Black Magic

Black magic or sorcery denotes the power of a person to inflict harm or adversely influence the course of nature through occult. Known as Jadoo (South Asian Languages) or Sihr (Arabic), witchcraft is commonly held to be performed by specialists Jadoo Khur- (Bengali) or Sahir (A) (sorcerer) for a fee. Women more than men fear black magic because of its use in inducing them to go to Bangladesh (or other south Asian Countries) to marry someone against their will. It is typically perpetrated through performing spells on hair or nail clippings from the victim. Explanations of sorcery and jinn are not mutually exclusive: a magician may perform sorcery by sending a jinn spirit to the victim.

Evil eye pertains to the belief that some people can bestow a curse on victims by the malevolent gaze of their magical eye.18 Those giving the evil eye are held to be unaware of doing so. Commonly the cause is attributed to envy, with the envious individual casting the evil eye doing so unintentionally. Children are held to be especially vulnerable to this phenomenon on account of their inherent weakness; to avert its effects on young babies amongst some South Asian cultures, a black mark may be painted on their heads. This practice is not mentioned in the Qur’an or Hadith so it is not a veritable Muslim tradition. It can be assumed that this cultural practice adopted by the Bangladeshi community was adopted through co-existing with Hindu traditions on the sub-Continent for centuries.

Treatment for supernatural afflictions include the recitation of Qur’anic verses, blowing on holy water (and sprinkling on the patient or drunk), exorcism and the prescription of a Tabij- (B) or taweez (U) a locket usually containing verses from the Qur’an or other Islamic prayers. The prayers written on paper are sewn into a tiny cloth (or leather) pouch. The latter fold treatment involves an amulet worn with the intention of repelling evil or bringing good luck. Such amulets are considered permissible by some Imams providing they consist of the names or Attributes of Allah in Arabic and the person using it believes that the amulets or individuals are not powerful in themselves, but are empowered by Allah. A popular healing form is recitation of specific Quranic verses called - Ruqya. In Arabic ‘Ruqya’ has the same root as ‘Taqwa’ meaning piety. Ruqya is a healing method which invokes God’s name and prescribed verses from the Quran on the patient: “And we reveal of the Qur’an what is a healing and a mercy for the believers, and the wrong doers are not increased except in loss.” (Qur’an 17:22).

It is a Shari (Islamically lawful) process of healing where one receives protection through Allah’s Power. ‘Normal’ (non-afflicted) participants will not react adversely to the recitation whereas those who are affected may display signs of discomfort, anxiety or emotional instability, such as crying or expressing anger. Little is known of the prevalence of these phenomena in UK Muslims. One recent study by Khalifa, Hardie, Latif, Jamil and Walker6 examined Muslims’ beliefs about Jinn, black magic and the evil eye. Using a self-report questionnaire a sample of 11 individuals aged over 18 years were asked if they believed affliction by these supernatural entities could cause physical or mental health problems and whether doctors, religious leaders, or both should treat this? The majority of respondents believed in the existence of Jinn, black magic and the evil eye and approximately half of them stated that these could cause physical and mental health problems and maintained that these problems should be treated by both doctors and religious figures.

To date studies of religious coping in the Bangladeshi community have predominantly focused upon mental illness. There is a dearth of information about coping in physical illness. Greenhalgh, Helman and Chowdhury19 studied explanatory models of diabetes mellitus among UK Bangladeshis. The results suggested that prayer is commonly deployed by those with this disorder and ritual Muslim prayers (Namaz) (B) or Salah (A) were often cited as a worthy and health giving form of exercise. This is because compulsory prayer is offered five times a day and the practical methods for ‘wudhu’ (ritual ablutions) and then the physical form of worship/prayer (involves different physical poses such as standing, kneeling and prostration) motivates the patient to make the physical moves (where physically possible, limbs and health permitting). 

It is also a spiritual exercise where the mind has to be focused towards God; any worldly thoughts or interjections are repelled or blanked out as best possible to maintain a spiritual one to one with Allah. This alleviates the pressures of one’s worries that may be constant and there is a break from ‘worry’. This is also seen as a spiritual exercise that forms the second most important tenet of Islam after accepting the basic Islamic Creed. The authors of this study suggest that healthcare professionals should be aware of the therapeutic impact of this association.

Demographics of bradford

Bradford is a city of diverse cultures and faiths. Being the fourth largest metropolitan in population, the largest proportion of the districts population identifies themselves as White-British at 63.9%. The largest ethnic minority inhabitants of people are from a Pakistani origin (106,614 20.41%) in the UK, with Bangladeshis 9,863 (1.89%).

The majority of this Pakistani population of Bradford originates from Independent Kashmir (around the District of Mirpur) in Pakistan. The largest religious population is Christian (45.9%) followed by 24.7% Muslim. 20.7% of the population stated they had no religious affiliation (Bradford Observatory 2017).

The South Asian community began to expand in Bradford with the movement of people from Pakistan in the late 1950’s and 1960’s to find work in textile mills with continuous in-migration, often organised around marriage ties. There is now a growing cohort of both older people and of second and third generation people of South Asian origin, giving rise to a complex and now long established community.

There are close links with the Indian sub-continent, with family and village ties sustained through in-migration and regular trips “home” by individuals or whole families. The UK has a pluralistic healthcare system. Running in parallel to the NHS services, there is a large network of community-based, traditional South Asian approaches to health care. This extends to other towns and cities where there are significant numbers of people of South Asian origin. This network has close links with Pakistan and the Indian sub-continent with healers who are resident in the UK being closely linked to healers in India and Pakistan. Well known faith healers (gurus for Sikhs and Hindus, pirs for Muslims) and herbal practitioners (hakims) are frequently invited to the UK and travel around the country providing religious healing. The pir’s spiritual power is acquired through birth right (lineage), a lifetime of devotional acts, or spiritual enlightenment bequeathed by a spiritual mentor to a student. The process of ‘Kashf’ divine individual revelation through the heart rather than the mind allows him to communicate directly with God. With years of spiritual devotion to God, some spiritual Citation: Hussain NO, Dein S. An exploration of spiritual healing methods amongst the south-asian muslim community in the north of England. J His Arch & Anthropol Sci. 2018;3(2):158-169. DOI: 10.15406/jhaas.2018.03.00079

Healers believe they are able to understand or interpret the needs of their patients through signs, messages or disclosure of things unseen behind the veil picked up through a thought process which is more in tune with Gods spiritual messages than the average/lay person. Thus they can act as a mediator between God and the people. The word hakim is derived from hikmah (A), the traditional system of medicine practised mainly among Muslim countries in South Asia. This practice involves use of a variety of herbs and minerals, originates from Greek medicine and Hippocratic theory of four humours (blood, phlegm, black and yellow bile).

Traditional therapists are consulted and traditional remedies accessed when UK residents are visiting their ancestral countries such as those with heritage from the Indian sub-continent, Africa or the Middle East. Consultations may occur without the recipient being present, either someone solicits help on their behalf or remedies can be obtained via correspondence: tawiz (amulets), for example, can be sent by mail. With a quarter of the population of Bradford represented by Muslims, (the majority belonging to Pakistani/Kashmiri heritage) it is unique in culture and environment compared to other cities in the UK.

Similarly, unique cultural trends are prevalent in many life aspects of this population. There is a cosmopolitan outlook within communities in Bradford, with a recent influx of immigrants from Eastern Bloc countries and adherents of the Christian faith taking up housing within the formerly predominant Asian (and mostly Muslim) communities in the inner city. Therefore; in relation to this study, it is more accepted for certain members of the Muslim community to openly call upon religious or cultural healing methods and use alternative spiritual therapies in contrast to the indigenous population, which is more likely to access conventional medical therapies available on the NHS.

Recently the topic of ‘Islamic Spiritual Healing’ has been taken up by the NHS in Bradford District Care Foundation Trust through their Research and Design Department (R&D). To investigate further this study provides a diverse perspective of Islamic diagnosis and healing methods used by spiritual healers based or working in Bradford. Muslim therapists of different cultural backgrounds in the North of England were interviewed to identify trends and patterns in healing methods. To date subject relevant studies have examined explanatory models of health and illness among UK Muslims (mainly Bangladeshi) and their health seeking practices. Studies documentin the work of healers are sparse. The aim of the present study is to explore and provide some insight into different healing methods used by Muslim spiritual healers (SH) for ‘spirit possession’ amongst the Muslim Population in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Methodology

This study utilised an ethnographic approach to understand the details of practises by Muslim healers in Bradford in diagnosing and treating both physical and mental illness in Bradford. The author (NH) conducted semi-structured interviews based on a topic guide (from a review of the literature) alongside participant observation of healers during consultations at their ‘surgeries’. This methodology allowed for the collection of experience near rich data.

Participants

The study comprises thirteen individuals: twelve male and one female therapist aged between 36-88, (mean age 58 years) who have been practicing as spiritual healers in Bradford offering a service to cure affliction of Jinn, Black Magic or Evil Eye (J,BM&EE).

Seven healers were of Pakistani origin, two Indian Gujarati, one Bangladeshi and three Arabs. Their clients/service users were mainly from Bradford, but sometimes further afield. Four other healers were approached but declined to participate for reasons unknown. Table 1 & Table 2 shows the nationalities or heritage of healers with their age and healing method.

Recruitment

An application for ethical clearance was granted in August 2013 from University of Durham. The primary researcher (NH) advertised the study in mosques, community centres and through word of mouth. By travelling around mosques in West-Yorkshire and offering prayers NH was able to identify local (affiliated or unaffiliated) spiritual healers by speaking to attendees. Some healers were known to NH so he approached them directly. Other’s information was passed to NH by service users at other therapists’ surgeries or from the Mosque.

The spiritual therapists were all working from a mosque or a ‘home surgery’ in Bradford and were interviewed there. Participants were contacted between August 2013 and September 2013 either by telephone or approached directly for a maximum period of 15 minutes to inform them of the project after which an information leaflet was either emailed or physically handed to the therapist.

The information sheet explained the purpose of the study. It explained that we were seeking spiritual healers to participate to gain a better understanding of ‘healing methods,’ within the Muslim community: that it would be a semi-structured interview with estimated duration of interview time (90 Minutes) and the option to decline participation without prejudice at any time during the process.

Participants were informed that here would be no reimbursement for time, no perceived risks could be foreseen and there was no personal gain for the researcher/s except to perhaps publish our findings in future for the benefit of gaining better understanding of healing methods within the Muslim community. Full anonymity and privacy was offered (and honoured) for during and after participation.