A Mandaean Martial Arts Master’s Story of Discrimination

Iranwire – Religious minorities in Iran have been deprived of many of their citizenship rights for many years. The rights to education, employment and government work are among the most obvious, but in addition to codified legal restrictions, there are a number of unwritten rules which create obstacles for them.

This is the story of one of the Mandaeans of Khuzestan: a man who spent more than 25 years of his life in martial arts and karate training, only to be forced to emigrate to one of Iran’s neighboring countries. In an interview with IranWire, Master Khamisi speaks of the trials of teaching martial arts in Iran, and of his dream of returning someday.

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“I was a coach for 20 years, and an athlete for 25 years,” Master Khamisi begins. “I was appointed to provincial and national positions several times. But they did not so much as offer me a falafel as a reward.”

Born half a century ago in Khuzestan, Khamisi is a member of the Mandaean community: one of the oldest faith groups in Iran. He is also a master of martial arts. He began training in karate as a child, and says his family has a long history of competing professionally.

“My older brother was an athlete, one of the prominent martial arts practitioners in Khuzestan. I started under his guidance and later on, we taught my younger brother, then my sons. In 2012 I became national champion. As a professor I also taught various classes in Hamidiyeh, Susangerd, Dasht-e Azadegan and Ahvaz. As a referee, meanwhile, I participated in various national and provincial competitions and tried to stay in sports.”

Hiding their True Beliefs

“We had to deny our Mandaean faith when we participated in international competitions,” Khamisi continues. “We had to say we were Muslims. Some may have been able to do that, but I just couldn’t. This caused me to be dismissed from the national team without an official reason.

“One of my students also has national and international renown, and indeed he became a world champion, but while he was competing on the Iranian national team he couldn’t say he was Mandaean. Eventually he was forced to emigrate, and after that he could. This was a talented young man who didn’t want to be left out of the sports arena because of his beliefs.”

Being an Arab in Khuzestan province alone is cause for discrimination, Khamisi points out. Being a member of the Mandaean religious minority group makes it worse. Mandaeans, he says, are monitored much more than others by the security forces, and anything at all could provoke them. “I remember once,” he says, we held a summer camp for children: the same cultural and sports activities that are held in all cities. There was a Quran class, a Taekwondo group, a karate class, a chess club and many others. I was the karate instructor.

“One day they came along and closed it. They told me, ‘You are a Mandaean, and Muslim children attend this class. We’re worried you will promote your religion’. Even though I said I’m an athlete – I believe in humanity, and everyone can have their own religion – they refused to  accept it and they shut us down.”

This karate master speaks of his discipline with love and passion. Due to pressure from the security agencies he was later forced to leave the training group in which he was active as an instructor. “I wish it was just that,” he adds. “We lived in a small town. Almost everyone knew each other. The pressure on my family was so great that I ended up having to move to the provincial capital. It didn’t have much effect on our situation.”

A Brilliant Record

 “After moving to Ahvaz,” Khamisi recalls, “I attended clubs and associations that taught martial arts. I was hardly an unknown; up until 2016 I was present in many competitions as a referee. I received invitations from various countries such as Iraq and Oman to participate in contests, both refereeing and coaching – I had a brilliant coaching record – and we did manage to hold some classes, but we were still under surveillance.”

Khamisi tried to hold classes without separating students along ideological or religious lines. But, he says, his opinion as a coach counted for little with the owners and operators of sports clubs or athletes and those who came for training. “When I finally realised that I couldn’t work in my own country,” he says, “I decided to accept the invitation of countries that wanted us as referees or coaches to participate in their competitions. I travelled to Iraq and Oman several times. These matches were important. Different countries participated. That was my specialty. It was my work and profession. I had no other choice. But they kept on harassing me.”

Brother’s Arrest

This time, security agents in Iran came to him on a different pretext. “My younger brother was arrested,” Master Khamisi says. “They said I was cooperating with dissident groups. They said that under the cover of a martial arts class I had formed a group to work against the security of the country. My elderly, sick mother and father were constantly anxious and stressed. My younger brother and my son were being harassed. They threatened to arrest them. So I said I would leave the country.”

The Mandaean community of Iran includes several world-renowned athletes. One of them is Master Naji Zahrouni, who follows the same discipline as Khamisi in Susangerd. He too has a great many students, but no trace of his background or activities can be found in Iranian state media.

Dreams for the Future

Ghalib Khafaji, known in Iran as Mehrdad Khafaji, is one of Zahrouni’s students.

The 24-year-old has now emigrated to Austria and has been learning Kyokushin fighting since the age of four. He won four national karate championships between 2010 and the year before he left Iran, but was never invited to join the Iranian national team.

In an interview with the Mandaean Association in Texas, Mehrdad Khafaji corroborates, in a single sentence, all of Master Khamisi’s assertions. Asked to whom he owed his sporting success, he names his teacher, Zahrouni, and says: “If it were not for him, I wouldn’t be here now. He is still working in Susangerd. It’s just a pity that no one appreciates it.”

At the end of the interview, Master Khamisi says: “I know that one day everything will be fine. Life will show its bright side one day. The day will come when we, Mandaeans, Muslims, Baha’is, Christians and Jews, will play sports and work in industry and agriculture together; be a manager, an employee, a worker and a teacher; be citizens with equal rights in our country. This is my dream.”