At UKM forum, Muslim doctors to learn of djinns, black magic in modern medicine
(The Malay Mail) – Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) will hold a two-day regional forum later this month, which it said aims to help local Muslim doctors reconcile their beliefs in spiritual beings and black magic with modern medicine.
The forum, organised under the university’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, will feature several international faith healers, a surgeon from Indonesia, and a local medical officer to share their experiences in dealing with “supernatural cases” and “djinns” (genie).
“We want to combine information from both medical and psycho-therapy fields to talk about medical diseases that look medical, but are actually not,” organiser Nor Azian Ab Rahman, a PhD candidate with the university, told Malay Mail Online over phone.
“As a Muslim, we hold to the scriptures and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Djinns can cause diseases, so how do we prove it through science and logic?”
Before the advent of modern medicine, malicious black magic involving malevolent “makhluk halus” (fairies, or “unseen beings”) such as djinns were often blamed by the Malay community for ailments that were then treated using exorcisms.
Historically, the Malays would consult a bomoh or pawang, a shaman who mixes ancient pagan and Islamic teachings, but the role is now increasingly undertaken by pseudo-scientific faith healers.
