Thursday, February 15, 2007

Nigerian sorcerer arrested for practicing his craft in Saudi Arabia

I give this guy points for chutzpah (if it's okay to use that word in a story about Saudi Arabia), but there are safer places in the world to practice black magic.

From the Arab News:

In a unique sting operation involving police from both Makkah and Madinah, a Nigerian black magician was arrested here yesterday.

According to police, the sorcerer, thought to be one of the most dangerous in the Kingdom, claimed he could locate hidden treasures from the ground, provide unhappy people with happiness and increase sums of money through the mere touch of his hand.

Officers received reports that a Nigerian man called Sheikh Zubair was practicing black magic. Reports stated that the man was charging people SR10,000 for a single spell and that he would travel the Kingdom practicing his dark art.

These activities are illegal in the United States. Not the practice of quasi-religions such as what Zubair touted, but con-artist schemes certainly are against the law here, so you can't fault the Saudis for arresting this guy.

But Islam, especially the puritanical flavor followed in Saudi Arabia, is not tolerant of magic and the occult, so a long prison sentence, or perhaps a date with his neck on the executioner's chopping block may await Sheikh Zubair.

This is an interesting story. Maybe Wahhabi Islam doesn't have a total lock on the hearts and minds of the people of Saudi Arabia.

More from the Arab News:

Arab News spoke to Sheikh Zubair who admitted he was dabbling in magic. “I’ve earned a lot of money in Saudi Arabia. There are enough idiots here to trick and make money from,” he said, adding that he has earned over SR400,000 ($106,000 US) from practicing black magic in the Kingdom.


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