Corresponding from Baghdad for the non-profit Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), trainee Luma al-Shumary noted that the capital city’s Mandaeans “have suffered ten murders and more than 13 kidnappings in just three months.”

In Iraq’s current environment, the non-violent Mandaeans are obvious targets for thieves as members are generally gold and silversmiths or jewelers by trade and don’t carry weapons.

What is not known is whether the group inadvertently serves as microcosm into the effect of post-war lawlessness on all Iraqis or if the Mandaeans are marked for their religious beliefs. Said to be the last surviving Gnostic order, Mandaeans are strict monotheists who claim Adam as the first Mandaean and, around the second century, adopted John the Baptist as “their last great teacher and healer.” These Judeo-Christian figures aside, Mandaeans’ rejections of Moses, Jesus and Mohammed have meant a long history of persecution and forced conversions.

Devotees of water, Mandaeans practice ritual cleansing. Iraqi Mandaeans have lived along the Lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers for over a millennium, but have begun to emigrate to the West, including the United States.

While their exact numbers are not known, Mandaeanworld.com offers a conservative estimate of 30,000-50,000 members throughout Iraq and 5,000-10,000 in Iran, with hundreds of others worldwide, including in the United States. However, Al-Shumary ventured 100,000 Mandaeans now reside in Baghdad and another 100,000 are sprinkled throughout Iraq, Iran, Australia and Sweden.

Sources:
Ancient Sect Targeted by Luma al-Shumary in Baghdad (ICR No. 45, 22-Jan-04)