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"Reports from Iraq tell of a great number of killings, kidnappings, rapes, forced conversions and evictions."
By Ivar Ekman in the International Herald Tribune, with thanks to Paul:
SALEM, Sweden: In a small apartment in this town nestled among the cold lakes and whispering pine forests, Yahya Sam is doing his best to save a people. He does it by making myrtle thrive.It is a challenging task - the plant, which grows wild in Sam's native Iraq, does not take well to Sweden's long dark winters.
But he persists. Making the plants prosper, he says, is part of what it takes to help the Mandaeans - a 2,000-year-old religious group, and among the communities hardest hit by the sectarian bloodletting in Iraq - survive in face of what some are now calling a genocide.
"Our traditions and ceremonies form our identity," Sam, a 47-year-old electrical engineer, said of the myrtle, an integral part of the Mandaean religious rites. The ceremonies "are a way to save us as a people."
Mandaeans, a distinct ethnic group estimated to number no more than 70,000 globally, have for millenniums been part of the mosaic of peoples that have lived in the lands that today is Iraq. Those few who remain are seeking refuge as far away as possible; most of those who have fled are in Syria and Jordan, some have reached Australia, others Canada, and many have gone to Sweden, because of this country's generous asylum policies.
Here, they escape the sectarian cleansing that was unleashed by the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. But in Sweden they have also found a new threat to their existence: the erosion of identity, and the collapse of community, that comes with being so far from their homeland.
According to scholars, the religion is a fourth sibling to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Like their adherents, the Mandaeans, also known as Sabians, are monotheistic and share many of the same prophets, with John the Baptist a central figure. The similarity has meant that the Mandaeans have survived their varying rulers, even if their history tells of ostracism, harassment and on occasion a violent pogrom.
But the situation for the Mandaeans in Iraq has turned from difficult to catastrophic. Following the U.S. invasion in 2003 and the sectarian tensions, violence directed at minorities has become rampant. In the bloody order of Iraq, a tiny group like the Mandaeans, concentrated around Baghdad where the violence has been most widespread, come out among the worst.
Reports from Iraq tell of a great number of killings, kidnappings, rapes, forced conversions and evictions.
Amin Farhan, a 61-year-old veterinarian who fled to Sweden in December, told how he was approached in his Baghdad neighborhood by people he had never seen before, who told him that as a Mandaean, he "had no place in Iraq." He was given a choice of converting to Islam, of being killed, or of leaving. After seeing a friend gunned down in the street, he decided to leave.
Read it all.
Posted by Robert at April 10, 2007 8:26 AM
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"." He was given a choice of converting to Islam, of being killed, or of leaving. "
...Muslims in your neighborhood will tell you the same thing soon....
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at April 10, 2007 8:38 AM
These non-Islamic emigrants are a potential resource as translators if we import a few and teach them English
Posted by: PapaBear at April 10, 2007 8:48 AM
""Reports from Iraq tell of a great number of killings, kidnappings, rapes, forced conversions and evictions."
...and these are the good things Muslims bring to Non Muslim neighborhoods...
Posted by: exsgtbrown at April 10, 2007 9:29 AM
...Iraq has become a shooting gallery for anyone who has a gun...and the guns are plentiful...
Posted by: exsgtbrown at April 10, 2007 9:42 AM
The author of this article does his best to downplay the real reason for the Mandaeans' suffering. He does mention the threat to "convert to Islam or die." However, he also uses the phrase "sectarian violence," implying all other religions, and he would probably add the Iraqi Christians in this group, are somehow equally responsible for what is happening to the Mandaeans. He would likely include the Americans in that group too, if his editor had given him more column space. He also said that the Mandeans are 'fourth cousins' to a number of religious groups, including Muslims. Yes, they have religious/historical connections with Jews and Christians...the only thing that connects them with Muslims is that they fall into the 'infidel' category like other non-Muslim groups, and therefore share a history of abuse by Muslims. I hope for the best for the Mandaeans, wherever they escape to in the West. Their future is equally as bleak in Iran, where their children are discriminated in school (no surprise, their special dietary requirements are not only ignored but punished)and where their young adults are now prohibited from entering their traditional profession as goldsmiths. In Australia, Iraqi Mandaeans have a future, but only if they survive the refugee camps where they are forced to share space with Iraqi Muslims, who repeat their pattern of intimidation and violence against the pacifistic Mandaeans. Considering all of the accomodations that Sweden has given the Muslims, I think that they should help the Mandaeans create spaces for their mandis (worship centers).
Posted by: maryrose at April 10, 2007 11:12 AM
Believe me the urge to force the whole world to convert to Islam is overwhelming but Muslims MUST go by the teachings of Islam.A forced conversion isn't worth a dime.
at April 10, 2007 11:16 AM
A forced conversion isn't worth a dime.
You are correct, Abdullah. Now go tell that to your muslim brothers. History is full of forced conversions by islam.
at April 10, 2007 11:39 AM
Abdullah, please tell us one and all. Do you believe that this man's family should convert or die? Tell us that letting him live in peace is in strict accordance with Allah's word, and Mohammed (LSMFT) told you to live in harmony with people of different religions.
You have no right to force you beliefs on any person. You have no right to kill them if they do not convert. You have no right to force them to pay protection. Don't worry, Pakistan will soon become a Muslim paradise. I think you should move.
Posted by: Pelayo at April 10, 2007 11:42 AM
"Believe me the urge to force the whole world to convert to Islam is overwhelming but Muslims MUST go by the teachings of Islam.A forced conversion isn't worth a dime.
Posted by: Abdullah at"
....please explain why Muslims insist on forced conversions.....
The Muslims force people at the point of a gun to convert or die.....
....Islam is such a pitiful religion that it must force people to convert...
....Islam is such a pitiful religion that it must kill those who chose to leave it...
....Islam is pitiful...
at April 10, 2007 11:51 AM
"But in Sweden they have also found a new threat to their existence: the erosion of identity, and the collapse of community, that comes with being so far from their homeland."
The Muslims in Sweden don't seem to be having any problems keeping their dysfunctional culture alive and thriving....ugh. It's so sad to see a group of decent people fall away while people keep pandering to violence and intolerance.
Posted by: radishthegreat at April 10, 2007 12:21 PM
It's about goddamn time the Swedes imported a group of people that can actaully be civil with them. This touches a little bit on what I was saying earlier about immigration from muslim majority countries; how many here would seriously advocate sending these refugees back to forced conversion or death simply becuase they were unlucky to be from an islamic nation and were stuck in the middle of the Sunni-Shiite wars? We could only imagine how useful they would be instead as insiders into the mindset of the islamic world, for those westerners who still desperately need a clue.
Posted by: maxwell46&2 at April 10, 2007 12:36 PM
Forced conversions are forbidden in the Quran....Let there be no forced conversions in religion" Chapter of the cow
If an Islamic state is established, Kuffar must be let to live in peace. If they fight the Muslims and lose they Must pay Jizya. You people pay the state so much in taxes anyway, why do you decry Jizya, state tax since you dont pay zakat and charity ????
Posted by: Abdullah at April 10, 2007 12:42 PM
For Islam to permit forced conversions, it would be so self-defeating to the purpose Allah created human beings for....Allah created mankind and the Jinn so that they worship Him exclusively OUT OF FREE WILL
at April 10, 2007 12:45 PM
"If an Islamic state is established, Kuffar must be let to live in peace"
...in reality, this has never happened....Muslims prefer to exterminate Non Muslims..even if they submit and pay Jizah....history proves it...then the Muslims proceed with the ethnical cleansing to remove all traces of non Muslim religions...again, history proves it....
.........taqiyyah...............
at April 10, 2007 12:52 PM
Where in history have Muslims killed or persecuted obedient kuffar paying their taxes and worshiping in their places of worship?????
at April 10, 2007 12:58 PM
Where in history have Muslims killed or persecuted obedient kuffar paying their taxes and worshiping in their places of worship?????
Posted by: Abdullah
Damn, what an attitide! "obedient kuffar paying their taxes" That is persecution. It's called Jim Crow.
I'll let you look that up and write a report.
Posted by: Pelayo at April 10, 2007 1:13 PM
For Islam to permit forced conversions, it would be so self-defeating to the purpose Allah created human beings for....Allah created mankind and the Jinn so that they worship Him exclusively OUT OF FREE WILL
Posted by: Abdullah
Prove it by quoting Qur'an and ahadith if you would please.
at April 10, 2007 1:37 PM
Somali Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed....
Yemeni Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Iraqi Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Lebanese Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Sudanese Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Egyptian Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Iranian Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Iraqi Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Sudanese Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Nigerian Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Eriterian Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Algerian Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Javanese Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Pakistanian Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
Afghanistanian Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
TUrkish Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed.
at April 10, 2007 2:01 PM
"And when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters everywhere they are found; besiege them, capture them, torture, prepare every stratagem of warfare upon them; levy the tax upon them when their conversion to the ways of al-lah is complete"--Muhammad, the Kuran 9.5
Abdullah you can take all the Kuranic quotes out of context you want. The above quote is the REAL Islam lurking under the surface of the Kuran's prose.
The fact of the matter is, Islam IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEN VIOLENCE leveled against non-Muslims, and subjugation to those "unbelievers" who managed to survive the violence. 9-11 was a perfect example of Islamic ideology put into action. (I will not forgive Islamia for it either).
Islamic history does not lie to us. Muslim societies can not and do not tolerate "unbelievers." Over 50 million Christians were murdered in the Islamified nations during the twentieth century--a story of intolerance unmatched even in Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan (and one that has been repeated endlessly since the time of Muhammad). Nothing will change with regards to Islam now or ever as the Kuran does NOT permit that. Islam will continue to institutionalize first degree murder as it always has in accordance with the "prophet" Muhammad and hist philosphy.
As Sweden continues to grow more Islamified like the rest of Europe is doing, the Mandaeans will by unable to survive there either. Unfortunately for these people. But that is the way of Islam--extermination of the "unbelievers."
Posted by: pythagoras at April 10, 2007 2:02 PM
Allah created mankind and the Jinn so that they worship Him exclusively OUT OF FREE WILL
You don't even understand that which you worship... You mistake islam for Christianity....
Posted by: adobe at April 10, 2007 2:08 PM
"Somali Christians have been paying Jizah for decades, now they are being slaughtered, their property seized, those that remain are either forced to convert (by gunpoint)or executed"....
I am half somalian and I can tell you that Somalia is 100% Muslim. I have never met a somalian christian or Jew, relief!!!
Adobe, I am not confusing christian with anything. Isn't it the pagan religion which subscribes to three gods, the religion which says God fathered Jesus (Lord forgive you)...what a despicable thing to say about the supreme being
Posted by: Abdullah at April 10, 2007 2:42 PM
"For Islam to permit forced conversions, it would be so self-defeating to the purpose Allah created human beings for....Allah created mankind and the Jinn so that they worship Him exclusively OUT OF FREE WILL"
lol this idiot doesn't understand that if it wasn't for forced conversion there would be less than 1% of muslims on this planet, all the criminals, psychopaths, crazy, lunatics mentally challenged like himself and his pedo-prophet.
Take out forced conversion of islam and you will see it shrinking from 1.5 billion to 1.5 MILLION worldwide (which is still too much)
Posted by: FedUpagain at April 10, 2007 2:44 PM
I invite you all to Islam. If you convert, I will love you more than I love myself. Your life, honour and property will be more dear to me than what is in between heaven and earth....Just accept that there is no deity worthy of all worship except the one God and Mohammad is His last messenger.
For your own sake, for your own profit in this world and in the next DO NOT TURN DOWN THIS OFFER
Posted by: Abdullah at April 10, 2007 2:46 PM
No hope for the deaf, dumb and blind at heart. Insist on your paganistic way until death finds you out and you are returned to your creator by angels mighty in strength....
at April 10, 2007 2:56 PM
"I am half somalian and I can tell you that Somalia is 100% Muslim. I have never met a somalian christian or Jew, relief!!!
....see, the Christians are now all gone, just as Muslims wish....
Posted by: exsgtbrown at April 10, 2007 3:06 PM
Mandaeans seems distinctively different from Muslims:
In addition, their religion is pacifist and forbids the carrying of arms.
Most, like Amin Farhan, are unreservedly happy to have made it here; it is a place, he said, where "human life has a value."
The Mandaeans have been forced to compromise ... Some purists feel this goes against the religious tenets, but Katia says it is vital to adapt.
It's interesting that nobody cares about brutally oppressed cultural groups like the Mandaeans, but everyone is gravely concerned about the way Muslims are being horribly oppressed and persecuted not only in the West but in their own countries as well. I once saw someone refer to them as a persecuted ethnic minority... in the Middle-East.
So, Muslims brutally oppress Christians, Mandaeans, Buddhists, Hindus and whatnot, they have numerical superiority and they are the ruling class, so to speak, in their countries. But they're still the designated Victims in the leftist/liberal cosmology. We live in a backwards world.
Posted by: Jesus Christ Supercop at April 10, 2007 3:12 PM
Abdullah,
"Believe me the urge to force the whole world to convert to Islam is overwhelming but Muslims MUST go by the teachings of Islam.A forced conversion isn't worth a dime."
Taqiyyah at its very best.
Posted by: bigcatgirl13106 at April 10, 2007 3:16 PM
Abdullah,
"I invite you all to Islam. If you convert, I will love you more than I love myself. Your life, honour and property will be more dear to me than what is in between heaven and earth....Just accept that there is no deity worthy of all worship except the one God and Mohammad is His last messenger.
For your own sake, for your own profit in this world and in the next DO NOT TURN DOWN THIS OFFER"
I believe in the TRUE God of the most Holy Bible, the greatest book ever writien and forever the #1 bestselling book of all times, the great I AM, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which the Lord Jesus Christ said at the end of Mathew Chapter 28 in the great commision to baptized ALL in that holy name.
No thank-you to your offer.
Posted by: bigcatgirl13106 at April 10, 2007 3:25 PM
Abdullah,
Do you own a tv set? If so, do you bother watching anything other than cartoons?
Another 20 or so were murdered today in Iraq -- that's thanks to a female jihadist attacking her fellow Muslims as they waited in line.
The biggest enemy of Muslims are other Muslims. There's a website dedicated to listing all the Muslim on Muslim violence (it's world-wide). Thus you get Pakistani shiites praying in their mosque, and BOOM -- they're murdered while they pray -- thanks to sucide bomber X or car bomb Y -- delivered by Sunni extremist.
Violence reigns throughout the Muslim world (the only exceptions are where tyrannical dictatorships are in control and threaten anyone who steps out-of-line -- writes a blog which thug in chief frowns upon -- with torture/jail time/ and for any continued "misbehavior" -- executions.
So, if you want to sell Islam, you should first get your act together...maybe as a first step you could start off by encouraging your co-religionists to refrain from murdering/torturing/ decapitating fellow Muslims. That's for a start...
Posted by: J.S. at April 10, 2007 3:30 PM
The sister you speak of was part of the Iraqi resistance defending her country in the name of Islam. The muslim and the angels pray for her safe entry into the Gardens of paradise by Allah's permission.
Islam is in no way a pacifist way of life. Peace for the peace loving and war for the agressors.
The Iraqi police are the tools of satan (America) who work to oppress their people and set up dictator shop (you know state you call friendly)
I don't see how this is an obstacle to any of you reverting to the true way of Jesus christ (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
Posted by: Abdullah at April 10, 2007 4:27 PM
Ah, I see. War is peace and peace is war. NewSpeak, islam-style. People standing in line, or praying in a mosque are thus, "aggressors." And the very people who murder them are acting in self-defense?
Why should such lies as yours be believed? Cause you say so? You defame the dead (but, conversations with you regarding "morality" are useless -- beyond your comprehension), and your "religion" is worse than paganism.
How laughable, when it's not execrable. Anyway, why don't you be a good little jihadi and go to Iraq, eh? or maybe Somalia would be more to your liking?
Posted by: J.S. at April 10, 2007 4:51 PM
I do not encourage violence against lives and property.
at April 10, 2007 5:01 PM
Abdullah: Believe me the urge to force the whole world to convert to Islam is overwhelming
I believe you.
You and the brothers can come and try it any time. I have a warm greeting prepared for you.
Posted by: ElderlyZionist at April 10, 2007 5:33 PM
WELCOME TO SWEDENISTAN
Excuse the blonde heads rolling around.
We're remodelling.
Posted by: profitsbeard at April 10, 2007 5:44 PM
"I do not encourage violence against lives and property."
Unless, of course, it happens to be a "sister" blowing up her brethren in Iraq, eh? Who do you think the "sister" murdered? Kaffirs? Oh, no! They were other Muslims! Ah, now that's a "religion of peace"! as I laugh. Have you figured this one out yet? Ya don't need infidels...just other good 'ol, murderous "sisters"...keeps the Muslim population in check, eh? That's your "plan", right? "Increase through decrease!"
Posted by: J.S. at April 10, 2007 5:46 PM
Pelayo wrote:- You have no right to force you beliefs on any person. You have no right to kill them if they do not convert. You have no right to force them to pay protection. Don't worry, Pakistan will soon become a Muslim paradise. I think you should move.
Abdullah has no intention of moving anywhere! He is quite happy, like a little pig in sh*t, in fact. Why would he move when he can collect welfare here by the barrowload? Or perhaps hes "working" driving a taxi.
Posted by: rookie at April 10, 2007 7:29 PM
"I am half somalian and I can tell you that Somalia is 100% Muslim. I have never met a somalian christian or Jew, relief!!!
....see, the Christians are now all gone, just as Muslims wish....
...
Indeed dullard. Somalia is ours as is all of North Africa, Turkey, etc. We demand our legitimate rights!!
You must accept our point of view of you and your kind have no future on this planet. You will be deradicated if you do not conform.
nabi ZK (PBUM)
- The nabi (UGWD)*was heard to say that there will be little time or resource to waste on this BS in the very near future.
* Umbie Gumbie Woobie Doobie
Posted by: zonie kafir at April 10, 2007 8:45 PM
Rookie silly woman stop streotyping....im a medical student @ university not a taxi driver even if I were, I would still thank Allah...we MUSLIMS are not ungrateful like the Jews, When Allah saved them from phirawn, they turned their backs.
at April 10, 2007 10:49 PM
memo to Abdullah: MOST INTELLIGENT PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO EAT GLASS THAN CONVERT TO ISLAM!!!!!!!!
Forget it, chump!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: pythagoras at April 10, 2007 10:55 PM
Boy, are the Manicheaens gonna be bummed when the Imams take control of Sweden. Swedish Sharia, all hail.
By my estimate, that would be 20-30 yrs from now.
Posted by: Alarmed Pig Farmer at April 10, 2007 11:01 PM
Hey, Abby.. do you have a nice beard? Great way to work on a patient if you are really going to be a doctor some day.
Note to self: REFUSE treatment by moslem 'doctor' - even if I am on my deathbed.
Posted by: Allahfanculo at April 10, 2007 11:42 PM
"we MUSLIMS are not ungrateful like the Jews, When Allah saved them from phirawn, they turned their backs.
Posted by: Abdullah "
....was Islam even around when the Jews left Pharoahs Egypt?......if Islam was around, then the Muslims were without a doubt, on the payroll of Pharoah...in effect ...the slavemasters, not the saviours of the Jews...
at April 11, 2007 6:46 AM
Thanks for invitation, Abdullah, but I don't need your love or your religion (any religion, for that matter).
Posted by: Syndic Nuruodo at April 11, 2007 4:29 PM
"Where in history have Muslims killed or persecuted obedient kuffar paying their taxes and worshiping in their places of worship?????"
Abdullah is so blind and brainwashed that he doesn't even see anything wrong with this statement. The undeserved arrogance of muslims never ceases to amaze me.
at April 11, 2007 6:07 PM
Some people are missing a point That Abdullah under stands very well. Yes a forced conversion may not be heartfelt. But it’s the children and mostly the grandchildren that are the prize. Example in Serbia in 1400 they began their conquest of Southern Europe they forced Serbians to convert not only to save their lives but to preserve their lifestyle and property. For five hundred years their grandchildren enforced Islamic law and Turkish rule on their cousins. Also look at the Japanese, Do you think the Adults of 1945 suddenly became democrates, but today their grandchildren are a democratic people. The same with the Germans remember it the young who spread Ideals with vigor. If Islam is to control the world it is not those who summit to Islam who will do it but their descendants.
at April 12, 2007 2:54 PM
Zonia Kafir people like you bring out the worst in me. I used to think that second and third generation Moslems would become Americans but I now realize that people like you will not permit it. I now support baring immigration to all Moslems and the removal of as many as possible from American soil. Also we need to restart the Crusades and re-conquer all the Christians land stolen by Moslems and then help the Hindus and Buddhists and others to reclaim their lost lands. I would confine all Moslems to Arabia and build a fence around it.
Posted by: jonesport at April 12, 2007 4:23 PM
Hello jonesport
I am sorry to bring out the worst as that is not my intention. This
http://illustratedpig.blogspot.com/2007/04/this-is-not-bbc-cnn.html
brings out the worst in me. I agree with all of your points above except that the so called Arabian Peninsula actually belongs to Jews, Sabeans, Hindus, Christians,and others. Every square inch of occupied territory must be returned. The full measure of what mohametans provided to the others must be gleefully returned to them. The dead wait for justice.
nabi ZK
Posted by: zonie kafir at April 13, 2007 3:54 AM
Zonia Kafir WOW! What can I say? I did not know the Arabian Peninsula belong to the Jews other than they spent about forty years exploring it and that some did live there in Mohammed’s time. Because when he expelled the third Jewish tribe from Medina he had a fire built on the chief’s chest to make him tell where the tribe’s money was kept. Allah the compassionate and merciful taught his poppet well.
Posted by: jonesport at April 13, 2007 11:15 AM
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