(Photo by AFP/Getty Images)
A Mandaean woman is seen as they attend a ritual on the banks of the Tigris River in Baghdad on September 21 2008. Baptism is the central sacrament of Mandaean religious life, revering several Old Testament characters especially John the Baptist. Since the invasion of Iraq by the US-led forces the 100,000-strong sect has depleted to 5000, with most fleeing the country. The Mandaeans have practiced their Gnostic religion for generations along the banks of the Tigris after they were driven out of Jordan and settled in southern and central Iraq around AD 67.
