Iraqi Followers Intent on Saving Their Religion

Swathed in white, Adel Kareem wades solemnly into a temple pool for initiation into a ritual that binds his small community together and helps preserve its unique religion.

Kareem’s first ta’meed, or baptism, took place last summer.

Since then he has been free to participate in the weekly Sunday baptismal rite undertaken by members of the Mandaean Sabian community who believe they have committed a sin that needs to be washed away. Young couples also undergo the ritual, symbolically cleansing away their old lives to prepare for the new life of marriage.

“Mandaean” in the Aramaic-Mandic language means knowledge, and “sabian” is derived from “baptized” or “immersed,” according to the Baghdad-based Mandaean Research and Studies Center.

For Mandaean Sabians “immersed in the knowledge of God,” water is the source of life, with the power to wash away evil. Followers try to live near rivers, and their temples often include pools.

Theirs is a pre-Christian monotheistic religion, and they look to Adam as the first prophet.

“God, the eternal life, ordered the creation of Adam and Eve,” the Mandaean Research and Studies Center says in a pamphlet designed to explain the little-known religion to the general public. “God ordered Adam to teach his children this religion and spread its celestial commandments.”

Other Mandaean Sabian prophets are mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament and Islam’s holy book, the Koran, followers say.

The sect was oppressed when Turkish and Persian authorities controlled the Mideast, and its members retreated to a small area of southern Iraq. Since the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88, many have migrated to Baghdad or farther away--to Australia and North America.

Of the estimated 100,000 Mandaean Sabians practicing today, the largest community--30,000 to 40,000--is in Iraq. One of Iraq’s most famous poets, Abdel Razaq Abdel Wahid, is a member.

The religion is reaching to explain its beliefs to others.