Islamic Faith Healers Condemn 'Charlatans'

[ramonmercado]

Irony is not dead.

Islamic faith healers condemn 'charlatans'
by Habib Trabelsi
Tue Apr 17, 12:15 PM ET



Witch doctors have "soiled the image of Islam" by prescribing harmful treatments in the guise of faith healing, according to Muslim clerics and doctors who gathered in Abu Dhabi to affirm the healing powers of the Koran.

Islam "is not opposed to reason, science and modern technological developments," Ali Salem al-Kaabi, the head of Abu Dhabi's Family Development Foundation said at a conference last week, which drew doctors and religious clerics from across the Muslim world.

The conference "aims to expose erroneous ideas, correct misunderstandings and raise awareness about the (dangers) of sorcery and charlatanism," Kaabi said, warning that "charlatans seek to defraud the naive and superstitious."

The conference followed several reports in the Belgian media about faith healing practices of some European Muslim communities which turned into tragedy, including the story of a Moroccan girl who died after drinking several litres (quarts) of water mixed with black cumin oil, which an exorcist had said would purge evil spirits.

The herbal remedy predates Islam and has been administered in the Middle East since the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. The Prophet Mohammed is said to have declared that "black cumin heals every disease except for death."

Faith healing, particularly in the area of mental health, is widespread in the Muslim world, even among people in wealthy Gulf states who can afford world-class medical treatment.

In a bid to prevent future incidents, the conference proposed establishing institutes across the Muslim world that would train and certify doctors in both modern medicine and faith healing.

Delegates agreed that the Koran has healing powers, with some going so far as to claim that the holy book can cure AIDS and some forms of cancer.

Sheikh Jallul Hajimi, an official in the Algerian ministry of religious affairs, told AFP he had cured "Europeans suffering from mental and sexual illnesses that psychologists and neurologists had failed to treat."

"More than 400 people have converted to Islam after receiving Koranic medical treatments," added his colleague, Sheikh Abu Muslim Balhamr.

Many Muslims believe the Koran can cure illness. The most common treatment consists of drinking water with pieces of paper bearing Koranic verses dissolved in it.

In what he described as a blending of the longstanding practice with modern technology, Sharif Shukran, an Algerian biomedical engineer attending the conference, proposed transforming the sound of Koranic verses into electromagnetic waves and passing them through the water instead.

The conference, the first of its kind, comes as part of a larger movement across the Muslim world aimed at harmonising Islam and modern medicine.

In December 2006, a top Malaysian university published a report claiming that the postures used during Muslim prayers benefit the heart and spine, while increasing the capacity for memory and attention.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the study affirmed the power of prayer in a person's life, the New Straits Times reported in December.

"The study investigates the physiological interactions and effects of the salat (prayer) postures on the human body," Abdullah said.

"Since the majority of our population are Muslims, it is both of interest and importance that we not only understand the spiritual benefits of salat, but also ... its biological and medical effects."

Abdullah, who champions a moderate form of Islam called Islam Hadhari, has been encouraging Muslims worldwide to give equal importance to education, science, technology and development alongside the spiritual aspects of the religion.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070417/hl ... 0417161512

 

[morningstar667]

Wonder if these are the same charlatans who shove flyers through the letterbox round my area

 

[OldTimeRadio]

The conference followed several reports in the Belgian media about faith healing practices of some European Muslim communities which turned into tragedy, including the story of a Moroccan girl who died after drinking several litres (quarts) of water mixed with black cumin oil, which an exorcist had said would purge evil spirits.

Morocco's now in Europe? The Earth Changes are upon us!

 

[ramonmercado]

I wonder if Bushra Bibi is a charlatan?

The rumours about Imran Khan's third wife did not take long to start swirling.

For a start, Bushra Maneka - as she was known before her marriage to Pakistan's former cricket captain-turned-politician - was quite different to her two glamorous predecessors. While British socialite Jemima Goldsmith and journalist Reham Khan graced the covers of magazines and television screens, she stayed hidden behind a veil.

In fact, Khan would tell the Mail on Sunday proudly in 2018 that he "did not catch a glimpse of my wife's face until after we were married" - something that he said would have been "unthinkable" back in the 1980s, his heyday on the London nightclub circuit.
It was, he said, Bushra's intellect and character which drew him to her. But that was not what really got people talking - it was, instead, the mystical powers she was credited with.

The woman now known as Bushra Bibi was, in fact, a faith healer with a small following who respected her as a spiritual adviser. On Wednesday the couple were both sentenced to jail and fined more than $2m each in a corruption case - news that had readers round the world googling her name to find out more about her.

Some say Bushra Bibi's attached to the Sufi tradition, but that is disputed by others. Often described as Islamic mysticism, Sufism - which her husband says he has been interested in for more than three decades - emphasises the inner search for God and the renunciation of worldly matters.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68151420