Mandaean Americans

Mandaean Americans
Total population
	5,000–7,000
Regions with significant populations
	California,Texas,Illinois,Michigan,Massachusetts,New York,and other states
Languages
	Iraqi Arabic,Persian,Mandaic,American English
Religion
	Mandaeism

Mandaeans in the United Statesrefers to people born in or residing in the United States ofMandaeanorigin, or those considered to be ethnic Mandaeans.

Immigration[edit]

Mandaean immigration to the United States has been occurring for decades.Abdul Jabbar Abdullah,Nasser Sobbi,andLamia Abbas Amarawere some prominent Mandaeans who immigrated to the United States during the mid-20th century.^[6]

Surges in Mandaean immigration happened following theIran–Iraq War,Gulf War,2003 invasion of Iraq,and2006 bombing of the al-Aksari Mosque.^[7]TheIraq Wardestabilized the country, causing Mandeans to be targeted byIslamic extremists.^[8]^[4]In 2007,The New York Timesran anop-edpiece in whichSwarthmore CollegeprofessorNathaniel Deutschcalled for theGeorge W. Bush administrationto take immediate action to preserve the Mandaean community and culture.^[9]The same year, Iraqi Mandaeans were given refugee status by theUS State Department.Since then, more than 2,500 have entered the US.^[10]^[11]

The Mandaean community inWorcester, Massachusettsis believed to be the largest in theUnited Statesand the second largest community outside the Middle East.^[2]About 2,600 Mandaeans from Iran have been settled in Texas since theIraq War.^[12]

Communities[edit]

In theUnited States,the largest populations of Mandaeans are inTexasandMassachusetts,with additional mid-sized communities inCaliforniaandMichigan.There are Mandaean communities centered in:

San Diego, California^[13]
Twin Falls, Idaho^[14]
Worcester, Massachusetts(c. 2,500)^[2]^[1]
Metro Detroit,Michigan (in and aroundWarren, Michigan)^[7]^[8]^[15]
New York City, New York^[8]
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania^[16]
Austin, Texas^[4]
Amarillo, Texas^[4]
Houston, Texas^[4]
San Antonio, Texas(c. 2,500)^[4]

Notable people[edit]

Suhaib Nashi,of the Mandaean Society of America inNew Jersey^[8]
Lamia Abbas Amara(1929–2021), Iraqi-born poet who lived inSan Diego
Nasser Sobbiin New York (1924–2018), who owned the largest private collection of Mandaean manuscripts in the United States^[6]
Abdul Jabbar Abdullah(1911–1969), physicist and meteorologist
Sinan Abdullah(or Sinan Abdul Jabbar Abdullah) (born 1947), the first American-born Mandaean along with his twin brother Haithem Abdullah. His father wasAbdul Jabbar Abdullah.Sinan Abdullah was a dentist in New York and owned various Mandaean manuscripts that were analyzed byJorunn Jacobsen Buckley.^[6]
Fawzi Masboob(d. 2022) ofMetro Detroit,the first Mandaean priest to lead a congregation in the United States.^[6]^: 47His father was Ganzibra Masboob, the last priest inKhorramshahr,Iran.^[6]^: 39

References[edit]

^^a ^bMacQuarrie, Brian (August 13, 2016)."Embraced by Worcester, Iraq's persecuted Mandaean refugees now seek 'anchor'—their own temple".The Boston Globe.RetrievedAugust 19,2016.
^^a ^b ^cMoulton, Cyrus."Mandaean community opens office in Worcester".telegram.RetrievedMay 20,2020.
^Sly, Liz (November 16, 2008)."'This is one of the world's oldest religions, and it is going to die.'".Chicago Tribune.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^fBusch, Matthew; Ross, Robyn (February 18, 2020)."Against The Current".Texas Observer.RetrievedNovember 8,2021.
^Farhan, Salam; al Roomi, Layla; Nashi, Suhaib (October 2015)."Submission on behalf of the Mandaean Human Rights Group to the Human Rights Committee's Periodic Review of Iraq in October 2015"(PDF).OHCHR.RetrievedNovember 15,2021.
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eBuckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2023).1800 Years of Encounters with Mandaeans.Gorgias Mandaean Studies. Vol. 5. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.ISBN 978-1-4632-4132-2.ISSN 1935-441X.
^^a ^b"Ancient Iraqi Mandaean sect struggles to keep culture in Michigan".MLive.Associated Press.July 1, 2009.RetrievedNovember 9,2021.
^^a ^b ^c ^dNewmarker, Chris (February 17, 2007)."Because of Iraq war, a small religious group suffers".The Seattle Times.RetrievedDecember 9,2021.
^Deutsch, Nathaniel (October 6, 2007)."Save the Gnostics".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 25,2021.
^Contreras, Russell (July 25, 2009)."Ancient Iraqi religious group settles in U.S."Pocono Record.RetrievedDecember 7,2022.
^Bell, Matthew (October 6, 2016)."These Iraqi immigrants revere John the Baptist, but they're not Christians".The World.RetrievedNovember 3,2021.
^Petrishen, Brad."Worcester branch of Mandaean faith works to plant roots".telegram.RetrievedMay 20,2020.
^Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002),The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people(PDF),Oxford:Oxford University Press,ISBN 9780195153859
^"Gallery: Who Are the Mandaeans?".Magicvalley.December 2, 2013.RetrievedDecember 7,2022.
^https:// theguardian /us-news/article/2024/jun/09/iraq-mandaean-religion-michigan
^"Iraqi refugees find support from fellows and neighbors in Northeast Philadelphia".whyy.org.November 19, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 28,2024.

[BG-1] MacQuarrie, Brian (August 13, 2016)."Embraced by Worcester, Iraq's persecuted Mandaean refugees now seek 'anchor'—their own temple".The Boston Globe.RetrievedAugust 19,2016.

[office-2] Moulton, Cyrus."Mandaean community opens office in Worcester".telegram.RetrievedMay 20,2020.

[sly-3] Sly, Liz (November 16, 2008)."'This is one of the world's oldest religions, and it is going to die.'".Chicago Tribune.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.

[mansa-4] Busch, Matthew; Ross, Robyn (February 18, 2020)."Against The Current".Texas Observer.RetrievedNovember 8,2021.

[MHRG-5] Farhan, Salam; al Roomi, Layla; Nashi, Suhaib (October 2015)."Submission on behalf of the Mandaean Human Rights Group to the Human Rights Committee's Periodic Review of Iraq in October 2015"(PDF).OHCHR.RetrievedNovember 15,2021.

[Buckley_2023-6] Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2023).1800 Years of Encounters with Mandaeans.Gorgias Mandaean Studies. Vol. 5. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.ISBN 978-1-4632-4132-2.ISSN 1935-441X.

[:0-7] "Ancient Iraqi Mandaean sect struggles to keep culture in Michigan".MLive.Associated Press.July 1, 2009.RetrievedNovember 9,2021.

[:1-8] Newmarker, Chris (February 17, 2007)."Because of Iraq war, a small religious group suffers".The Seattle Times.RetrievedDecember 9,2021.

[DEUTSCH2-9] Deutsch, Nathaniel (October 6, 2007)."Save the Gnostics".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 25,2021.

[10] Contreras, Russell (July 25, 2009)."Ancient Iraqi religious group settles in U.S."Pocono Record.RetrievedDecember 7,2022.

[Bell-11] Bell, Matthew (October 6, 2016)."These Iraqi immigrants revere John the Baptist, but they're not Christians".The World.RetrievedNovember 3,2021.

[12] Petrishen, Brad."Worcester branch of Mandaean faith works to plant roots".telegram.RetrievedMay 20,2020.

[Buckley_2002-13] Buckley, Jorunn Jacobsen (2002),The Mandaeans: ancient texts and modern people(PDF),Oxford:Oxford University Press,ISBN 9780195153859

[14] "Gallery: Who Are the Mandaeans?".Magicvalley.December 2, 2013.RetrievedDecember 7,2022.

[15] ttps:// theguardian /us-news/article/2024/jun/09/iraq-mandaean-religion-michigan

[16] "Iraqi refugees find support from fellows and neighbors in Northeast Philadelphia".whyy.org.November 19, 2013.RetrievedFebruary 28,2024.

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v t e Middle Eastern Americans
By nation	Egyptian Emirati Iranian Iraqi Israeli Jordanian Kuwaiti Lebanese Palestinian Saudi Syrian Turkish Yemeni
By ethnicity	Arab Assyrian Kurdish
By location	Detroit

Immigration[edit]

Communities[edit]

Notable people[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]