User:7mdq/Witchcraft in the Middle East

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Modern Middle East

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In the modern Middle East, a complex tapestry of diverse religious and social dynamics unfolds. In the 20th century, the practice of ceremonial trampling and burning the flags of enemy countries emerged, which has been likened to witchcraft as "an attempt to harm the enemy by a kind of sympathetic magic".[1] In June 2015, Yahoo reported: "The Islamic State group has beheaded two women in Syria on accusations of 'sorcery', the first such executions of female civilians in Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday."[2]

In Israel, Jewish neopaganism involves exploring forms of modern witchcraft and pagan practices while drawing on ancient Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) or combining it with other influences.[3] There has been a resurgence of interest in Goddess worship,[4] and this intersects with modern witchcraft in certain cases.[5]

Saudi Arabia has continued to use the death penalty for sorcery and witchcraft.[6] In 2006 Fawza Falih Muhammad Ali was condemned to death for practicing witchcraft.[7] There is no legal definition of sorcery in Saudi, but in 2007 an Egyptian pharmacist working there was accused, convicted, and executed. Saudi authorities also pronounced the death penalty on a Lebanese television presenter, Ali Hussain Sibat, while he was performing the hajj (Islamic pilgrimage) in the country.[8] In 2009, the Saudi authorities set up the Anti-Witchcraft Unit of their Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice police.[9] In April 2009, a Saudi woman Amina Bint Abdulhalim Nassar was arrested and later sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft and sorcery. In December 2011, she was beheaded.[10] A Saudi man has been beheaded on charges of sorcery and witchcraft in June 2012.[11] A beheading for sorcery occurred in 2014.[12]

In Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, there has been a mixture of traditional folk practices,[13][14] Sufi mysticism, and New Age spirituality. Some individuals have expressed interest in alternative spiritual practices and forms of witchcraft, often drawing from local folk traditions, herbalism, and mysticism. However, due to the conservative nature of the country and potential societal pressures, such practices might not be widely visible or openly discussed.[15]

In North Africa, Morocco has a plethora of ritualistic sorcery and folk practices melding into the religious practices of many.[16] "Love Magic" is a very common type of sorcery practiced predominantly by women with the goal of curing ailments pertaining to sexual health, or gaining blessings for marriage from spirits as well as placing love spells on others.[17] Furthermore, traditional medicine plays an important role in the country side, with many instances of placing protective charms or traditional herbal remedies.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lewis, B. (2011). The End of Modern History in the Middle East. Hoover Institution Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0817912963.
  2. ^ "IS beheads two civilian women in Syria: monitor Archived 2015-07-04 at the Wayback Machine". Yahoo News. 30 June 2015.
  3. ^ Román, Rachel (30 October 2021). "Season of the Jewitch: The occultists reviving Jewish witchcraft and folklore". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  4. ^ Kestenbaum, Sam (November 6, 2016). "Finding God — Who's a She — at the Kohenet Institute". The Forward. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  5. ^ Idel, M. (2011). Saturn's Jews: On the Witches' Sabbat and Sabbateanism. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1441137319.
  6. ^ Miethe, Terance D.; Lu, Hong (2004). Punishment: a comparative historical perspective. Cambridge University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0521605168.
  7. ^ "Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'", 14 February 2008 BBC NEWS Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Usher, Sebastian (2010-04-01). "Death 'looms for Saudi sorcerer'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  9. ^ "Saudi Arabia's 'Anti-Witchcraft Unit' breaks another spell". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  10. ^ "Saudi Authorities Behead Woman for 'Sorcery' – Middle East – News". Israel National News. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-10-18. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  11. ^ "Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery' Archived 2018-07-18 at the Wayback Machine", BBC News, June 19, 2012
  12. ^ di Giovanni, Janine (14 October 2014). "When It Comes to Beheadings, ISIS Has Nothing Over Saudi Arabia". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  13. ^ Pop-Curşeu, I.; Pop-Curșeu, Ș. (2022). Witchcraft in Romania. Springer International. p. 100. ISBN 978-3031152221.
  14. ^ "Turkish Magic and Witchcraft". The New York Times. March 3, 1878.
  15. ^ Bogdan, Henrik; Djurdjevic, Gordan, eds. (2014). Occultism in a Global Perspective. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1317544470.
  16. ^ a b Hart, David M. (1987). Evans-Pritchard, Edward; Akhmisse, Mustapha (eds.). "Magic, Witchcraft and Sorcery in Morocco: The Sociology of Evans-Pritchard and the Ethnography of Mustapha Akhmisse, M.D." Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies). 14 (2): 183–193. ISSN 0305-6139.
  17. ^ Sex in the Middle East and North Africa. Vanderbilt University Press. 2022. ISBN 978-0-8265-0432-6.
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