Do You Believe in Magic (Part 2)

Continuing on the topic of Magic, allow me to share with you the above picture which has not been altered except to add the description at the bottom. These are the men of much religious authority in Saudi Arabia. The function of these men is to patrol the streets, malls and essentially everywhere they possibly can. They do this by guidance and in order to carry on the seerah of Mohammed, to enforce what they deem to be virtue and prevent what they determine to be vice.

The picture above was taken in the time frame of the 21st century, might I add. The men of religion are keeping up to date with the latest in their religious education so as to not fall too far behind on their knowledge base – all evidence based too…or is it?

You might have heard of reports coming out of countries like Saudi, involving men and women being sentenced to death through the ever-so humane manner of beheading after being implicated of performing sorcery and/or witchcraft.

Most educated, well reasoning and rational people would laugh at such an accusation and immediately dismiss it. But the palpable horror of the reality that plagues countries controlled by men like those in the above picture who enrol is such courses to ‘further their education’ should never be taken out of focus.

Neither should we shut our eyes to the countless victims who literally went up on the chopping block and had their lives terminated by the deranged sword of religion.

No one is a ‘Threat To Islam’

“Amnesty International says that Saudi Arabia does not actually define sorcery as a capital offence. However, some of its clerics have urged the strongest possible punishments against fortune-tellers and faith healers as a threat to Islam.”

Amina bint Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser was beheaded in the Saudi northern province of Jawf in 2011. This same fate followed many after her as it did many preceding her. When you research this trending manic crisis you will find that a frighteningly high percentage of the people arrested, accused and executed are foreign workers (mainly domestic workers).

Amina was the second person to be executed for witchcraft in Saudi Arabia in 2011. A Sudanese man was executed in September despite calls led by Amnesty for his release.

In almost all cases, no further details on charges, how they came about or any tangible evidence, are ever delivered by the arresting bodies or courts. In Amina’s case, the interior ministry stated that the verdict against her was upheld by Saudi Arabia’s highest courts but no details on the charges were ever presented.

A member of the religious police said that Amina was in her 60s and had “tricked people into giving her money, claiming that she could cure their illnesses.”

Personally, I would label this as a scam. Not witchcraft and not sorcery. Call me crazy.

Another devastating case occurred In 2007, when an Egyptian national was beheaded for allegedly casting spells to try to separate a married couple.

My question is this; How do you prove someone effectively “cast a spell” in a court of law?

If you know the answer please feel free to comment and share your thoughts because I cannot help but refer back to my case when I was forced to sign sheets of blank paper under threats of harm after I was arrested. These papers were eventually filled in by the religious police, taken to court while I was in jail and I was never informed or allowed to be given the chance to attend my court case, I was denied a trial, my family was never informed and a verdict was handed down in my absence solely based on the “evidence” delivered by the religious police in the form of stories they made up.

And thus, I find myself in serious doubt of an authority figure that claims to have personally seen a naked witch fly on a broom out of her apartment window.