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Saturday, June 16, 2012

Dubai: Sorcerers and Witches and Islam, Oh My!

''Magic Jihad and witchcraft Islam are dangerous practices that jeopardise society, manipulating the minds of people with problems"

Well, that's the way it should read.

From ANSAmed June 11

Gulf: Clampdown on sorcerers and witchcraft
(ANSAmed) - DUBAI, JUNE 11 - In the shadow of the enormous skyscrapers in Dubai, symbols of modernity and innovation, old superstitions and black magic are still popular in the Emirate's intricate multicultural social web. At least according to the amount of ''material for witchcraft'' impounded by the border police: 92 cases in one year. Witchcraft is punishable with imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates, but in other Gulf states, like Saudi Arabia, culprits can even get the death penalty. Yesterday two Asian men were arrested at the airport when some bizarre and illegal objects were found in their luggage: texts containing magic spells and rituals, talismans, animal hides and bones, containers holding blood and other liquids, strings and strange rings: 1200 objects, classifiable in 28 categories, in total. ''Magic and witchcraft are dangerous practices that jeopardise society, manipulating the minds of people with problems,'' commented Ali Al Maghawi, director of customs operations, underlining that people's credulity is often used for fraud.

Women are often the easiest victims according to statistics. Islam explicitly forbids ''learning, teaching and practicing magic'' as well as consulting magicians, fortune-tellers, wizards and the likes because they go against the will of Allah, the only one to decide on the destiny of each individual....

Read it all

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