The Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) has called for protection and support for the religious community of the Mandaeans in Iraq. According to the human rights organization in Göttingen, only between 5,000 and 20,000 of the approximately 100,000 members of this religious community worldwide still live in Iraq.

The Mandeans are an ancient monotheistic religious community whose most important ritual is baptism. That is why their houses of prayer are situated on flowing waters. The community refers to John the Baptist, who is considered the forerunner of Jesus Christ in the Bible. In contrast to Christianity, however, Mandaean believers experience baptism as a purification ritual several times in their lives. They also follow dietary rules and eat mostly vegetarian food.

In a personal conversation with the GfbV Middle East expert Kamal Sido, the Mandaean chief, Ganzevra Sattar Jabbar Hilo Al-Zahrony, as well as other Mandaean dignitaries, appealed to the Iraqi government not to give up its efforts to strengthen this small religious community and also to give them political offices take into account. They appealed to German politicians to meet with the Mandaean community when visiting Iraq.

Establishment of a state-approved academy for Mandaic language and religion

It would be important to appoint Mandaean ministers in Iraq or send Mandaean ambassadors abroad, the Mandaean dignitaries stressed during the Easter Saturday talks at their chief's residence in Baghdad. The community also needs financial support to set up a state-approved academy for Mandaic language and religion. According to Sido, the approximately 2,200 Mandaeans in the German diaspora urgently need support for the construction of a place of worship. Sido also explained that during the visit he noticed that more and more Christian believers are leaving Baghdad. "If the last Christians in Iraq are to have a future, the government must make them feel welcome in their homeland.”

Number of Christians in Iraq has shrunk to 150,000

In 2003, around 1.5 million people of the Christian faith still lived in Iraq. After the Iraq war and expulsions by the Islamic State, their number fell from an estimated 300,000 in 2014 to around 150,000 today. Around 97 percent of the 43.5 million inhabitants of the Near Eastern country are Muslims.