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| Iraq | |
| Sabians seek cabinet ministry | |
| 2010-07-10 | |
“The sect’s leadership has taken a decision since 2003 to seek independence in opinion and avoid alliances with one group at the expense of another. This decision has helped improve the Sabian Mandaeans’ relations with all political powers in Iraq and we plan to continue our approach during the current parliamentary session,” Khalid Amin al-Roumi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “We are definitely interested in seeing an Iraqi government formed as soon as possible but the sect’s leadership demands a role in this government like any other groups of the Iraqi people,” Roumi added. The Mandaean Sabians spread in different areas of southern Iraqi provinces and near rivers, which they believe as sources of purity, sanctity, growth and life. Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram, and espcially John the Baptist. They describe Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as false Prophets. Mandaeans consider John the Baptist to be God’s most honorable messenger. Worldwide, there are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans, and until the 2003 Iraq war, almost all of them lived in Iraq. The 2003 Iraq war reduced the population of Iraqi Mandaeans to approximately 5,000 by 2007. Most Iraqi Mandaeans fled to Syria and Jordan under the threat of violence by Islamic extremists and the turmoil of the war. Mandaeism has historically been practiced primarily in the country around the lower Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt al-Arab. In Islam, the term Sabian is used as a blanket term for adherents to a number of religions, including that of the Mandaeans. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |