at present only five to seven thousand
remain in Iraq, with many having fled to Syria, Jordan, and Sweden as well as other countries. Mandaeans in Iraq are targeted for killing, kidnapping, and confiscation of property.

Unlike other victims of sectarian violence in Iraq, Mandaeans cannot flee to a protective enclave within the country, nor can they defend themselves with their own militia. Their religion being strictly pacifist, Mandaeans carry no weapons. The spread of extremist ideology has resulted in the targeting of "infidels" and especially the defenseless, pacifist group the Mandaeans. The police often refuse to intervene. Since Mandaeans have no voice in the Iraqi parliament and no direct connection to any member of government, the government has taken little action to protect them.

Although many Mandaeans have taken refuge in Syria and Jordan, these countries are not able to accommodate the huge influx of Iraqi refugees on a permanent basis. Normally, a refugee from Iraq is granted a three-month visa with an extension of up to six months in certain cases, after which time they are living in the country illegally if they continue to stay, even though a Mandaean's returning to Iraq is fraught with danger.

Please see the Mandaean Human Rights report for 2007:
http://www.mandaeanunion.org/HMRG/Sabian%20Mandaeans%20in%20Iraq%20Face%20Annihilation_2007%20MHRG%20report.pdf
Thank you very much for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Mandaeans and the Sixth Stage of Genocide

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There was just posted on the Mandaean list-serve, a letter from Dr. Gregory Stanton, the President of Genocide Watch, in Washington D.C. He is deeply concerned about the Mandaeans and believes them to be experiencing at least the sixth stage of genocide.

Please, join the Mandaean Emergency Campaign to help the humanitarian lobby for their immediate relocation as refugees of the Iraqi War. They are a religious minority, the last Gnostics with religious roots in antiquity. They are a baptizing community. One of their leaders is John the Baptist. They have some communities in the diaspora, mainly in big cities like Detroit and Houston, communities that are willing to help the Iraqi Mandaeans relocate.

Help for the Mandaeans

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I have some more news about the Mandaean Emergency Campaign. It appears that congress is starting to listen to our letters and the Mandaean Society of America's lobby.

Please if you haven't already, send your letters! The more attention we bring to their plight, the more likely the State Department will grant them refugee resettlement status. It is a vital moment in the push to get the Mandaeans refugee status. Here is an earlier link to template letter form and addresses.

The Associated Press has reported that four Republicans and one Democrat (Joseph R. Pitts, R-Pa., Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Michael E. Capuano, D-Mass., and Marilyn N. Musgrave, R-Colo.) have sent a letter on Tuesday to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice urging the Bush administration to do more to help will appropriate resettlement programs for Mandaean refugees that have fled to Jordan, Syria, Yemen and Indonesia, where they are still be persecuted.
Judy Redman sent me a link to a BBC report from March 4th about their continued persecution. Jim Davila has posted on this Associated Press Report earlier today. My thanks to both of them!
The letter states that the refugee resettlement program in the U.S. should be expanded to include the Mandaeans. The Associated Press quotes two congress representatives as saying:
"The cost of doing nothing could very well be the disappearance of an entire ethno-religious minority. Clearly, we must not let that happen," Pitts said.

"I felt it essential for me to write Secretary Rice and request her assistance with the Mandaean refugees because their cause was very compelling," Gohmert said. "They are seeking religious freedom."
Mr. Nashi, the spokesperson for the Mandaean Society of America, hopes that the support from the congress members will place more focus on Mandaeans as a "special group among other refugees. I hope it will produce some action from the Department of State towards accepting (Mandaeans) as a small vulnerable ethnic-religious group," Nashi said, according to the Associated Press report.

Kurtis Cooper, a U.S. State Department spokesman, said that the plight of Mandaeans is something the department is aware of.

Professor Bolender starts "Mandaean Crisis International"

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Professor John Bolender is the president of a new organization called Mandaean Crisis International. He has written to me about his organization. If you are interested in joining his efforts, he can be contacted by e-mail or snail mail:
bolender@metu.edu.tr

now until Sept. 5th, snail mail address
John Bolender
904 Loop Road
Piketon, OH 45661

after Sept. 5, snail mail address
John Bolender
Department of Philosophy
Middle East Technical University
Ankara 06531
Turkey
The purpose of Mandaean Crisis International is to bring the attention of the international community to the plight of Mandaeans, especially those currently suffering in Iraq. Mandaean Crisis International makes use of the internet as a means of linking individuals, NGOs, and other organizations around the world to form a pressure group for the defense of Mandaean rights worldwide.

For more information on what the Mandaeans are facing everyday, I refer you to a couple of articles on the web written by Professor Bolender.
http://www.counterpunch.org/bolender01082005.html

http://www.mandaeanunion.org/HMRG/EN_HMRG_015.html

Some Successes to Report about the Mandaean Emergency Campaign

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Dr. Nashi, the leader of the Mandaean Society of America, has written me about what has happened in Washington, D.C. last week when he went to lobby for the Mandaeans with the State Department, UNHCR, the US Refugee Council, and those on the Hill.

He reports that the State Department and UNHCR are resistant to the recommendation that the Mandaeans be considered as a group for refugee status. So cases will still be handled on an individual by individual basis.

However, three positive steps have been achieved from his visit and lobby:

First, some of the most vulnerable cases will be considered immediately, those cases involving Mandaean women, children and victims of torture.

Second, the State Department is willing to consider some cases involving reuniting families with members already in the US. This will benefit a small number of Mandaeans, but it still is a step forward.

Third, some senators agreed to sign a joint letter to Dr. Rice about the Mandaeans.

Please, if you haven't already, I urge you to send letters to Washington. Click here to be taken to an earlier post with information on addresses and a template letter.

Mandaean Emergency Campaign Update

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Dr. Suhaib Nashi, the spokesperson for the Mandaean Society of America, has sent me a copy of the report produced in January 2007 by the Mandaean Human Rights Group recounting the annihilation facing the Mandaeans in Iraq. The report is 31 pages long, providing documentation of the genocide occuring (sadly still even as I write this entry). The Mandaean Associations Union has an archive of related materials.

I also am providing a link to Dr. Paula Dobriansky's video report (Feb. 14, 2007) about displaced Iraqis and Iraq refugees and the urgent need to provide solutions for their resettlement and assistance, especially for those who need assylum. To view on the report, click the story label "Outlining a Strategy for Helping Iraqi Refugees."

Dr. Nashi encourages a letter campaign. In an earlier blog entry, I posted a template letter. He says that we should send our letters requesting that they treat the Mandaean cases not as individual cases but as a collective group threatened with annihilation to:
1. our representatives in Congress and the Senate
2. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, State Department, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520
3. Dr. Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, State Department, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520
4. Ellen Sauerbrey, Assistant Secretary for the US Government's Refugee Operations, State Department, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520


Mandaean Emergency Campaign

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Since my last post on the international crisis that the Mandaeans face, I have been in contact with Professor Jorunn Buckley (Bowdoin) and Professor Charles Häberl (Rutgers) who have been tirelessly working for years as activists on behalf of the Mandaean community. I have also been in touch with the leader of the Mandaean Society of America, Dr. Suhaib Nashi. All welcome and encourage our help. Dr. Nashi says that the situation is dire. Mandaeans by the thousands have fled Iraq to Syria and Jordan. Most are in hiding for fear of their lives. Professor John Bolender (Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey) is forming a group, the Mandaean Crisis International, which will assist in the campaign to save the Mandaeans.

I would like to ask you to help. How?

1. Link or copy this post and the previous one to your own internet resources.

2. Copy the letter below and send it immediately to your congress representatives and senators. All the addresses can be found here. If you don't want to deal with snail mail, then send it by e-mail. But I can tell you that letters are taken more seriously if they are on letterhead and are hard copies. What we need is NUMBERS.

3. If you have connections to a Media department (universities all have them), send this letter to them or write one of your own. If you can, draw their attention to any local communities of Mandaeans living in your area. Do what you can to get the media in your town publishing articles about this state of emergency.

4. If you are teaching, talk to your students about this. Tell them who the Mandaeans are and what they are facing as a persecuted religious minority in Iraq. Get the word out.

5. Here are weblinks that might serve as resources for you about the Mandaeans.

http://www.iranmanda.com/index.html

http://www.mandaeanunion.org/

http://www.mandaic.org/

http://www.gnosis.org/library/mand.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandaic_language

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandaic_alphabet


LETTER TO COPY AND DISTRIBUTE

DATE:

RE: Mandaean Emergency Campaign

TO:

The Houston Chronicle published a syndicated AP article on Saturday, February 10, 2007, that reported some startling statistics I hope to bring to your immediate attention. In the early 1990s, there were 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq. Today, the estimates range from 5,000 to 7,000. This special religious population is facing extermination.

Who are the Mandaeans? They are a persecuted religious minority whose homelands are Iraq and Iran. The Mandaeans are the only surviving Gnostic religion from antiquity. Mandaeans esteem John the Baptist as one of their greatest teachers. They practice multiple baptisms in rivers in order to journey to the world of light which they consider to be a better place than earth. Their books are very old, written in Mandaic, a Semitic dialect.

Many Mandaeans are trying to flee Iraq as they are targeted by Islamic extremists. They are being killed, raped, and forced to convert to Islam. Their properties are being confiscated by these extremists, according to a report released last week by the Mandaean Society of America in Trenton, New Jersey. Many Mandaeans are convinced that very soon there will be no Mandaeans alive in Iraq if we do not help them immediately.

There is a lobby working in Washington, D.C. to get the Mandaeans out of Iraq, as well as Jordan and Syria where many have fled, but still suffer abuse. They have no easy way to escape to countries like the US where they would be safe. On January 17, 2007 congressional testimony by Assistant Secretary Ellen Sauerbrey said that the department has been expanding the ability of the US to bring in more Iraqi refugees, including the special populations of religious minorities. Dr. Suhaib Nashi, the leader of the Mandaean Society of America, will be sending a letter to Capital Hill in the next few days, with details about the crisis that his community faces.

I would like to draw your attention to the genocide that is occurring among this special population, and ask you to do whatever is in your power to help bring into the US these refugees. There are already established Mandaean communities in cities like Houston and Detroit. The Mandaeans who live in the US and are established in professions and businesses, are willing to assist fleeing families from abroad, if only we can get those families here.

For further information, you may contact:
  • Professor Jorunn Buckley, Bowdoin College, 7300 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011; jbuckley@bowdoin.edu; 207-725-3687.
  • Professor Charles Häberl, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854; mustashriq@gmail.com; 732- 445-8444 Ext. 17.
  • Professor April DeConick, Rice University, MS 15, Houston, Texas 77251; adeconick@rice.edu; 713-348-4995.
This is an extremely urgent matter, and I ask that you give it your immediate attention.

Sincerely,


Name:
Address:
Phone:

How Can We Help the Mandaeans Survive?

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I continue to be very worried and afraid for the Mandaeans, especially those trying to live in Iraq. The Mandaeans or "Knowers" are the only surviving Gnostic religion from antiquity. Their homelands primarily are Iraq and Iran. Mandaeans esteem John the Baptist as one of their heros. They practice multiple baptisms in rivers in order to journey to the world of light which they consider to be a better place than earth. These soul journeys are meant to prepare them for death, so that when the soul is released from the body it will know the way home and not become lost in purgatories along the way. Their books are very old, written in Mandaic, a Semitic dialect.

The Houston Chronicle today published an article that reported some startling statistics. In the early 1990s, there were 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq. Today, the estimates range from 5,000 to 7,000. Many are trying to flee Iraq as they are a targeted by Islamic extremists. They are being killed, raped, and forced to convert to Islam. Their properties are being confiscated by these extremists, according to a report released last week by the Mandaean Society of America in Trenton, New Jersey. Many Mandaeans are convinced that very soon there will be no Mandaeans alive in Iraq.

Mandaeans leaders say that they are being scattered around the world now. They are becoming a diaspora community for the first time in almost two thousand years. There is a lot of concern about the survival of this Gnostic religion, not only because the Mandaeans are being killed, but also because of the consequences of the diaspora. They are beginning to marry outside the faith. Their spouses and children can never be Mandaeans since one must be born Mandaean to claim the religion. They have no mechanism (yet?) to bring children from mixed marriages into the fold. The few dozen Mandaean priests left are reluctant to agree on a mechanism for this.

There is a lobby working in Washington, D.C. to get the Mandaeans out of Iraq, as well as Jordan and Syria where many have fled, but still suffer abuse. They have no easy way to escape to countries like the US where they would be safe. It is not a powerful lobby because their numbers are so few. On January 17, congressional testimony by Assistant Secretary Ellen Sauerbrey said that the department has been expanding the ability of the US to bring in more Iraqi refugees, including the special populations of religious minorities.

How can we help them? Practical suggestions are encouraged.