CAIRO – Statistics released by Saudi Ministry of Justice have revealed a worrying increase in incidents of black magic and witchcraft in the Arabian Peninsula country, amid claims it is being practiced by mostly expats.
“We have implemented certain procedures and systems to deal with cases pertaining to sorcery across the Kingdom,” Ahmed Al-Janard, a spokesman at the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (known in Arabic as the “Haia“), told Arab News on Sunday, April 13.
The Haia warning followed the issuance of new statistics by the Ministry of Justice revealing the increase of the phenomenon in the Western province, especially in Makkah and Madinah.
More than 85 percent of witchcraft-related cases registered in Makkah’s courts involve expats, the ministry said.
Several cases of witchcraft were also reported by residents who claim to have personally witnessed jinn in uninhabited flats and buildings.
“I have frequently witnessed jinn attacks,” said Issa, an imam who cures residents affected by the supernatural creatures.
“People come to me saying they had seen a ghost or had experienced strange incidents.”
“The Qur’an states that jinn have the ability to scare people,” he said. “They are supernatural beings that reside in parallel to our world.”
Syed Arif, an expat who recently moved onto the Arbaeen district in Jeddah, recalled a similar experience with the supernatural creatures.
“I had rented out a flat in this area even though the structure of the building was outdated because it was affordable,” he said.
“My younger son started to talk to what we thought was an imaginary friend,” he said.
“He never wanted to leave the house and stayed in his room for hours. We used to hear him laughing and talking to himself all the time.”
“When the situation got worse, we consulted a sheikh, who told us our son plays with a jinn,” he said.
“He had advised us to move houses if the situation continued.”
Ejaz Hamed, a resident in the Rehab district, said that the government has closed off a local building said to be inhabited by jinn, which has not been rented out in years.
Awareness
Taking a quick reaction to stop the increasing phenomenon, Haia took to social networking sites to spread awareness and close in on sorcerers.
“The Haia recently apprehended a resident in the Eastern Province who was involved in the promotion of witchcraft through his Twitter account,” he said.
“He was caught selling a stone that he claimed has the power to eliminate evil, reduce envoy and foster feelings of love.”
A Jeddah court recently sentenced an Asian Qur’an teacher to a four-year prison term and a hundred lashes, in addition to deportation upon completing his sentence, for practicing witchcraft and contacting potential clients on their mobile phones.
However, many imams confirmed they have encountered true cases themselves.
“There are believers and non-believers among jinn,” said Mohammed Mukhtar, a sheikh.
“Preachers who earn their living by exorcizing spirits should charge affordable fees.”
In Islam, jinn possessing humans and controlling them is a controversial issue. While some scholars see it as a fact, others totally reject it claiming that there is no evidence for this.
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states that the belief in the jinn possessing humans and exercising control over them is not one of the essential beliefs of Islam.
However, it is true that some of the past scholars (Ibn Taymiyyah and others) have considered it as a fact while others deny this, sheikh Kutty added.
Source:Onislam.net
