The Ninth Mandaean Camp Niagara Falls
Mandaeism or Mandaeanism (Mandaic: Mandaiuta, Arabic: مندائية MandÄ’iyya, Persian: مندائیان) is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. “The Mandaeans are pacifists, followers of Adam, Noah and John the Baptist.“ The Mandaeans (also sometimes referred to as Sabians in Arabic), revere Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram and especially John the Baptist. Mandaeism has historically been practised primarily around the lower Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, part of southern Iraq and Khuzestan Province in Iran. There are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans worldwide, and until the 2003 Iraq war, almost all of them lived in Iraq Many Mandaean Iraqis have since fled their country (as have many other Iraqis) because of the turmoil of the war and terrorism. By 2007, the population of Mandaeans in Iraq had fallen to approximately 5,000. Most Mandaean Iraqis have sought refuge in Iran with the fellow Mandians there. There has been a much smaller influx into Syria and Jordan, with smaller populations in Sweden, Australia, the United States, and other Western countries.
The prewar Iraqi Mandaean community was centered around Baghdad. Mandaean emigration from Iraq began during Saddam Hussein’s rule, but accelerated greatly after the American invasion and subsequent occupation. Since the invasion Mandaeans, like other Iraqis, have been subjected to violence by terrorist groups (not necessarily of Iraqi origin), including murders, kidnappings, rapes, evictions, and forced conversions. Mandaeans and many other Iraqis, have been also targeted for kidnapping since many worked as goldsmiths. Mandaeism is pacifistic and forbids its adherents from carrying weapons. Most Iraqi Mandaeans have fled the country in the face of this violence, and the Mandaean community in Iraq faces extinction. Out of the over 60,000 Mandaeans in Iraq in the early 1990s, only about 5,000 to 7,000 remain there; as of early 2007, over 80% of Iraqi Mandaeans were refugees in Syria and Jordan as a result of the Iraq War. There are small Mandaean diaspora populations in Sweden (c. 5,000), Australia (c. 3,500 as of 2006), the USA (c. 1,500), the UK (c. 1,000), and Canada. Sweden became a popular destination because a Mandaean community existed there before the war and the Swedish government has a liberal asylum policy toward Iraqis. Read More: > HERE <
The Sabian Mandaeans In Iraq – The Mandaeans are the descendants of the great civilizations of Iraq. They have lived in Iraq for thousands of years, and shared in its glories and miseries. They have added to the colors of the culture in Iraq: their white peaceful color, their sincerity and love of knowledge. Their uniqueness gives an example of how fertile this land is not only in its soil but also in spirituality and human thoughtfulness. They participated in building of the great civilization of that area and took their fair share in its miseries. The last of which was the brutal dictatorship, which spared nobody in its evil. The demise of that regime has widely opened the doors for a possibility of a democratic society where civil liberties and basic human rights are respected unfortunately it also opened the doors for chaos.
The Mandaeans Call for Democracy and Civil Rights in New Iraq – The Mandaeans are ancient people lived in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) for thousands of years. They participated in the building of the great civilization of that area and they took their fair share in its miseries. The last of which was the brutal dictatorship, which spared nobody in its evil. The demise of this regime has widely opened the doors for a possibility of a democratic society where civil liberties and basic human rights are respected.
The Mandaeans, today, ask for the establishment of a democratic system in Iraq. A just and fare system that respects their freedom and religious beliefs and recognize them as a monotheistic religion with equal rights and duties as all other citizens of Iraq.
We call upon the United Nations, The Coalition Governments, and the Iraqi political parties and powers to help in building the new democratic Iraq with a new constitution that guaranties the basic human rights and puts the mechanism for prevention of another dictatorship emerging in Iraq. This will be the only guarantee for a better future for a unified Iraq where all ethnicities and religions live in harmony and peace.
As we congratulate our fellow Mandaeans with the demise of the dictatorship, we also congratulate all Iraqi people and the people of the world for the end of one of the most brutal and dangerous regimes in the modern era. We call for peace and freedom for all. – The Mandaean Associations Union.
The Ninth Mandaean Camp Niagara Falls, August 13-15 , Compark Resort – More than 125 Mandaeans convened from all over the world for the ninth annual Mandaean Camp. Attending a cozy retreat in Niagara Falls, Canada, Mandaeans from the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia enjoyed three days of mild weather celebrating their heritage with family and friends.
Among the most important highlights of the camp was the large number of youth who attended. The ease and conviviality with which they congregated and befriended brought joy to every parent’s heart and reinforced for all of us the main reason we assemble every year.
Mandaean Appeal- Save the Iraqi Mandaeans – To the free-thinkers of the world; to men of religion and thought; to the scientists, artists, writers, journalists, and proponents of peace; to those interested in human civilization, religions of ancient history and anthropology, and the history of Ur, Missan, Babylon, and Nineveh; to the scientists of natural history; to scholars of ancient languages and archaeology; to all those who are pained by the bloodshed in modern-day Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilizations.
In Mandaean legends, as well as in those of India and Persia, one finds perpetual reference to wandering darawish, religious wanderers who, like Hirmiz Shah in the Mandaean story, like Gautama the Buddha in India, or, in medieval times, Guru Nanak, set out in search of intellectual and spiritual peace. www.farvardyn.com/mandaean.php
Speculation in the West is mostly conducted from a chair: the adventurer into the realms of thought goes no farther than the laboratory or the study. In the East, seekers after truth were peripatetic: their intellectual vagabondage was physical as well. It is certain that where the merchant penetrated, religious wanderers followed; travelling philosophers, ranging from China to India, Baluchistan, and Persia, and from Persia and Iraq to the Mediterranean, using the passes of Kurdistan and the waterways of Iraq. The oriental loves metaphysical argument and seeks it: the higher his type, the more addicted he is to this form of mental exercise, and the readier to listen to the opinions of a guest. The result, a leaven of unorthodoxy amongst the intellectual, eventually spread to the masses, first, possibly, as secret heresies, and then as new forms of religion. www.farvardyn.com
Sirs and Madams: The Sabian Mandaeans are a people of ancient Iraqi roots, who practice the traditions and rituals of the oldest era in the history of Iraq. They follow the teachings of the great prophet of peace, John the Baptist. They carry this prophet’s banner of peace, and believe in water as a symbol of purity and vitality. They maintained their baptism ritual generation after generation.
Today, the Mandaeans are facing persecution and death due to the tragic situation in Iraq, resulting in a decrease in the number of members to a few thousand and making the Mandaeans an endangered race. Every day hundreds migrate to neighboring countries (Syria, Jordan, Yemen, etc.) to join other families in exile. These immigrants live in inhumane conditions, mostly on charity. Their children are forced to leave school. They fled to the unknown for fear of murder, robbery, looting and rape.
The Mandaeans are calling on you in the name of humanity, history, religion, and culture to stand and support them in this moment of crisis. Since they are not linked to any strong political institution, or a world religious authority on which they can rely, they are seeking your help. Please sign this letter to be presented to the concerned international institutions, most importantly the United Nations, requesting that they take it upon themselves to protect the Mandaeans, the remnants of the people of Ur, Babylon and Missan, a race threatened in their homeland. Alternatively, these institutions should help organize the Mandaeans’ immigration to a country of safe refuge, where they can keep their original identity, human dignity, and their religious and cultural heritage.
The Mandaean people are depending on your generosity and are certain that you will take this necessary step to protect and aid them in their moment of need. please go to this link to sign the petition .
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www.gfbv.de/Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar_Gate
Mandean Tradition http://www.farvardyn.com/
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