SABEAN-MANDEANS: UNDER SIEGE BUT HOLDING ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001860 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2019 TAGS: KDEM KIRF KJUS PGOV PHUM SOCI SMIG IZ SUBJECT: SABEAN-MANDEANS: UNDER SIEGE BUT HOLDING ON REF: A. BAGHDAD 589 ¶B. 2008 BAGHDAD 3244 ¶C. 2008 BAGHDAD 3357 Classified By: Deputy Political Counselor Steve Walker for Reason 1.4 ( d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Sabean-Mandean leaders living in Iraq describe their community as desperately wanting to remain and participate in the country's political life rather than emigrate abroad, despite being the frequent targets of criminal elements. These leaders tell us that members of the community who are living abroad as refugees would like to return to Iraq, but can not, since Sabean-Mandeans continue to be the victims of criminals who murder, kidnap and extort them for money. At the same time, the Sabean-Mandean community sees the benefit of having a member on the Baghdad Provincial Council and would like to have a parliamentary seat set aside for them as part of the January 2010 national elections to guarantee that their voice is heard. End summary. -------------- Sabean-Mandeans by the Numbers -------------- ¶2. (C) From June 24-29, Poloff met with four Sabean-Mandean leaders, including the deputy Patriarch of the Sabean-Mandean community Sheikh Alaa Aziz Tareesh, the Secretary of the Sabean-Mandean Council Husain al-Zuhairy, Iraqi ambassadorial nominee Dr. Matheel al-Sabti, and Sabean-Mandean Endowment Director Zahroon Thomah. These leaders painted a picture of a community that desires to remain in Iraq despite the hardships that it has faced (refs A and B). Al-Zuhairy told Poloff that the Mandeans consider themselves to be the original inhabitants of Iraq and stated that "if we leave Iraq completely, it will be the end of our religion." ¶3. (C) Since 2003, the Sabean-Mandean community has witnessed the majority of its members flee Iraq. UNHCR reports indicate that there are approximately 12,000 Sabean-Mandeans registered as refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Egypt or four percent of all Iraqi refugees. According to statistics from the Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, 1,210 Sabean-Mandeans refugees have been resettled to the United States as of June 1, 2009, with another 768 applications pending. Mandean Endowment Director Thomah told Poloff that the Patriarch of the Sabean-Mandeans, Sheikh Sattar Hillo, had recently received his residency permit to live in Australia. Nevertheless, Sheikh Tareesh told Poloff on June 29 that there were "lots" of Sabean-Mandean families who were thinking of returning to Iraq, but that recent security incidents (see below) had persuaded them to remain abroad. He predicted that when the security situation is safe enough, many Mandeans would return to Iraq. ¶4. (C) At the same time, Sabean-Mandean leaders report that their community in Iraq remains larger than previously reported, although their estimates vary considerably and may be inaccurate. On the high end, Mandean Council Secretary al-Zuhairy told Poloff on June 29 that 20,000 members of the 50,000 strong Mandean community remain in Iraq. Mandean Endowment Director Zahroon, in contrast, estimated that the Mandean community had 12,000 members remaining in Iraq with 6,000 located in Baghdad. (Note: In the 2008 International Religious Freedom Report, the Sabean-Mandean community was estimated to have 3,500-5,000 members in Iraq. End note.) Both Al-Zuhairy and Zahroon noted that the Sabean-Mandean community is widely dispersed across Iraq with larger communities located in Baghdad, Imara, Nasriyah and Basra and smaller communities located in diverse locations like Qsmaller communities located in diverse locations like Diwaniyah, Ramadi, Kirkuk, Erbil and Wasit. According to these leaders, the only prerequisite for a Mandean community is the presence of running water, which plays a key role in their religious practices. In Baghdad the community continues to host large baptismal ceremonies along the Tigris having performed one on March 3 that involved hundreds of people. Mandean leaders noted that another ceremony was planned for July 19. -------------- Under Siege -------------- ¶5. (C) On a socio-economic level, the Sabean-Mandean community is well known for its beliefs in nonviolence and for its involvement in the gold and jewelry trade, a combination that continues to make it a target for criminal elements. While Mandean leaders concede that the overall *********************** * Missing Section 002 * ***********************