More about the

Mandeans

Naïsa is one of the 3000 Mandaeans who live in the Netherlands. She grew up in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and fled to the Netherlands with her family in 1996.

John the Baptist is the Mandaeans’ most important prophet. Yet they absolutely don’t see themselves as Christians. This mystical, ancient people has been living in the south of Iran and Iraq for about 2000 years. These days however, only a few thousand Mandaeans have remained. Many have fled to Australia, Sweden and the United States. Baptism is their most important ritual. The more often, the better: they believe that the flowing water brings them into contact with the higher power.