Mandaean Americans

Mandaean immigration to the United States has been occurring for decades. Surges in Mandaean immigration happened following the Iran–Iraq War, Gulf War, and 2006 bombing of the al-Aksari Mosque.[6]

The Iraq War destabilized the country, causing Mandeans to be targeted by Islamic extremists.[7][4] In 2007, The New York Times ran an op-ed piece in which Swarthmore College professor Nathaniel Deutsch called for the George W. Bush administration to take immediate action to preserve the Mandaean community and culture.[8] The same year, Iraqi Mandaeans were given refugee status by the US State Department. Since then, more than 2,500 have entered the US.[9][10] The community in Worcester is believed to be the largest in the United States and the second largest community outside the Middle East.[2] About 2,600 Mandaeans from Iran have been settled in Texas since the Iraq War.[11]

In the United States, there are Mandaean communities centered on:

• San Diego, California[12]
• Twin Falls, Idaho[13]
• Worcester, Massachusetts (c. 2,500, believed to be the largest Mandaean community in the US)[2][1]
• Metro Detroit, Michigan[6][7]
• New York City[7]
• Austin, Texas[4]
• Amarillo, Texas[4]
• Houston, Texas[4]
• San Antonio, Texas (c. 2,500)[4]

• Suhaib Nashi, of the Mandaean Society of America in New Jersey[7]
• Lamia Abbas Amara (1929–2021), Iraqi-born poet who lived in San Diego

• Iranian Americans
• Iraqi Americans
• Assyrian Americans
• Kurdish Americans
• Mandaean Australians
• Mandaeans in Sweden