1. Mandaeans “Knowers” or “Gnostics” Iran & Iraq: ca.70,000 John the Baptist?

2. Mandaean Baptism

3. Mandaean Art

4. Yezidis Kurds: N. Iraq, SE Turkey, NW Iran ca. 500,000 Angel Worship Malak Ta'us "Peacock Angel" Metempsychosis

5. Yezidis Sheikh 'Adi – 12 th cent. Sufi mystic Yezid I: an Umayyad Caliph Revere ‘Adi’s tomb Sacred Writings: –“The Book of Revelation“ –“The Black Writing"

6. Tomb of Sheikh Adi (N. Iraq)

7. A Yezidi Shrine in N. Iraq

8. Baha’i Origins: Iran, mid-nineteenth cent. Today about 5 million 12er Shi’ism – messianic expectations The Bab – “Gate”; Hidden Imam Sayyid Ali Muhammad (1819-50) 1844: declared himself the Bab

9. Baha’i Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri (1817-92) Baha’u’llah – “Glory of God” 1863 – proclaimed himself the prophet foretold by the Bab 1957 –leadership passes to a council

10. Baha’u’llah’s Basic Teachings: the abandonment of all forms of prejudiceabandonment of all forms of prejudice assurance to women of full equality of opportunity with menequality recognition of the unity and relativity of religious truthunity and relativity of religious truth the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealthelimination of extremes of poverty and wealth the realization of universal educationuniversal education the responsibility of each person to independently search for truthindependently search for truth the establishment of a global commonwealth of nationsglobal commonwealth of nations recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledgereligion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge

11. The Shrine of the Bab, Haifa