Comments on: Blaming it on witchcraft

By: Mitsurugi

Mitsurugi — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:08:52 +0000

In my mother’s hometown in Somalia, a land dispute between two clans turned ugly when one of the negotiators became seriously ill. It was assumed he had had a spell cast on him by the other clan, even though he himself protested that he was just ill and needed a doctor. He eventually died, sparking a local war in which around 20 people were killed.

By: bingregory

bingregory — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:01:50 +0000

Organica, don’t tell me these Saudis are so easily influenced that their domestic help can drag them into superstition and jinn-ology. Sounds like scapegoating to me.

By: Indigo Jo

Indigo Jo — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:19:40 +0000

As-Salaamu ‘alaikum,

Organica: the problem is not that people believe in these things (jinn and magic are mentioned as facts in the Qur’an), it’s the tendency of Muslims to blame everything on them, and assume that any problem they have is down to someone doing magic or a jinn bothering them.

By: Organica

Organica — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:10:17 +0000

Oh boy! This is a good post although much elaboration is needed. I remember Muslim Matters preparing a "special" on the jinn possession issue and that's when I stopped following the site! The only proof the author of the series could provide is that she was an eyewitness. In my mind that equates bull! You will be surprised the number of Middle Easterners who believe in the power of Jinn and Magic. I remember reading on an Arabic Saudi forum about Magic and Jinn. Many of their beliefs were imported from house help brought from Asian countries (Philippines, Indonesia, etc). There are Jinn masters who specializes in breaking curses and exorcisms. So very sad :( .-= Organica´s last blog ..Muslim Dating: The Reality of Our Ummah =-.

By: Salman

Salman — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:19:26 +0000

In my humble opinion the problem here can be narrowed down to lack of guidance. Not that guidance isn’t available rather there are some people who hold monopoly over misguidance keeping the masses intellectual contained. My local mosque is a brelawi one where almost everyone believes they are affected by jinns and magic somehow or the other. Its quite worrying because their whole lives revolve around it, their conversations start with so and so doing jadu (magic) on so and so ending with recommendations of peers. This unfortunately is their link with Islam, try saying anything contrary to what their peer has been feeding their naïve brains you are labelled a Wahabbi. .-= Salman´s last blog ..Mental Health & Jinn Possession Amongst Muslims =-.

By: Honest Waffle

Honest Waffle — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:37:06 +0000

It’s not just limited to Africa, it’s a very serious issue here in the UK amongst Pakistanis, and the sheer number of adverts of ‘Babas’ than can cure your problems is unreal. Unfortunately, there are members of my extended family who won’t see past their own issues, and blame everything that happens to them on witchcraft.

By: Saggal

Saggal — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:07:35 +0000

Attributing mental illness to jinn is a very serious problem in the horn of africa too. Sometimes the illness has roots in infections that could have been cured easily with antibiotics in the early stages, but what usually happens is that relatives of the sick would consult so-called “religious” men and women who make the situation worse until the patient loses their mind.

I personally know a little girl who had ear infection and after years of torture at the hands of “healers” ended up being physically deformed and for people to claim she was possessed by the jinn and avoid contact with her -to cut a long story short, she was eventually taken to a hospital in Abu Dhabi and doctors there said if it was within their power they would lock up everyone connected to the girl and throw away the keys. She is almost back to her normal self now. She was the lucky one. Hundreds of kids never get the chance to see a medical doctor.

And in West Africa, all death is attributed to witch craft. They call it death by ‘remote control’. Even the very educated in society still believe in this nonsense.

To anyone that’s ever read “Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote” by Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma and thought it was fiction/satire -it really is a true account of life in West Africa, everything is still just as he describes in that book.

By: bingregory

bingregory — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:47:53 +0000

It's quite a problem really. There is of course an unseen world that can affect our lives, but that unseen world continues to shrink as we learn to see more. Where I live, mental illnesses in particular don't receive the proper treatment they need because people attribute them to jinn. My spouse works in mental health and very often has to meet patients halfway - that, yes, your problems may be connected to jinn/black magic, but therapy can defeat them. Flatly rejecting their explanations or labeling them ignorant won't endear them to what may be more effective solutions to their problems. .-= bingregory´s last blog ..Fashion Week Malaysia =-.