UK health and social workers and those in the criminal justice system are increasingly having to understand belief in spiritual possession among ethnic minorities, with new research highlighting a particular issue with some sections of the British Asian community blaming mental health problems on the supernatural.

The exorcist Abou Mohammed sits cross-legged on the floor of a back-room in his home in Ilford, East London. He is surrounded by copies of the Koran, containers of olive oil and a spray-bottle of water which he uses on the Jinn, the supernatural spirits, that he says possess many of his clients.

Mr Mohammed, who goes by the title of Raqi, has a waiting list several months long and charges £60 for a one-hour session.

One of his clients is Mudasar Khan, 41, who says he has been possessed by a Jinn for years. He describes it as something that surrounds his body, buzzing, making him unwell and even stopping him sleeping. Mr Khan has been on anti-depressants in the past and suffered panic attacks, but he says the Jinn prevented medication from working and that it is only coming to Abou Mohammed that has provided some relief.

"I had to go to the doctors and the hospitals too, to prove it to my family, because if I didn't do that side of it as well they'd think it was in my head," he says. For five years Mr Khan has been treated by Mr Mohammed, who he says summons up the Jinn inside of him and speaks to it directly, easing its effect.

'Power to cure'

Mr Mohammed knows what he does is controversial - while we are filming his work he also films us, concerned that we will distort what he does - and he says that there are many charlatans in his field.

The exorcist believes some illnesses are unnecessarily dealt with by doctors when they are actually spiritual problems. He even says some people have operations they do not need because the Jinn has tricked doctors.

"I cure them by this book [the Koran]. You have to have a faith in it and it will work. So yes, anxiety, depression, heart problems, many, believe me, many problems get cured by this healing."

Despite this, Mr Mohammed admits he does have some clients come to him who are seriously ill and need medical attention, particularly those who are mentally unwell.

When 20-year-old Nadeem (whose name we have changed) became ill he and his family thought he had a spiritual problem, that he was also possessed by a Jinn:

"I was at home and I was with my family and their faces looked different to me, my senses changed as well," he recalls. "I tried to lie down to sleep, but too many things were going through my mind and I felt my head is getting narrowed getting tight. My thinking is big; I'm thinking a lot of things."

He says that in the night he went down stairs and told his father how he was feeling:

"My parents got worried, they said don't worry we'll call a certain guy and he'll sort it out... so they called a person who's got the power to control these things and take them out."

'Writhing on the floor'

Nadeem's parents took him to an exorcist for treatment:

"I was physically fidgeting and flinching all over the place. I was on the floor in my house and I was screaming and the Jinn was trying to come out of my mouth," he says.

Nadeem says he felt better for his treatment, but that he did not recover and was eventually taken to hospital. He is now diagnosed with schizophrenia and takes daily medication.

Cases like Nadeem's, in which his illness was instantly attributed to possession, are not entirely uncommon and are a cause for concern among mental health professionals.

Professor Swaran Singh "found that in the very early stages when people have depression or anxiety, they seek help through their GP because it looks like a psychological problem. When they become seriously unwell, like when they develop delusions or start hearing voices, then the groups diverge.

The Asian groups, particularly the British Pakistanis, then attribute their problem to a religious cause, for instance, possession by a Jinn. So they seek help through the Imams, through the mosque," he says.

Among British Asians the belief in evil spirits is not uncommon. It can be concepts like black magic or the evil eye, it can also be that the body can be possessed causing physical harm.

British Muslims in particular are brought up learning of the existence of Jinn in the Koran, though what the Jinn actually are is not universally agreed upon.

Source of blame

Prof Singh says that religious care can bring a great deal of comfort to patients, but it can create serious problems if it is the only help sought.

Tony Medhi says: "The Jinn concept is used to keep society in its place. If somebody isn't behaving correctly, maybe somebody's behaviour is very extreme, it could be due to some mental illness, or physical disability or something like that, people will turn around and say 'it's Jinn. Jinn has done this to her or him'."

'Operating in the shadows'

This has also been the experience of Yasmin Ishaq, a teacher from Rotherham who said she became a healer herself because she saw peoples' beliefs being exploited:

"If somebody was saying I was being abused, or I'm living in horrific conditions, they would automatically silence them by saying 'she's possessed'. I'm talking from personal experiences - family members, neighbours, community members - where women were beaten on the premise that they were possessed when really it was just violence against women."

"Here today, in 2012, we have men claiming in national newspapers that they can fix all your problems, that they can basically sort out every kind of problem for a price."

Nazir Afzal, the Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North-West of England, says that "We're becoming more aware of 'problem healers'. I'm actually very pleased we've been talking to lots of community groups who want to tackle this themselves," he says.

"They do operate in the shadows. They are protected by others within their communities, or within their faiths, or within their places of worship. They may leave the country. So it can be very difficult to track down the healers," Mr Afzal says.

"That said, the police are getting a lot more intelligence from within the community in the hope that we can identify these people before serious harm occurs."

This is an issue that is not going away. The spiritual care department at East London's Mental Health Trust, which covers what is now one of the most ethnically diverse parts of the UK, says that their services were established to serve a community where religion was dying out, but that now most of their patients value the spiritual as much as they do science.

Prof Singh argues that education is vital among communities so that these healers do not get in the way of medical care:

"For panic attacks and depression, the current treatment now is not medication, it's talking therapies, and in some cultures this means talking to a healer, so it may work."

"It becomes problematic when it becomes an alternative to medical care - so when instead of taking medication, they rely exclusively on religious ceremony or religious procedure. That's not going to treat the condition, so faith may offer comfort but it doesn't offer a cure for illness."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20357997

Thoughts? What do YOU think? Something very common in your community?

Thoughts?

Israel bombing again.

http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/gazaunderattack-break…

 The United States threw its weight behind Israel after it launched a barrage of air strikes on the Gaza Strip, and condemned Palestinian militant rocket attacks on southern Israel.

"We support Israel's right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

"We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence," he added.

"There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel," Toner said in his statement, calling on them "to stop these cowardly acts immediately."

"Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that is counterproductive to the Palestinian cause," he added.

"Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza or to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination."

- Agence France Presse

http://blogs.aljazeera.com/topic/gaza/us-throws-its-weight-behind-israe…

Warning: Distressing pics http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/the-new-abu-ghraib/

Well, this is an interesting one that goes against all the common theories. It is often suggested that people are getting smarter over time as they have to access more of their brain, in better ways due to education and all that.

Now a scientist comes across and suggests that we have been getting thicker for maybe longer than 2000 years!

Guardian article.

Actual papers: one and two.

I havent read the papers but one of the suggestions was that in times gone past being stupid meant that you were more likely to get killed and your children being unborn.

Now, you get helping hands making you survive and bring up stupid kids., which then survive due to help from others... leaving even more stupid people around.

The BBC has banned Children in Need’s Pudsey Bear from being alone with kids over fears of “improper conduct” accusations.

Dozens of Beeb staff nationwide are expected to dress up as the mascot and his pal Blush for Friday’s TV charity spectacular, hosted by Terry Wogan. The BBC’s guidelines include not initiating hugs because “a handshake or a wave is better”. The bears should also keep hands visible in pictures and never be left alone with children.

They must not approach kids and each will be accompanied by a “companion” who will “act as your eyes and ears and answer any questions”. The mascots must also never sit down with children or hold them, for “health and safety” reasons. The rules add that Pudsey and Blush “would never kiss or cuddle as they are not boyfriend and girlfriend (so please make sure your heads never touch)”. 

A source said: “Everyone is being extra careful after everything that has happened. These rules are to protect everyone.” A BBC spokeswoman denied that the Savile scandal meant Pudsey must now shake hands with children instead of hugging them. “These guidelines were last updated in August 2011 and have not changed since,” she said. 

“What am I doing? Why am i here? Why is my life so messed up? Why can’t I find happiness? Why am I alone? Why do I feel stuck? Why do I have these problems?’…

These questions only have meaning if we direct them to Allah. No one else can answer them. Consider the words of the Prophet Ya’qub (alayhis-salam, peace be upon him) when his son Yusuf (as) was secretly thrown into a well by his brothers. They then reported to their father that Yusuf had been killed by a wolf.

“I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah , and I know from Allah that which you do not know." - Surat Yusuf 12:84-86

When you feel stuck, when you feel that no one understands your situation, when you’re in pain and you can’t even imagine a solution, only Allah has the answers. You can’t see a way forward, but He can. You don’t see your own worth, but He does. You can’t figure out the road to happiness, but He can show you.

So I guess, what im trying to say is. If you are in difficulty, and if you are feeling alone, you should look to none other than Allah (swt). He will hear your pleas when everyone else would have turned their backs. When we’re needy with people it pushes them away, but when we’re needy with Allah He comes closer to us! He never tires of answering our need and forgiving us.

Let faith carry you during your darkest hours, and let Allah (swt) guide you. In fact; its a promise from Allah (swt):

“And whoever is conscious of Allah, He will make for him a way out (from every difficulty). And He will provide for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Indeed Allah has sent a measure for all things.” (Quran: 65/2-3)

When we’re out of ideas, surrounded by problems, and feeling totally alone… we’re not alone. Allah is with us. If we pray sincerely and strive, He will put light in our hearts and help us from directions we did not expect.

Ask Allah sincerely, open yourself to Him, and accept what He gives you even when it goes against your own desires. The answers to your questions are there, with Allah, I promise you.

Keep the faith alive, brothers and sisters.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv9NwKAjmt0]

You might want to skip the first two minutes.

Enjoy- I love Obama at the moment.

A Channel 4 documentary. Historian Tom Holland explores how a new religion - Islam - emerged from the seedbed of the ancient world, and asks what we really know for certain about its rise. Some of it is really crackers and laughable. But maybe thats because we're Muslims and its being told from a non-muslims point of view?

It goes on about how the muslim conquest of all these countries, but theres no proof from the time. Just goes to show how much of history has actually been burried.

[video:http://youtu.be/dm8xKh8eQqU width:410 height:320]