drove the Mandaeans into exile, so they settled in marshes of southern Iraq, where they were somewhat isolated from the political convulsions of the times. Legend has it that the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. That brought periodic waves of violence or forced conversions on peoples like the Mandaeans.īut geography afforded the Mandaeans some degree of protection. Over time, there were Muslim rulers and scholars who saw the existence of indigenous religions as offensive. “Contrary to expectations, I think there was always a constituency for tolerance.” “The Muslim Arabs wanted an empire, but they didn’t necessarily want everybody to adopt their religion,” Russell says. “From the start, Islam was not so keen to spread,” says Russell, who is the author of “Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East." There are a few reasons for that, says Gerard Russell, a former British diplomat who spent many years in the region. Nonetheless, the Mandaean people were able to preserve their distinct religious system for centuries in the heart of the rough-and-tumble Middle East. Their teachings prohibit the use of violent force, even for self-defense. If a Mandaean man or woman marries someone who is not part of the religion, the couple’s children are not considered to be Mandaeans. The religion does not allow for conversion to the faith. Alcohol and meat are generally forbidden. Like Judaism and Islam, the Mandaean religion has lots of rules about diet. “It’s a surreal feeling, a way of connecting to my heritage, to my ancestors and to my spirituality.” “This is the same way that Jesus was baptized 2,000 years ago,” Nashi said. Still, Nashi said she jumped at the chance to be baptized alongside her mom and for the first time since she was a schoolgirl. She came to the US from Iraq as a toddler and says she is not a particularly religious person. Roomi’s daughter, 27-year-old Rand Nashi, is also a doctor. But Salah also donned a pair of dark sunglasses for the full-day communal ritual. He has an old-world look: a big gray and black beard, sandals, robes and a simple wooden staff. Salah lives in Australia now and had flown to Boston for the weekend. He was born in Iran, where a small Mandaean minority lives today. The man presiding over this daylong ritual was a high-ranking priest named Sheikh Salah. And its members are striving to keep their religious traditions alive. The community in and around Worcester has grown to about 2,500 in the last 15 or so years.
Only about 60,000 Mandaeans are living around the world today. But as a people, they spent most of their history in southern Iraq. The language of their faith is Aramaic, the same language spoken by Jesus of Nazareth.
Mandaeans are an ethnic and religious group who revere John the Baptist, along with other Biblical figures including Adam and Noah.
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