The Mandaeans—Baptizers of Iraq and Iran
by Karen Baker
Foreword by Amal Bejjani
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
The secrets of a complex belief system that have sustained the Mandaeans in their centuries-old native lands in Iraq and Iran have been collapsing before their eyes. This little-known Gnostic sect has been hidden from global awareness until now.
With a passion for the obscure, Karen Baker has delved into this secret sect, exploring the effects of the turmoil they have faced in their homeland, and are now facing in Diaspora. The Iraqi and Iranian Mandaeans have fled their homes with nothing more than the clothing on their backs, being thrust into the status of refugees, watching their traditions and cultures crumble as they encounter new lands and new cultures.
This book discusses the potential receptivity of Mandaeans to Christianity through several perspectives including an evaluation of their relationship to the Gnosticism of the first through third centuries CE as well as its syncretic adaptations to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It will be of interest to those interested in little-known cultures from a historical and religious perspective; those involved with refugees and immigrants; and those who desire to understand the foundational beliefs of Mandaeism.
Karen Baker’s enthusiasm for other cultures has prompted her and her beloved husband to travel around the world, as well as to welcome refugees and immigrants to American culture. She has an MBA from St. Thomas University and an MA from Liberty University. She is a freelance writer and researcher, and has authored The Balkars of Southern Russia and Their Deportation (1944–1957) from the Hidden Peoples of the World series.
“I have been privileged to closely partner with missionaries serving among the Mandaean refugee community in Amman, Jordan since 2001. In 2014, my family moved to the Middle East and we have encountered many Mandaeans. Because of the secrecy of this sect, as described in detail in this book, I have learned so much more about their history, beliefs, and culture, from reading this book than I could have ever learned in individual discussions.”
—Jonathan Grooms, President, Global Partners in Peace & Development
“Baker brings to her work a combination of scholarship and passion that makes her work both readable and greatly informative. This book is a wonderful read even to one who has never visited the Middle East. Anyone interested in the study of minor religions or alternative monotheisms or who is preparing to minister in the Middle East should read The Mandaeans—Baptizers of Iraq and Iran.”
—Michael S. Jones, Professor of Philosophy and Theology, Liberty University
“The Mandaeans—Baptizers of Iraq and Iran is a fascinating and scholarly book. Well-researched, but permeating throughout is the heartbeat that Karen has, that I can only describe as motivated by love. . . . It is also a call to evangelism, as more Mandaeans now live in the United States than in Iraq and Iran.”
—Jody Patrick Miller, Church-planter among Middle Eastern people groups
“This is a well-researched, definitive work on Iraq’s and Iran’s Mandaeans. Karen Baker has performed a tremendous service for missiologists. . . . I highly recommend it!”
—Randy L. Miller, Graduate Research Assistance Librarian, Liberty University
“I found The Mandaeans—Baptizers of Iraq and Iran by Karen Baker to be thoroughly researched, providing a foundation upon which to build the thesis and explanation of the Mandaean people and their beliefs and practices.”
—Diane Davis, Freelance Book Reviewer
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