Khaldoon Majid Abdullah
Mandaean priest in Australia
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Ganzibra Khaldoon Majid Abdullah (Arabic: خلدون ماجد عبدالله; born 16 March 1963, in Amarah, Maysan Governorate, Iraq) is an Iraqi-Australian Mandaean priest.[1] He is currently the ganzibra (senior priest) of Yahya Yuhana Mandi (also known as Mandi Yehya Yahana or Mandi Yehya Youhanna[2]) in Prestons, New South Wales, Australia.[3]
Khaldoon Majid Abdullah | |
|---|---|
خلدون ماجد عبدالله | |
Ganzibra Khaldoon Majid Abdullah at Yahya Yuhana Mandi during Parwanaya 2025 | |
| Title | Ganzibra |
| Personal life | |
| Born | March 16, 1963 Amarah, Maysan Governorate, Iraq |
| Citizenship | Australian |
| Other names | Adam bar Maliha (ࡀࡃࡀࡌ ࡁࡓ ࡌࡀࡋࡉࡄࡀ) |
| Occupation | Mandaean priest |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Mandaeism |
| Initiation | Tarmida 1995 Baghdad by Tarmida Khalaf Abed Raba and Rishamma Abdullah bar negm |
| Initiated | Sahi Bashikh |
Biography
Khaldoon Majid Abdullah was born on 16 March 1963 in Amarah, Maysan Governorate, Iraq. His Mandaean baptismal name is Adam bar Maliha (ࡀࡃࡀࡌ ࡁࡓ ࡌࡀࡋࡉࡄࡀ). His father died when he was 4 months old. When he was 7 years old, he moved to Baghdad.[4][5]
In 1995, he was initiated as a tarmida by his rabbi, Tarmida Khalaf Abed Raba, when he was 32 years old. Rishamma Abdullah bar Sam was the head priest supervising the initiation at the time.[4][5] Khaldoon Majid Abdullah later attained the rank of ganzibra and emigrated to Australia. In 2019, he initiated Sahi Bashikh, who had arrived in Australia from Iran in 2017, as a tarmida.[6] As of 2023, he serves as the head priest of Yahya Yuhana Mandi in the Sydney metropolitan area, Australia.
His mother's uncle was Sheikh Tarmida Salem Shukhair of Amarah, who was initiated as a tarmida in 1967 and died in 2003.[4][5]
