Iraq’s Mandaeans brace for uncertainty

By Taylor Luck

Original Story Jordan Times AMMAN - As Iraqis across the region go to the ballot box this weekend, a minority group is questioning its place in modern Iraq.

Sabian Mandaeans, followers of a Gnostic sect who have called Iraq home for two millennia, said they are unsure of their participation going into this weekend’s elections, which takes place Friday through Sunday for out-of-country voters. The outcome, they say, will deter many from returning home.

According to recent amendments to the 2005 elections law, Iraqi Mandaeans will receive one guaranteed seat in the 325-member parliament, an improvement from the 2005 elections, when there was no quota for the minority. They are among four minority groups guaranteed representation in the next parliament: Christians, Yazidis and Shobak.

Restricted vote

The Mandaean seat, however, is restricted to the Baghdad governorate, and only Mandaeans who live in the capital, or have official proof of prior residency there, may vote for their representative, Mandaeans note.

Community representatives in Jordan say the restriction has a significant impact on the community, most of which has left Iraq amid various conflicts and violence. The once 60,000-strong community is now estimated at 5,000 scattered across Iraq’s 14 governorates according to various estimates. Around 1,000 remain in Jordan.

Many of those who fled had lived in governorates such as Basra and Kirkuk and went straight on to Jordan and Syria, never officially residing in Baghdad. The

Mandaean community demands that the electoral law recognise them as one national constituency, as has been done with Christian Iraqis. The distinction allows Iraqi Christians to vote for their candidate or party list of choice, irrespective of their governorate of origin.

Without such a status, Mandaeans complain they are unable to take a role in piecing together their nation, as they are unable to be represented in their home governorates.

Out-of-country voting procedures dictate that voters must present two official forms of identification indicating that they lived in a governorate other than the one stated on their passport in order to cast their ballot in that governorate, officials from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) explained. Voters who fail to provide conclusive evidence indicating their governorate of residence can resort to their fathers’ official documents.

As many members of the community fled directly to countries such as Jordan and Syria without ever residing in the Iraqi capital, many votes will be lost, they say, or “thrown to political parties or coalitions”, Mandaean representative in Jordan Baha Abu Kareem told The Jordan Times.

“Now that we have been driven away, they are making it impossible for us to return or have representation. It almost seems intentional,” he charged, saying that the restriction “legitimises” the campaigns of violence and fear that drove Mandaeans from their homes in southern Iraq and elsewhere.

Overall Mandaean spiritual leader Sheikh Sattar Helou has stopped short of calling for Mandaeans to boycott the elections, but has brought up the issue with the IHEC and the United Nations mission to Iraq.

A case was brought before an Iraqi federal court by the Mandaean council to challenge the amendment in early February to appeal the restriction. As of Thursday, no decision had been handed down, they said.

“We don’t know what to do,” Abu Kareem told The Jordan Times.

‘Interference by parties’

Earlier this year, the Mandaean council chose a sanctified representative for the community, Khalid Ameen Roomi.

However, other, non-sanctified Mandaean candidates tempted by the chance of improving their living situation have joined various party lists, allowing non-Mandaeans in Baghdad and abroad to determine the representation of the minority group. Mandaeans in Jordan and Syria claimed that Roomi cannot compete with the party lists, which they accused of using money and other favours to bring Mandaeans on board.

“It’s as if they are laughing at us,” Abu Kareem said.

Abu Ihad, a Mandaean who resides in Jordan, said he has yet to decide whether to participate. “If we can vote, I will come up with seven votes right now. But it is not looking good,” he said.

Mandaeans abroad should turn out and vote in order to preserve the community’s homeland, Roomi stressed.

Roomi said his top priority for Mandaeans will be security. If elected to parliament, he pledged to meet with senior religious leaders in Iraq, including Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, to issue a fatwa declaring Mandaeans as monotheistic believers of the book.

Shortly following the US-led invasion of Iraq, fatwas were issued by various clerics declaring Mandaeans unbelievers, or kuffar, a move they believe led to an upsurge of violence against their communities.

Since 2003, the UK-based Mandaean Human Rights Group has recorded around 180 killings, 275 kidnappings and 298 assaults and forced conversions of Mandaeans within Iraq.

“This is one of our top priorities: the Mandaeans in Iraq need to have a secure future,” Roomi told The Jordan Times over the phone, explaining that his other priorities include securing the return and economic empowerment of Mandaean citizens and protection of their property.

Roomi called on all Mandaeans living abroad to cast their votes and take part in rebuilding their community back home.

“Every Mandaean across the world should vote to save our community. This is our duty,” he said.

Abu Kareem was not so sure.

“If we can vote for him [Roomi], then we will throw our weight behind him 100 per cent,” he said

“But we have grown tired of disappointments.”