Mandaeans demand 12 seats for minorities in provincial councils

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Mandaran Sabian sect in Iraq has urged the Presidential Board to approve a U.N. proposal that guarantees 12 seats for minorities in Baghdad, Basra and Mosul, according to a statement released by the sect on Saturday. “The head of the sect, Sheikh Sattar Jabbar al-Halw, met with its representatives to discuss the provincial council elections law,” read the statement that was received by IraqiNews.com. The statement did not indicate when the meeting took place. On Monday, the Iraqi Parliament approved legislation that allocates six seats to minorities in the provincial councils, sparking a strong wave of criticism from minority representatives throughout the country. The Mandaean Sabians spread in different areas of southern Iraqi provinces and near rivers, which they believe as sources of purity, sanctity, growth and life. Mandaeism or Mandaeanism is a monotheistic religion with a strongly dualistic worldview. Its adherents, the Mandaeans, revere Adam Abel, Seth, Enosh, Noah, Shem, Aram, and especially John the Baptist. They describe Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad as false Prophets. Mandaeans consider John the Baptist to be God’s most honorable messenger. Worldwide, there are thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000 Mandaeans, and until the 2003 Iraq war, almost all of them lived in Iraq. The 2003 Iraq war reduced the population of Iraqi Mandaeans to approximately 5,000 by 2007. Most Iraqi Mandaeans have fled to Syria and Jordan under the threat of violence by Islamic extremists and the turmoil of the war. Mandaeism has historically been practiced primarily in the country around the lower Euphrates and Tigris and the rivers that surround the Shatt al-Arab. The term “Mandaeism” comes from Mandaic, meaning followers of MandÄ d-Heyyi “Knowledge of Life”. In Islam, the term Sabian is used as a blanket term for adherents to a number of religions, including that of the Mandaeans. SS (S) 1