MANDAEANS (MANDEANS) IN IRAN, a photo-essay in
Payvand:
Photos: As Old as Water Itself - the Mandaeans of Iran, followers of John the Baptist
Text Source: Parvaneh Vahidmanesh Mianeh Photo: Hasan Sarbakhshian
Ancient baptism ritual still performed in southwestern province. These pictures offer a rare glimpse into the lives and religious practices of the Mandaean community in Iran.
As followers of John the Baptist, members of this small faith group, numbering between 5,000 and 10,000 in Iran, immerse themselves in moving water every Sunday. Because the rituals of birth, baptism, marriage and death centre on water, the Mandaeans have from time immemorial lived close to rivers - the Karoun in Khuzestan province of southwest Iran, and the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq.
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Iranian Mandaeans, alas, seem to be no better off than their Iraqi co-religionists:
In Iran, which always had a smaller Mandaean population, numbers have also fallen due to emigration. Current numbers are estimated to be between 5,000 and 10,000. After the US State Department granted Iranian Mandaeans protective refugee status in 2002, more than 1,000 moved to America.
Because the Mandaeans do not seek to convert others, they are not perceived as a threat by the Shia clerical establishment. Yet unlike other faith communities - Armenian and Assyrian Christians, Zoroastrians and Jews - the Mandaeans are not recognised as a discrete group in the Islamic Republic's constitution, and are not accorded representation in parliament as others are.
As a result, says Farid, a Mandaean from the town of Ahvaz in Khuzestan province who emigrated to France last year, "Our children are forced to attend Koranic classes and Islamic studies because Mandaeans are not mentioned in the Iranian Constitution.... Iranian Jews, for example, can opt out of religious classes for Muslims in school."
Farid also noted that the lack of formal recognition means that whereas other minorities may legally name children according to their religious preference, Mandaeans are required to adopt approved Muslim or Iranian names.
Shortly after the 1979 revolution, senior Mandaean clerics went to see Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani - an ally of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini regarded as tolerant of other faiths - to ask him what freedoms they could expect under the new regime.
They were shocked at Taleghani's response - that the Mandaeans would be "given an opportunity to convert to Islam."
Amnesty International has highlighted violations of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities not recognised by the Iranian state, including the Mandaeans, for example when applicants are vetted for employment and higher education.
As well as discrimination, the Mandaeans also miss out by being ignored.
Their location in Khuzestan means they rarely encounter government officials from distant Tehran.
Farid says the Iranian media simply ignore the Mandaeans.
Background
here.
