Mandaean Council of Ahvaz
The Mandaean Council of Ahvaz is the main organization of the Mandaean religion and the primary authority of the Mandaean ethnic community in Ahvaz, Iran.
History of leadership
The Mandaean Council of Ahvaz was founded in 1349 A.H. by Sheikh Salem Sabouri, who was the religious leader of the Mandaeans at that time. It was officially registered in 1359 A.H..Ganzibra Jabbar Choheili was the head priest or ganzibra of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz during the 1990s and 2000s.
Ganzibra Jabbar Choheili, chairman of the board of directors of the council, died on the morning of Sunday, December 27, 2014. His son Salah Choheili, who emigrated to Australia in 1996, has also been active on the council.
Rishama Najah Choheili currently serves as the head of the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz.
Organization
The council has a 13-member board of directors. Mandaeans in Ahvaz and nearby towns nominate and vote for candidates to represent them in the board of directors.The council's responsibilities include teaching Mandaean language, culture, and religion, as well as resolving internal disputes within the Mandaean community.
Publications
In the late 1990s, the Mandaean Council of Ahvaz, under the leadership of Mhatam Yuhana, commissioned and supervised a new Mandaic transcription of the Ginza Rabba, the primary sacred scripture of Mandaeism. It was published as a printed book in 2004. Carlos Gelbert's translation of the Ginza Rabba is primarily based on this version.The council has also published the prayerbook, translated by Sheikh Salem Choheili with an introduction by Masoud Forouzandeh.