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Document #1294417
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Nach einer Recherche in unserer Länderdokumentation und im Internet können wir Ihnen zu oben genannter Fragestellung Materialien zur Verfügung stellen, die unter anderem folgende Informationen enthalten:
In einer Anfragebeantwortung vom Februar 2001 zitiert die Dokumentationsabteilung der kanadischen Flüchtingsbehörde (IRB) die schriftliche Auskunft des Sekretärs der Mandaean Society of America zur freien Religionsausübung, möglichen Problemen und staatlichem Schutz für Mandäer im Irak:
"On 6 February 2001, the Secretary of The Mandaean Society of America provided the following responses to questions posed by the Research Directorate:
1. Can the Mandaeans in Iraq practise their religion in public?
Yes, they can but they have recently encountered some adversities. The Mandaeans have always considered naturally running water to be sacred and holy. For this reason, baptisms must be performed in these conditions. They are still allowed to baptize in public, but are being increasingly limited to certain areas. In the past decades, Mandaeans have reluctantly moved their baptisms to indoor pools due to harassment from the public. Last year they were asked to move their only place of worships the "Mendi," to another location, for no clear reason.
2. Do they have problems at the hands of authorities or the public?
Yes, they do. Although Iraq is considered a secular state, most of the laws are Islamic laws or inspired by the Qu’ran (the Islamic Holy Book). The government is mainly Sunni Muslim and the ruling family is from one clan. The majority of the public is Muslim, about 55-60% of whom are of the Shiaat faith. Although the Mandaeans (called "Sabians" by Muslims) were considered "People of the Book," the Mandaeans are the Sabians as written by Mohammed in the Koran.
"Those who believe, and the Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabeans, whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve."i)
"Those who believe and the Jews and the Sabaeans [Sabians] and this Christians - whoever believes in God and the last day and does good they shal1 have no fear, nor shall they grieve "ii)
"Those who believe and those who are the Jews and the Sabeans and the Christians and the Magians [Zoroastrians] and those who set up gods (with God)-God will decide between them on the day of resurrection for God is a Witness over all things."iii)
The Mandaeans are supposed to be dealt with as a "people of the book", this protection is not always honored. Certain powers have begun to deny them this status since the Islamic revolution in lran of 1979. The interpretation of the above mentioned verses was never clear or consistent by all Muslim faiths. For example, Alkuee (a Shiatt’s Islamic leader) in 1979 recognized the Mandaeans as People of the Book, however Khumaini (another Shiaat’s leader in Iran) did not. "The Mandaeans are not an officially recognized minority religion in Iran. The Qu’ran exempts them, as a "people of the book", from forced conversion to Islam. After the revolution in 1980, however, the government stopped supporting this protection."iv
The effect of the Iran revolution on the Middle East in general, and Iraq in particular, is undeniable. The overwhelming increase in Islamic fundamentalism had a major effect on the basis of the Iraqi society. Many previously accepted ways of life were changed, including the symbiosis among different Iraqi religious groups. Several radical Islamic groups, as well as the general public in Iraq , have taken a more antagonistic approach towards the mandaean.v
Second factor that affected the Iraqi society over the last several decades is the brutal dictatorship. The main concern of the dictatorship is survival whatever the costs are. Religious minorities who represent no threat are disregarded or used. Some of the religious leaders including Mandaeans, are used by either force or intimidation to serve the regime’s propose. They become informants against their own people and tools for the government’s propaganda. Those Mandaeans who show any sign of refusal of this way of life end up, like most of Iraqi people, brutally punished. The absence of free thinking deny the Mandaeans and other sects any form of free expression of their beliefs.
A third factor that is affecting Iraq now is the imposition of sanctions. This led to the destruction of the Iraq’s economic and moral infrastructure. The misery caused a surge of new ideas, including the belief among the people that God was punishing them for the presence of atheists among them. Mandaeans are being pressed against their will to convert to Islam, either by taking advantage of their poverty, or by threatening their lives. This campaign, led by Muslim clergymen, has succeeded since 1996 in the conversion into Islam of several families in the cities of Falouja, Rumadi and Emmara.vi In addition, corruption and crime have risen to an astonishing degree, targeting the weaker parts of the society who have no protection from major tribes or high-ranking party members and army officials. The minorities, especially the Mandaeans , are the easiest prey. The Mandaeans refuse to carry weapons, believing that both the killer and the killed will suffer in the afterlife. Their main form of self-defence is pacifism, escape, and avoidance of conflict. Throughout their history, Mandaeans have tried to remain in area near running water and elude friction with their neighborsvii as much as possible. They can only protect themselves by paying off those who are threatening them.
Unfortunately, due to the continuing sanctions and economic hardship, the Mandaeans have been unable to make these payments.
Some other pressures that we feel are leading Mandaeans to mass emigration to safe refuge away from their homelands in Iraq and Iran include:
- Mandaean men are forced to carry weapons or serve in the military, both major sins in the religion.
- Interference of the authorities in religious matters and decisions, leading Mandaean priests to leave Iraq in the past few years, including Reshat-amma (highest priest rank) Abdullah Najim, who took political refugee in the U. K. last year.ix
Government issued textbooks (e.g. eighth grade religion textbook, page 146) and Muslim sermons as the Worshippers of the Stars, denying them the privilege they enjoyed as the "People of the Book", tolerated by the Muslims. This has put them in great danger, as mentioned above.
- Decision number 2971 of June 4, 1984 by the Iraqi Supreme Court states: "it is allowed to marry another female Mandaean without the consent of her legal guardians. She has the right to change her religion to that of her Muslim husband." This does not apply to any other religious minority. This left many young women as an easy target for Muslims, which also threatens our community safety and survival in the future.
3. What is the protection available to Mandaeans facing problems because they practise their religion?
Although the Iraqi government officially recognizes the Mandaeans as a minority, they are neither treated equally nor protected. The protection they receive depends on the loyalty they show to the government, which may mean sacrificing their religious beliefs, for instance, drafting Mandaean men in the army and Mandaean women and youths in armed militias. The Mandaeans are seeking safe refuge all over the world. Leaving their homeland is the only choice for those who refuse to give up their beliefs and religion.
4. According to a report by Radio Free Europe in May 2000, The Mandaean Society of America issued an urgent appeal "to prevent the deportation of the 158 Mandaean refugees from lndonesia to Iraq ." Can you give us an update on the fate of these people?
The UNHCR has granted refugee status to all of them. They are being interviewed for resettlement, which will hopefully take place soon." (IRB, IRQ36620.E, 20. Februar 2001)
Der Bericht vom August 2002 zur gemeinsamen britisch-dänischen Erkundungsreise nach Amman und Ankara betreffend irakische Asylsuchende (Mai-Juni 2002) enthält folgende Einschätzungen zur Lage von Mandäern im Irak:
"5.4 Sabeans and Mandeans
According to International sources in Ankara Sabeans and Mandeans are different names for the same religious group, i.e. followers of John the Baptist. Thus the group is not a Christian community, but devotees of the person referred to in the New Testament as the forerunner for Christ. According to international sources in Amman as well there were no reports of any kind of persecution or discrimination. Allegedly the leader of the community who was granted refugee status in Sweden and given Swedish citizenship has returned to Iraq and is currently the president of the Mandean Association in Baghdad. The Mandean Association’s temple in Baghdad is placed close to the river Tigris as the community needs flowing water to implement their baptizing rituals. Some of the Mandeans are wealthy and as such potentially a target for extortion." (DIS, Joint British Danish fact-finding mission, 27. August 2002, Abs. 5.4)
Middle East Online berichtete in einem Hintergrundartikel vom April 2003 über die Lage und Gebräuche der Mandäer im Irak:
"Just off the banks of the Tigris River in the heart of Baghdad’s old city lies the temple of Sabean Mandeans, a tiny community that despite its reclusiveness has been hit hard by the war. In a rite of purification, Sabean Mandeans with long beards, white tunics and rustic sandals immersed themselves up to their waists in water.
"Thirty-three of our followers were killed in the American air strikes. They were civilians who were at home," temple priest Ala Dehle Kama recalled with clear bitterness. The dead, he explained, had parted the world without receiving their final baptism, a ritual of utmost significance as it is supposed to bring the follower out of suffering and into the light. For Kama, the Sabean Mandeans are praying not only for their dead, but for all who suffered in the war, and for a future Iraq that must "retake the path of unity and democracy."
Estimates of the world’s Mandean population range anywhere up to 50,000, confined to Iraq and Iran. Along with their enclave in Baghdad, the sect has a presence in the southern Iraqi cities of Nasiriyah and Basra. [...]
Iraq’s Sabean Mandeans have traditionally been reserved toward foreigners and refrained from speaking to curious journalists about anything other than the faith. "In the house of God we do not talk about politics," said one follower. According to Sabean Mandeans here, under Saddam Hussein’s 24-year rule they had freedom of religion, but faced injustices. "We were living under a dictatorship and the people wanted a democracy, that is true," said Adel, one of the worshippers. "But it wasn’t us who toppled this dictatorship, it was the Americans. Now there is no alternative, but we don’t want them to stay here," he said.
Despite their humble appearance, many members of the community hold distinguished positions in the capital as jewelers, professors and artists. Many travelled to the temple gates in lush automobiles. "Our religion has nothing to do with Bush’s (Protestantism)," stressed Kama, the priest. "The rituals are difference, the beliefs don’t resemble each other and neither do the worshippers," he said. [...]
With water such a central element in the faith, no one at the purification ritual hesitated at drinking it, despite warnings about contamination amid the war-time damage to infrastructure. "It never gets us sick. Water is the secret of life and purification," said one of the worshippers. "Where there is no water there can be religion, but without water there can be no religious rituals, no prayers, no food," he said." (Middle East Online, 26. April 2004)
Eine Mitarbeiterin der Schweizer Caritas hielt in einem Bericht zur Caritas-Mission im Nordirak vom Mai 2003 unter anderem fest:
"The different faith and tribal communities in Basra have lived closely, and worked well, together in the past. However, since the war factions have begun to assert themselves. In at least one instance this has been provoked by a group coming from Iran. During our visit to Archbishop Djibrail Kassab, the head of the Mandean community (? - those who follow the teachings of John the Baptist) came to his office carrying a letter from a Muslim threatening them if they did not leave the city." (Caritas, 3. Mai 2003)
Die World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) publizierte im Juli 2003 einen Artikel sowohl zur Geschichte der Mandäer als auch zu ihrer Lage nach dem Machtwechsel:
"Mandaeans are a small pre-Christian sect that honours John the Baptist. They are believed to have originated in Jordan, but persecution in the first century forced them to emigrate east. There are an estimated 100,000 Mandaeans worldwide, mainly in Iraq and Iran.
The Mandaeans have survived 1,400 yrs of Islamic persecution, and that includes many massacres of Mandaeans throughout the centuries. In 1870 the entire Mandaean community at Shushtar (north of Ahwaz in southwestern Iran, close to the southern Iraqi border) was massacred.
Other forms of persecution include harassment and abuse, often accompanied with violence, in the streets and at the daily public Mandaean baptisms. Mandaean couples are often forced to divorce so that Muslim marriages can be imposed upon them, thus ensuring the Mandaean loses their Mandaean identity.
In Islamic communities Mandaeans are regarded as infidels (kaffir) and unclean (najes), hence they can have great difficulty obtaining employment and education. Islamic persecution has led many Mandaeans to emigrate. Others flee as asylum seekers - many of whom struggle against misinformation and propaganda for the right to be granted refugee status.
As Islamic fervor has risen - persecution has increased. A report by the Sabian Mandaean Association of Australia (SMAA) notes, that, “While the secular regime of Saddam Hussein had, to some extent, kept Islamic extremism in check, in the period leading up to the outbreak of war the Iraqi regime had sought to appeal to Muslim feeling against the “infidels” (kaffir). Accordingly, television received in Ahwaz, Iran (both Iraqi and Iranian TV), had been constantly pouring out venomous hatred of the “infidels”, and Muslim feeling has become inflamed.”
Persecution has skyrocketed and more than 80 Mandaeans have been murdered since the fall of Baghdad in April. Now there is great concern that Iraq’s Mandaean community, having survived 1,400 yrs of struggle, may not survive post-war Iraq.
MURDERS AND RAPES
The Sabian Mandaean Association of Australia (SMAA), based in Sydney (home to some 2,000 Mandaeans) reports that more than 80 Mandaeans have been murdered in Iraq since the fall of Baghdad. In the days immediately following the fall of Baghdad, Islamists murdered some 30 Mandaeans in Baghdad alone. In the days after the fall of Baghdad, one Mandaean was attacked in his home and seriously wounded. A Mandaean doctor operated on him, without anesthetic. The doctor was killed the next day.
Muslims have also raped at least 20 Mandaean women and young girls since the `end of the war’ - although this figure is likely to be much, much higher as most rape cases go unreported due to fear, shame and humiliation. As committed pacifists, the Mandaeans are extremely vulnerable as they are not only despised, but they are unarmed and defenseless.
The threat of sexual assault is particularly serious, as Islamic judges in Iran have set the precedent that the rape of a Mandaean woman can be regarded as an act of “purification”, and as such, violators receive impunity. In Iran this defense has been used to acquit men of rapes on Mandaean girls as young as 8 years old.
Some 30 Mandaeans have been murdered in Basra in recent months. The remaining Mandaeans are fleeing and the SMAA has lost all contact with them. Allegedly coalition forces are advising the Mandaeans to flee, as they cannot offer them protection. There is concern that Mandaeans may also have been murdered in the north, in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Dr. Edward Crangle is the Post-Graduate Research Co-coordinator in the Department of Studies in Religion with the University of Sydney. In a letter dated 21 April 2003, he wrote, “Since the demise of the recent Iraqi regime, many Sabian Mandaeans have been murdered by various extremist Muslim groups and tribes, including the extremely fundamentalist religious Sunni and Sheaat groups and parties such as Al-Wahabin, Al-Daawa Al-Islamiah and Ikhwan Al-Moslemin.”
GENOCIDAL INTENTIONS?
Above and beyond the human rights violations and threat to life, the Mandaean community actually fears that some Iraqi Islamists have genocidal intentions and would be willing to affect a `Final Solution’.
According to mail received by SMAA from Iraq, amongst the abuse being metered out to Mandaeans are phrases such as, “You are kaffirs (infidels)! We will treat you like the Jews! Get out of Iraq! This is and Islamic country! This is a clean country!”
Very recently, the President of the SMAA was able to speak by phone to a Mandaean clergyman in Baghdad who said that Mandaeans are living in a state of terror. He said they fear that one night the Muslims will just kill all of them. He also said that many Iraqis who formerly supported the Hussein regime are now supporting the Islamists in their campaign against invaders and infidels.
Mandaeans in Ahwaz (Iran) have reported to the SMAA that they are also receiving news of murders of Mandaeans in Iraq. The Mandaean Archbishop in Australia visited Iran from 5 March to 10 May. He testifies that the situation for Mandaeans in Iran has also deteriorated considerably since the fall of Baghdad, and there is much fear. (In Iran, Mandaeans are an illegal sect without religious or legal recognition.)
One Mandaean in Ahwaz reports that he was traveling in a taxi with Muslims who were unaware that he was Mandaean. One of the Muslim men remarked that he was hopeful the time would soon come when the Muslims would be given permission to attack the areas where the infidels live.
HOUSE AND CHURCH CONFISCATIONS
There are reports that many Mandaeans are sharing accommodation and living together out of fear for their lives. However, as soon as their homes are unoccupied, Muslims acquire them. One Mandaean woman lost her home to a Shi’a cleric this way. One family was forced out of their home by Islamists who then immediately fixed green flags to the roof and converted the home into a headquarters for their movement.
One Mandaean who corresponds with the SMAA through a brother in Australia reports that Muslims are threatening to take over the Mandaean’s mandi (church) and convert it into a mosque. This builds on another precedent established in Iran, where, in 1989, the Mandaean mandi in Awhaz was confiscated and converted into headquarters for the Islamic Religious Police." (ANS, 24. Juli 2003)
Die World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) unterstreicht in einem Beitrag vom September 2003 die Anfälligkeit religöser Minderheiten, insbesondere der Christen und Mandäer, Opfer von Übergriffen und Verbrechen zu werden:
" Whilst it is true that all Iraqis are suffering due to the general post-war unrest, there can be no doubt that religious minorities are particularly hard hit. There are several reasons for this.
1) The insecurity is providing the opportunity for crimes of sectarian hatred, including rapes, killings and property confiscations, to be executed with impunity.
2) In the midst of insecurity, criminals know that rapes and burglaries of "infidels" will likely go unpunished whilst the same crimes committed against Muslims will be met with revenge.
3) Iraq was bombed by a coalition of "Christian" nations. The "War of Terror" is labelled by the Islamic world as a Christian Crusade against Islam, and hence Christians, particularly non historically-Iraqi groups (such as evangelicals), are hated for political reasons by many Iraqis who have never hated Christians on religious grounds. [...]
MANDAEAN PLACES OF WORSHIP CONFISCATED
The Sabian Mandaean Association in Australia (SMAA) has been advised that Muslims have confiscated the Mandaeans’ places of worship (mandi) in Anbaar, Wasset, Dewanya, Deyala and Baghdad. The Muslims have subsequently occupied these premises.
The SMAA has also received reports of fatwas being issued against the Mandaean community in Iraq. The SMAA have documents that appear to emanate from the Shi’ite faction of El-Sadr. The "great Ayatollah Elsayed Mohammed Said El-Tabaei El-Hakim" deems the Mandaeans "unclean" on the grounds that "It was not proven that the Sabians [Mandaeans] are ’People of the Book’."
MANDAEANS RAPED AND MURDERED
The SMAA continues to receive reports of Mandaeans (followers of John the Baptist) being raped and murdered in Baghdad. More often than not these killings are pre-meditated and extremely violent. For example, on 11 August, Ihasan Berdan and his brother Yahya were shot in their jewellery shop in Ba’qoba, outside Baghdad. Ihasan was shot 14 times and died immediately, while Yahya, who had been shot 9 times, died in hospital five days later. Mohannad Abdel-Saheb Al-Malalawi was murdered in Baghdad on 11 July. He was shot dead for refusing to hand his sister over to Muslims for rape and forced marriage. The Mandaean women left widowed and defenceless as a result of these killings are at severe risk of rape -- most flee into hiding.
TESTIMONY OF ONE IRAQI MANDAEAN
"I am a member of the Sabian Mandaeans, the followers of the Prophet Yahya ibn Zakaria (John the Baptist) who baptized the Prophet Issa (Jesus) (peace be upon Him) in the River Jordan. I am persecuted on religious and social grounds by the Muslim fundamentalists who claim in the various mosques that we are ’infidel’ and unclean people and it is religiously permissible to kill us, to rob us and to rape us. Our women are persecuted on religious and social grounds by not allowing them out of their homes to do shopping or to touch any food product as they [Muslims] claim that all the food products will be najes or ’unclean’. All these actions are practised against us and against our revealed religion.
"I am a primary victim as I was detained for 30 days and was given the worst mistreatment. I was beaten and insulted for no reason at all except that I am Sabian Mandaean and to pressure my family to leave our religion and enter theirs. This is against all religious principles and laws.
"I am a goldsmith and I own a shop that I bought from a Muslim Shi’ite. He threatened me during my detention. A few days after my release I was attacked by armed persons inside my shop and they fired several bullets at me. I was injured and taken to hospital. However, my brother Khaled who was with me inside the shop was killed in that incident.
"When I regained consciousness in hospital, the police took my statement. Two of those persons were arrested after I was discharged from the hospital and they were tried and one of them was sentenced to death and was executed. The tribe of the executed person threatened to kill me and my family in retaliation for the execution of their son.
"What could I do? I had no option but to flee and that is what I did in a dark night in which I fled to *******. I do not know the fate of my family. I cannot go back to Iraq as I am under the threat of being killed in revenge. I am from a Mandaean family, from a peaceful minority that loves peace and hates killing and spilling of blood. We are deprived of every human right as a result of the wars and destructive environment we live under." (Received by SMAA in early Sept 2003, and translated by a certified translator.)" (WEA, 29. September 2003)
Das Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) veröffentlichte im Jänner 2004 einen Hintergrundartikel zur steigenden Zahl von Übergriffen gegen Mandäer im Irak:
"Increased attacks leave the Mandaean minority group gripped by fear and thoughts of emigration. [...]
Amal argues with her husband every day. She wants to take her children out of school. He doesn’t. Her neighbour, a jeweller named Ivan Bader, removed his kids from class long ago, sold his comfortable home and moved. Nobody knows where Ivan went. He was kidnapped last summer and released only after his family paid thousands of dollars ransom. Amal (not her real name) doesn’t want that happening to her family. She even has taken drastic steps to protect herself, learning to fire guns and wield knives. Bader’s neighbours don’t know exactly why he was kidnapped, but they suspect it’s because he belonged to the Mandaeans, a religious sect that traces its lineage to pre-Christian times.
Jordan is thought to be their original home but due to persecution centuries ago, they were forced to flee to what is now Iraq and Iran. There are now perhaps 200,000 Mandaeans worldwide, living mostly in Iraq, Iran, Australia and Sweden. Some 100,000 of them reside in Baghdad. The group believes water is the foundation of life, and they often live near rivers and lakes, which play a role in their religious and social rituals. But Mandaeans don’t live near water much these days, especially in Baghdad where too many potential attackers prowl the Tigris River.
"We practice our ceremonies inside the Mendi [temple] now because of our fear that someone will attack us," said Baghdadi Alaa Dahla, a member of the sect’s affairs council.
Baghdad’s tightly knit Mandaean community has suffered ten murders and more than 13 kidnappings in just three months. That has left the group living in fear, and has prompted their leader to appeal for protection to religious and political leaders, locally and internationally. A non-violent people who believe that God alone has the right to take a human life, the Mandaeans are targets partly because they normally don’t carry weapons. That makes them highly vulnerable in the near lawless chaos of post-war Baghdad.
The Mandaeans also are seen as wealthy since they traditionally own jewellery stores and work as goldsmiths. “Even if we are poor, the criminals know that we have rich relatives who work in gold,” said Amal.
Mauid al-Sawady, a journalist with the group’s Afaq Mandaia magazine, offers yet another possibility. "They target us because we don’t have clans or tribes to protect us, so they consider us weak people," he said.
For whatever reason, though, the upsurge in violence has left its mark.
Kalid Amin, the chairman of the high council of the Mandaeans, says the crime rate against members of the sect is very high considering their small numbers. He ticks off a long list of people who have been kidnapped or assaulted, including Samir Neama, a jeweller who was recently hospitalised after a gun attack.
“All this has made the jewellers close their shops, or else they pay bodyguards to protect them," Amin told IWPR.
Mandaean officials have filed many complaints with local police, but members claim that no action has been taken to protect them. As a result, they no longer report crimes to the authorities - choosing instead to seek help from higher powers.
A Mandaean delegation visited Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani last June to ask him to appeal to the Shia Muslim community to assure their safety. In January, the groups also met Paul Bremer, the top United States administrator in Iraq, to ask for assurances they can practice their religion freely.
They even asked Bremer for representation in the new constitution and in the government, and to be able to open Mandaean language schools.
But their efforts have not led to any increased sense of security. “We don’t know why we are targeted, whether for money or for sectarian reasons," said one jeweller, who did not to be named. "But we are afraid for our families because of our history of oppression.”
Baghdadi Alaa Dahla thinks the murders and kidnappings are either the work of criminals released by Saddam Hussein before the war, or of people from outside the country who want to stir up sectarian trouble. Whoever or whatever the reason, Dahla hopes things improve soon, saying, "We love our country and we don’t want to move away from it."
But emigrating is exactly what Iraq’s Mandaeans have to consider, with Sheik Satar Helo, the sect’s world president and its leader in Iraq, now seeking the help of the Australian government. More than 700 Mandaean families live in Australia, and Helo wants Canberra to allow their Iraqi relatives to enter the country.
That may be a hard decision for some of the sect, but Al-Sawady, from Afaq Mandaia magazine, is resigned to the possibility, "We may leave if things get worse. Australia is a beautiful country, like Iraq." (IWPR, 22. Jänner 2004)
Im Mai 2004 erstellte Amnesty International Australien einen Überblicksbericht zur Lage von Mandäern im Irak, der jedoch kein offizieller AI-Bericht ist, sondern auf einer Auswertung externer Informationen basiert:
"As indicated by Prof. J.J. Buckley - an internationally recognised specialist on the Mandaean religion - in her August 2003 report to Amnesty International Australia:
“[s]ince the March 2003 U.S. occupation of Iraq, the world community still lacks information on the Mandaeans, despite the considerable Iraq-coverage in the media… the Muslim violence against the Mandaeans is escalating during the current conditions… The very life of the Mandaean community in Iraq is in grave danger.”45
According to the Sabian Mandaean Association, specific examples of Mandaean persecution in post war Iraq have been varied yet extreme, including murders, rapes, assaults, and robberies.
According to Dr. Hunter, during the years of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Mandaeans in Iraq were targeted by the Mukhabarat (secret police) for financial contributions, sometimes demanded at gunpoint, on pain of shooting their families.46" (AI, 17. Mai 2004, S. 7-8)
Weiters listet AI Australien eine Reihe von Faktoren, die den Alltag der mandäischen Geminschaft im Irak prägen: die Wahrnehmung und Behandlung von Mandäern als unrein, die Beeinträchtigung ihres Familienlebens durch Zwangsheiraten und sexuelle Übergriffe, erschwerter Zugang zu medizinischer Behandlung, Zwangskonversionen, Einschränkungen der Religionsausübung und mangelnder Schutz vor Diebstahl, Entführung und Mord. (AI, 17. Mai 2004, S. 8-12) Für die nahe Zukunft und zur Rückkehrgefährdung wird angemerkt:
"The Sabian Mandaean Association fears genocide for the Mandaeans remaining in Iraq due to the control seized by the Muslims in a seemingly lawless society. This point is reiterated by Dr Edward F. Crangle, who believes that Mandaeans who return to Iraq may face extinction and that the current anarchic situation in Iraq provides Islamist groups and their tribes with easy opportunities to act out their savagery.
The supreme spiritual leader of the Mandaean community in Iraq, Elrehema Abdullah Najem Zahroun Alsabti who emigrated to the UK out of fear for his and his family’s lives, now fears genocide for the small Mandaean population in Iraq. He stresses that, as a minority, it is difficult for them to receive recognition of their rights. He states that his concerns stem from the many deaths of Mandaeans in the business community, and the sexual assault of Mandaean women (an act which, it is claimed, is intended to force these women to join the Islamic religion). He says that the plight of the Mandaeans has been suppressed and that any external delegations to their community in Iraq have been accompanied by government officials who threatened them if they complained. The government monitored all places of worship. According to the spiritual leader, a warrant for his arrest, and death threats have been issued since he fled the country.
The Sabian Mandaean Association in Australia has been informed that the Mandaean community, unlike the other minority communities, had been excluded from all discussions with the occupying authorities regarding the future of Iraq.
In her report dated 04 April 2004, Dr E. Hunter, from the Cambridge University states:
“I am quite confident that the persecution and violence which has been levelled towards the Mandaeans as `kaffirs’ will certainly continue and result in their extinction.”
Amnesty International opposes the forcible return of any Iraqis to Iraq. The situation in Iraq is volatile and uncertain. While political stability may be achievable in the future, the religious problems that have existed in this country for many centuries cannot be overcome with a change in government. The persecution of religious minorities is likely to continue. As such, the Mandaeans, as one of these minorities, could be at particular risk of serious human rights violations if forcibly returned to Iraq." (AI, 17. Mai 2004, S. 12-14)
Diese Informationen beruhen auf einer zeitlich begrenzten Recherche in öffentlich zugänglichen Dokumenten, die ACCORD derzeit zur Verfügung stehen. Die Antwort stellt keine abschließende Meinung zur Glaubwürdigkeit eines bestimmten Asylansuchens dar.
ecoi.net is run by the Austrian Red Cross (department ACCORD) in cooperation with Informationsverbund Asyl & Migration. ecoi.net is funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior and Caritas Austria. ecoi.net is supported by ECRE & UNHCR.
