Disciples of St John the Baptist under attack. One of the Middle East's oldest religious communities is on the verge of disappearing amid Iraq violence (Karlos Zurutuza, Al-Jazeerah)
Baghdad, Iraq - As on every Sunday, Mandaeans gather by the west bank of the Tigris River, dressed in plain white clothes. All of them wear wooden clogs and some boast long, white beards. Were it not for the barbed wire around them and the fumes from Baghdad's Dora refinery on the opposite bank of the river, it could be a scene from 2,000 years ago. In fact, many say it is a miracle that the Mandaean community is still alive in Baghdad in 2013.More on the Mandaeans (Mandeans) here, here, here, here, here, and links.
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Will Middle East’s Aramaic language survive? (Dina al-Shibeeb, Alarabiya News)
The survival of Aramaic, once the Middle East’s lingua franca, is in jeopardy amid regional turmoil.Some relevant recent posts regarding the revival of Aramaic and Aramaic in the Middle East and Turkey are here, here, here, here, here, and here.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has listed it as an endangered language in Iraq, Iran and Syria.
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Cross-file under Syriac Watch and Ma'loula (Maaloula, Malula).