The Mandaean people have been inhabitants of Southern Iraq and Western Iran for two millennia. During these times they have either flourished or been forced to withdraw from the society in which they lived and keep their beliefs secret.
The Mandaeans have always suffered religious persecution at the hands of rulers or even their fellow countrymen. Even if a Mandaean hasn’t been treated so badly as to claim they’ve been persecuted, every Mandaean from the Middle East knows what it feels like to be discriminated against. I remember a time I sat with my mother and she told me about her childhood friends. She explained to me many fascinating memories. One really stuck with me though. She told me about a friend she had who was Muslim and one day my mother’s parents invited her friend’s family to the home. They were very nice people but they would not eat or drink a thing! My grandmother complained, ‘Why aren’t you eating or drinking? You are our guests!’ They felt very embarrassed but still they would not eat. Then, finally, the woman explained that she was very religious and she would not eat food made by Mandaean hands or drink from the same cup – they would rather avoid it if they could.
I’m sure many Mandaeans will give you similar experiences. Now, it would be wrong to suggest all Arabic people are like this. Most are very respectful and see other people as equals no matter what the religion. But, it’s those experiences that push you over the edge. It is those experiences that make you say ‘Right, that’s it…I’ve got to go’.
Furthermore, the rise of Saddam Hussein caused even more loss within the community. Young Mandaean men being forced to fight wars (despite being a sin) the high death rate caused a huge imbalance within our community. Many women can’t or couldn’t find partners.
In addition to this the economic and health problems that came with the sanctions throughout the 90s. The lack of education for children and the increase in religious extremism as conditions became desperate meant all minorities in Iraq began fearing for their life.
Therefore, for many Mandaeans they had been forced to move, forced to leave a land they loved because of factors they could not control. They had to move for peace of mind, to know that their children could live free, that they would have the right to good education, the right to decent healthcare, the right to worship in their own way and the right to flourish.
For many Mandaean communities they are still writing the first sentence in the first page of a new era for the Mandaean people.
Noah Kimit
The United Kingdom probably contains one of the smallest Mandaean communities in the world, we number around one hundred and fifty to 200 people, the numbers are slowly increasing. Most of us are situated in the cities of Manchester and London.
Obviously, we can-not build a Mendi (The Mandaean equivalent of Church, Mosque of Synagogue) inbetween Manchester and London as it would not be close enough for either community. So each community has to set about finding its own solution for the problem.
The Manchester community is where the MHM is based and although we number around thirty-five to fifty peoples, we are one of the most respected and talented communities in the Diaspora (no bias involved, I promise).
Despite our talents though we have struggled to find a community centre, a religious centre, we looked at Churches and Mosques and thought they were too expensive and there just weren’t enough of us to keep the place running or full up. Also, raising sufficient money to establish this place seemed impossible. So the odds were stacked against us or so it seemed! Until one of the MHM guys (well there’s only one other one, Sam Nashi) told his parents that the space at the back of their lawn is big enough for a small baptismal pool, a sitting area and the possibility to convert the shed into a decent-sized room of worship. The location? Private, natural…Just perfect, I didn’t know why we didn’t think of it before!
We started clearing the area today, who knows; maybe it will stay just an idea (we will be bringing in a few builders though to take a look at the small site).
At least we are trying, we will succeed eventually!
Noah Kimit
