Amid Iraq’s polluted rivers, one of the country’s oldest and most vulnerable communities struggles to preserve its spiritual identity.

Baghdad

The Sabian Mindayan community, one of Iraq's smallest minorities, relies on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for essential religious rituals such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Their traditions center on the concept of 'living water,' which is considered sacred and vital for spiritual cleansing and daily life. However, the rivers are now highly polluted, with contamination levels exceeding both national and international standards. Untreated sewage, industrial waste, and agricultural runoff have severely impacted water quality, posing risks to health and the community's way of life. Despite a dramatic population decline from over 70,000 to around 5,000 due to conflict and migration, the remaining members continue to uphold their ancient rituals while authorities and international partners work to improve wastewater treatment.

Future of Iraq's Mindanao community pollution

Dressed in white, the universal symbol of purity, the bride and groom step into a new chapter of life together. Submerged into flowing water, they wash away their past lives, ready to embark on a shared spiritual journey. Rituals of Iraq's Sabian Mindayan community always happen along a river, most often the Tigris or Euphrates. In our tradition, water is used for cleansing, blessing, and all major ceremonies, marriage, baptism, and even funerals. We call it living water. Without baptism, a marriage simply isn't recognized. Today, Mindayans are among Iraq's smallest and most vulnerable minorities. Their very name, Sabian, meaning baptized, and Mindayan, meaning knowledge, reflects the deep bond between water and spiritual wisdom. Their homes, places of worship, and gatherings lie in the riverbanks. They say the constant connection to the flowing water sustains their faith. Flowing water is sacred and unpollutable. It embodies life itself. Contaminating it is a serious offense. Dumping waste into the river is strictly forbidden because all life springs from water. Beyond rituals, the river water is used to cleanse food and utensils, believed to bring blessings and purity to every meal. Mindayan weddings, as well as other religious festivals, are celebrated with mass baptisms and prayers along these riverbanks. The traditions highlight the Sabian community's unique identity within Iraq and its commitment to preserving ancient rituals centered on water, purity, and spiritual cleansing. But the Tigris River is highly polluted with levels of contamination exceeding national and international standards, posing serious risks to the environment and people's health. Untreated sewage, industrial and medical waste, agricultural runoff and solid garbage, worsened by dwindling flows in dry seasons, have all taken a toll. Every day, five to six million cubic meters of untreated wastewater pour into the river. We're partnering with UN agencies and others to improve wastewater treatment by 2030. In 2003, Iraq's Mindayan community numbered more than 70,000. It has since dropped to around just 5,000, scattered by conflict and migration. Yet against all odds, those who remain here keep their ancient rituals alive, clinging onto a faith, they say, is as enduring as the rivers themselves. Mahmoud Abdel Wahid, Al Jazeera, Baghdad.

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