Saudi Family Sues Genie
Saturday July 11, 2009
Thanks to Vandreyer for sending this one my way -- apparently a Saudi Arabian family is taking a genie to court for harassment. Yep, a genie, which is sort of the Islamic equivalent of a poltergeist. They are often suspected in cases of human possession.
Anyway, the family says that they heard voices telling them to get out of their house, and the genie began throwing stones at the children. Once the kids got frightened, the family began to take things seriously. So, they've filed a lawsuit, and a local court is investigating the validity of the claim. One does wonder if a genie would abide by any mortal judge's opinion in the matter, but the situation does put things in an interesting light. The fact that the court is investigating, rather than tossing the case out as frivolous, shows the marked difference between the Arabic world and the Western one.
In Islamic theology, genies - sometimes called djinn -- can be good or malevolent. According to the Koran, the djinn were created long before mankind existed. Some spirits were thought to be the source of plague, famine, and war. In fact, in some stories, Satan is the best-known of the djinn.
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Anyway, the family says that they heard voices telling them to get out of their house, and the genie began throwing stones at the children. Once the kids got frightened, the family began to take things seriously. So, they've filed a lawsuit, and a local court is investigating the validity of the claim. One does wonder if a genie would abide by any mortal judge's opinion in the matter, but the situation does put things in an interesting light. The fact that the court is investigating, rather than tossing the case out as frivolous, shows the marked difference between the Arabic world and the Western one.
In Islamic theology, genies - sometimes called djinn -- can be good or malevolent. According to the Koran, the djinn were created long before mankind existed. Some spirits were thought to be the source of plague, famine, and war. In fact, in some stories, Satan is the best-known of the djinn.
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Comments
How does one sue a being like a Djinn? A Djinn is supposed to be invisible to humans isn’t it…?
We’re also seeing a difference in the meaning of a “court” and therefore of a lawsuit. The court is a religious body in that world. It does seem odd that they didn’t take this directly to the local Imam, but an Islamic court could basically slap a cease-and-desist order on the jinni and find an appropriate holy man to enforce it. I don’t think that’s what will happen here, though.
Having a more or less competent tribunal for this might be better than using a TV show if it didn’t come with all the absurd laws …
Maybe the court will award them a fancy jeweled bottle…..
I just thought it was fascinating how seriously this is being taken. It makes me re-examine my own beliefs. How seriously do I take gods and goddesses, spirituality, and all the other trappings of this lifestyle I have been flirting with living for over 30 years? Bottom line – do I even truly believe in magic or is it just that I don’t believe I can do it?