UNHCR's ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR ASSESSING THE ...

prohibition to kill, lie, commit adultery or theft, consume alcohol or exercise magic. 295
They are also forbidden to mourn the dead and must fast 36 days a year. 296 Non-violence is
central to the Sabaean-Mandaean faith and the use of force or the carrying of weapons is
not permitted. 297 Proselytizing and conversion are not practised and membership in the
religion can only be attained by birth, however, both parents must also be Sabaean-
Mandaeans. 298 Accordingly, Sabaean-Mandaeans are only allowed to marry other Sabaean-
Mandaeans in order to preserve their religion, another factor that has contributed to the
decreasing number of followers.
The traditional centres of the Sabaean-Mandaeans are in Southern Iraq, in the marsh
districts and on the lower reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, including the towns of
Amarah, Nassriyah and Basrah and at the junction of the two rivers at Qurnah, Qal’at
Saleh, Halfayah and Suq Ash-Shuyukh. Communities of varying size are found in the
centre and north of Iraq, including in Baghdad, Al-Kut, Diwaniyah, Fallujah, Kirkuk and
Mosul. 299 According to Sabaean-Mandaean sources, the largest communities are located in
Baghdad and Basrah. 300
The Sabaean-Mandaean community is organized as follows:
1. The General Council, which represents the Mandaean families (chairman: Hussein
Radi);
2. The General Spiritual Council, which includes all clergymen and is concerned with
religious affairs (chairman: Sheikh Sattar Jabar Helou);
3. The Council of General Affairs, which is concerned with non-religious affairs such
as legal social, cultural affairs, public relations and research (chairman: Toma
Zeki). 301
The Qur’an guarantees protection to a group mentioned as “sabians”, but provides no
details as to who they were. While it is believed that the Qur’an refers to the Sabaean-
Mandaean as “People of the Book” (Ahl Al-Kitab), 302 which would provide them with
295
Ethel Stefana Drower reported in 1962 that some Mandaean priests in spite of the prohibition of such
practices derive part of their income from the writing of amulets and from sorcery to make a living; see The
Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and Folklore, 1962, extracts under
Farvardyn Project, http://www.farvardyn.com/mandaean.php.
296
Mandaean Research Centre, Council of General Affairs, Mandaean Sabians, 1999,
http://www.mandaeans.org.
297
Mandaean Human Rights Group, see above footnote 288; speech by Tarmida Yuhana Nashmi,
Contemporary Issues for the Mandaean Faith, July 2004, http://www.mandaeanunion.org/History/
EN_History_010.htm; IWPR, Ancient Sect Targeted, Iraqi Crisis Report No. 45, 22 January 2004,
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=icr&s=f&o=168543&apc_state=heniicr2004.
298
According to Sheikh Sattar Helou, Sabaean-Mandaeans have not proselytized since 70 years after the
death of Jesus Christ, when 365 Sabaean priests were killed in a single day in Babylon; see Mite, Iraq: Old
Sabaean-Mandean Community Is Proud of Its Ancient Faith, see above footnote 288.
299
Ethel Stefana Drower, The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic Legends, and
Folklore, 1962, extracts under Farvardyn Project, http://www.farvardyn.com/mandaean.php.
300
Mandaean Human Rights Group, see above footnote 288.
301
The Mandaean Official Site, http://www.mandaeans.org; UNAMI HRO, communication October 2006.
302
For example, the unofficial Website of Ayatollah Seyyid Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, states
that the Sabaeans are among the Ahl Al-Kitab; see: Khamenei.de, Uncleanness of Kafir, Cleanness of Ahl al-
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