Our distinguished religious men

Our Mandaean people

(Assutha Nahuelkhon)

Meeting with Dr. David Saliba, Member of Parliament for Fairfield

On December 22, 2024, a meeting was held with Dr. David Saliba, Member of Parliament for New South Wales. The meeting was attended by the President of The Mandaean World Congress and Advisor to the Universal Peace Foundation (UPF), the Honourable Ambassador of Peace, Mr. Fouad Chasib Sobbi, Mr. Gregory Stone, Secretary-General of the Peace Foundation in Australia and the Pacific Islands, and Mr. Santosh Neupane, Secretary of the Foundation. The meeting lasted approximately an hour and a half, during which relations with the Australian government and the Mandaean community, as well as relations between the Peace Foundation and the Australian government, and ways to develop them, were discussed. At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Fouad Sobbi explained what Mandaeism is, its principles, and a brief history of the Mandaeans and their locations. The discussion then turned to the Universal Peace Federation and its remarkable goals of spreading awareness of world peace, upholding the family structure consisting of a man, a woman, and children, and the need to preserve its fabric from distortion. Finally, Dr. Saliba was invited to attend the opening of the Grand Museum of Religions from All Over the World in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Saliba was presented with a copy of the Ginza Rabba in English, a Mandaic language learning book, and a book on the sayings and testaments of Father Moon, founder of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF). Mr. Gregory Stone also presented Mr. Saliba with a book about Mother Moon, the current president of the UPF organization.

The Mandaean World Congress’ engagement with the members of the New South Wales Parliament serves the interests of our community by introducing them to their entity and long history in Mesopotamia, and by building a better understanding of this community, especially since Mr. Saliba has recently assumed this position and is responsible for one of the most important areas of Mandaean presence in Australia, namely the city of Fairfield, which is home to a large Mandaean community in Sydney. We thank Mr. Fouad Sobbi, President of the World Mandaean Congress, and his esteemed accompanying delegation for this fruitful activity.

Media Office

The Mandaean World Congress

January 4th, 2025

Our distinguished religious men

Our Mandaean people

(Assutha Nahuelkhon)

Translation of the Book of Mandaean Teachings and Rituals into Persian

The remarkable efforts of the generous Mr. Fouad Chasib Sobbi continue to support and disseminate the teachings, books, and rituals of the Mandaeans, bearing all the costs allocated for these efforts. This is not surprising for this man, who has led the campaign to build houses of worship (Mandi) in various countries around the world, and the translation of our holy book, the blessed Ginza Rabba, and others.

His latest endeavour was to support the publication of a book on the teachings and rituals of the Mandaean community in Persian language, in cooperation with the Mandaean researcher Dr. Qais Maghghash, owner of Darbsha Publishing and Distribution House. This translation was undertaken by two professors from the University of Tehran, Dr. Aziz Sawari and Dr. Muhammad Jaberi Nasr. The translation was reviewed by His Eminence, the Ginzabara, Najah Jabouri Al-Kahili, head of the Mandaean community in Iran.

Dozens of copies have been sent to The Mandaean World Congress associations in various countries around the world and to Mandaean communities such based in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Australia, where these books will be distributed for free as a charity (Zadqa Brikha)…and will be distributed to Persian-speaking Mandaeans. Thanks to the generous donor, Mr. Fouad Jasb Subi, and Dr. Qais Maghghash for their great efforts in enriching the Mandaean library with these important books that preserve our religion and heritage…

May Hayee Almighty bless the work of goodness and good people

Media Office

The Mandaean World Congress

17 January 2025