Laugh if you will, but there will be more and more of this in the West as the Muslim presence increases. The existence of jinn (genies) is taken for granted in the Qur’an, so they are an integral part of the worldview that is advancing steadily Westward. In The Caliph’s House, Tahir Shah’s marvelously entertaining account of his adventures moving his family to Morocco and buying and refurbishing a home in Casablanca, Shah is repeatedly amazed by the belief of the locals (including Westernized Moroccans whom he believes to be sophisticated) in the existence of jinn, the mischievous spirit beings who interfere in human affairs. And their invariable reply to his astonished inquiries is, “It’s in the Qur’an.”
“Genies blamed for girl’s disappearance: After a visit to Koran reciters, she had to be carried out as she appeared to be in a trance,” from Emirates 24/7, February 10 (thanks to Tanstaafl):
A Yemeni girl has been missing for nearly a month in Saudi Arabia and her family believe she could have been snatched by jinn (genies), a newspaper reported on Thursday.
The 23-year-old girl stepped out of her house in a mountainous village near the western town of Taif and never returned, prompting a massive police search campaign, Sabq Arabic language daily said.
“Some people told police they saw her walking on a hill not far from her house then vanished again,” the paper said.
“Her brothers and some residents in the village said she sometimes appears at night and then suddenly disappears…they told police that they believe she has been haunted and taken by jinn.”
The paper quoted her brother, Ahmed Ali, as saying his sister ran away from home a year ago but was found at another house on the same day. He said his sister had been nervous and moody but had no problems with the family just before she vanished again.
“On that day, she was with my other sisters washing in the second floor of the house…she then went down to the ground floor…my sisters waited for her but she never came back,” he said.
“Before she vanished, we used to take her to some Koran reciters and scholars…she used to walk into their places but we had to carry her on our way out as she appeared to be in a trance…a red fluid sometimes oozed out of her ears and noses…it was not blood and it had a strange smell…some scholars told us that she is haunted and others said she is under jinn guardianship.”