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Saudi Religious Enforcers Battle Sorcery

By Howard M. Friedman

Today's Saudi Gazette reports on the special efforts of the government's Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in combating sorcery, which is banned by Islam. Apparently there is a special branch of the Commission devoted to the topic. An arrest was recently made in Al-Ahsa where sorcery had become "the talk of the town." Sheikh Adel Faqih, head of the Commission's anti-sorcery branch, says that religious pilgrims to Saudi Arabia are misled by sorcerers who make use of Qur'anic terms. According to the report, Faqih "explained that a sorcerer can be identified when he asks for the name of a patient and for the name of the patient?s mother or if he is seeking to buy an animal with certain features. He can also be identified if he asks for a sheep to be killed without mentioning Allah?s name and asks to stain the body with the animal's blood or if he asks for similar unusual things."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on March 15, 2009 (boomark / email).