Sabian Mandaean leader denies attack on Baghdad temple

BAGHDAD – The head of the Sabian Mandaean community in Iraq and the world, Sattar Jabar Helou, denied on Thursday that the Mandaean temple in Baghdad was attacked. Helou described reports circulating on social media and news websites about an attack as “false and untrue.”

Helou’s statement contradicts remarks by the head of the Sabian Mandaean Council of Notables, Ghanim Hashim Lifta. Lifta told the Kurdish Rudaw Media Network earlier today that the religious group’s temple in Baghdad, called Mandi, was attacked on July 8 by assailants carrying non-firearms. The assailants, who insulted the temple and Sabian Mandaean religious symbols, threatened to blow up the temple if followers of the religious group did not evacuate. Lifta accused the security services of not taking “any action” despite a formal complaint lodged by Sabian Mandaean representatives.

The Sabian Mandaeans are a small community practicing an ancient pre-Islamic religion that once thrived in lower Mesopotamia. The community’s overall number is estimated at around 70,000, with the majority of Sabian Mandaeans having left Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion and ensuing instability in the country.