Asif, my cousin, has been in my thoughts ever since I wrote about the poor kid who died in a botched Ruqya (exorcism) to cast out Jinn.
Epilepsy Leads To Ruqya
My cousin Asif suffered from epileptic seizures. In Pakistani society, even among fairly well-educated people, Jinn possession is believed to be a cause of epilepsy.
Seizure
Whenever Asif had epileptic seizures, he would drop to the floor or ground anywhere. Each time he dropped, my uncle would drop on top of Asif prevent him from harming himself, and began praying verses from Quran.
My uncle and aunt regularly took Asif to some well-known Alim’s who would do Ruqya on him, to try and expel those demons that lived within him.
Scary Sight
Asif displayed abnormal strength, and it was hard to hold him on the ground. His voice would turn demonic as he shouted: “Get away from me and quit praying over me!” Then as my uncle would begin to pray, Asif would slip into a trance — and then snap back to life.
He would speak in multiple voices: One was deep, guttural and masculine. Another was high-pitched. A third spouted only Arabic. My aunt would sprinkle on him holy water given by the Alim, and he would scream in pain. “Leave him alone,” the guttural voice shouted. “Stop, you’ll be sorry.”
Broken By Ruqya
Each trip to the Alim for the exorcism would leave Asif emotionally and physically weak. It also left the Alim with a wad of cash.
Asif is now in his mid-forties, a broken man. His seizures never stopped despite years of exorcism. Epilepsy is a physiological condition, yet people still insist on seeking exorcism, which is outright abusive. Alas, with the rise of Salafism, there is no shortage of charlatans who would volunteer to perform exorcisms on whomever is willing to pay.
Criminalize Ruqya
I personally believe that Ruqya should be criminalized. It is often performed on people who cannot, because of age, or other incapacity, give proper consent. Performing Ruqya on children is child abuse.
Watching my cousin’s sad path, I now realize that what probably broke him was the message behind Ruqya. This barbaric practice instills in children that they are flawed, inadequate, and that there is evil inside them. It threatens their sense of safety.
Each child has the right to feel loved, whole and safe.