MANDEANS are suffering persecution in Iraq:

Iraq chaos threatens ancient faith
Kate Clark

By Kate Clark
BBC News, Damascus

There are fears for the future of one of the most ancient, as well as the smallest, communities in Iraq - the Mandeans.

Their religion, Mandeanism, comes from the same general background as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

They share many of the same prophets, but particularly honour John the Baptist.

[...]

Mandeans have traditionally been protected under Islamic law, as believers in one god - like Jews and Christians.

But since the war in Iraq, they have found themselves targeted by Sunni and Shia Islamic extremists, and by criminal gangs who use religion to justify their attacks.

One leaflet which Mandeans said had been distributed to homes in Baghdad gave this warning to both them and Christians (who form another of Iraq's minorities):

"Either you embrace Islam and enjoy safety and coexist amongst us, or leave our land and stop toying with our principles. Otherwise, the sword will be the judge between belief and blasphemy."

[...]

The Mandean language, incidentally, is a dialect of Aramaic, which is not made clear in the article.