On an invitation from the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), the worldwide head of the Mandaean Community, His Holiness Ganzevra Sattar Jabbar Hilo Al-Zahrony of Iraq, is coming to Germany. His first stop will be in Hamburg on October 7, where the STP has arranged a meeting with the Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archbishopric and Chair of the Sub-Committee on Interreligious Dialog, Dr. Hans-Jochen Jaschke. The Mandaeans, who venerate John the Baptist and thus feel a special bond with Christian churches, have high hopes of the meeting with the Auxiliary Bishop. Members of this denomination in Iraq have an urgent need of support. The STP has also arranged for the Mandaean leader to meet with representatives of the Protestant Church in Germany, as well as with Markus Löning, the German Federal Government's Commissioner for Human Rights Policy.

You are cordially invited:

Photo session and press conference with worldwide Mandaean leader His Holiness Ganzevra Sattar Jabbar Hilo Al-Zahrony and Auxiliary Bishop Dr. Hans-Jochen Jaschke, 12.30 p.m. on October 7, at Schmilinskystr. 78, 20099 Hamburg.

The STP estimates that the 2,000-year history of Mandaeism in Iraq is about to meet a grievous end. With the radicalization of some Muslims groups who consider Mandaeans to be impure, violent attacks on members of this minority denomination have increased. Most of them have had to flee the country. In the 1970s there were around 30,000 Mandaeans in Iraq. Today, there are only 4,000 to 5,000. The situation for Christians, Jews, Bahá'í and Yazidi in Iraq is also marked by uncertainty and widespread fear of religiously motivated persecution and discrimination.

The STP calls on Germany and other countries in the EU to take in Mandaeans fleeing persecution. At least 5,000 Mandaeans fled to Syria in recent years; today, 60% of them are living below the poverty level. They hope to relocate to Western countries, particularly as religious freedom is not assured in Syria either.

The STP estimates that there are at most 60,000 Mandaeans worldwide, 15,000 of whom live as refugees in Europe, including 1,200 in Germany. There are 1,500 Mandaeans in the US, 1,000 in Canada and about 4,000 in Australia. Syria has accepted large groups of refugees (1,750 families, a number that is constantly increasing), some 500 families live in Jordan, 50 families in Yemen, and in Indonesia there are 23 Mandaeans.

For further information, please contact Kamal Sido.

Translated by Elizabeth Crawford