Digging further into the possible architectural link between Hammam Yalbugha/Umayyad mosque in Damascus, I came across information on a Gnostic sect called the Mandaeans who revere John the Baptist (reputedly, the head of JTB remains in the Umayyad mosque).

There are several interesting things about the Mandaeans that might be relevant for anons. First, they are Gnostics, so there’s that, but they also explicitly reject the teachings of Jesus and Mohammad as false prophets. Their religion is extremely secretive, with some knowledge being held at the top of their social hierarchy (sound familiar?) But there are two very specific connections to Q drops that anons might want to dig further on: water and gold.

Mandaeans follow John the Baptist as their main prophet and engage in regular ritual baptism, so water is an important component to their society. Temples are built next to moving water, usually rivers, to make ritual cleansing water easily accessible. However, with persecution, they have increasing built indoor baths with ritual water piped in for their baptisms. Cleanliness is an extremely important matter for Mandaeans, and they are apparently required to be clean to be accepted by god.

Mandaeans are traditionally goldsmiths by trade. Their wealth in addition to their religion has made them a target for persecution.

Lots more, but workfagging.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-11-16-0811160073-story.html

https://www.aaiusa.org/mandaeanism-a-small-but-vibrant-middle-east-religion

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandaeism