Abdulaziz Al-Simari

Al-Jazirah

 

Finally, the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution in Madinah has decided on the case of the judge who embezzled SR600 million and claimed he did it because jinns (supernatural spirits) possessed him. The judge and 36 accomplices were all found guilty of financial and administrative corruption. Senior officials in the Madinah Court and a well-known lawyer were arrested in connection with the case. During investigations, the judge maintained that he was haunted by jinns and he was seeing some exorcists to cure him. He claimed that he had no control over his actions and words.



This case has proved to be a big test for our public judiciary system because some scholars say that it is true that people who are possessed with jinns cannot control their actions. However, the bureau investigators decided to look into the case from a strictly legal viewpoint. Laws, they decided, do not take supernatural spirits into consideration.



Had the bureau ruled otherwise, this could have resulted in a catastrophe. Some people might commit crimes and put the blame on jinns or black magic. Embezzlers might use the same excuse to justify their corruption. A driver who ran a red light and crashed into a car, killing three or four people, might blame what happened on something out of his control and maintain that he does not deserve to be punished.



In the world of medicine, jinns, black magic and the evil eye are unacceptable. In other words, a doctor will never diagnose a patient as someone who has been possessed by jinns or cursed with the evil eye. Only scientific facts based on clear-cut proof are acceptable when writing a medical diagnosis.  The West has made giant strides in all scientific fields because they only believe in empirical research that is based on what is actually observed. There is no place for the supernatural and things that cannot be proved empirically.



Our religion encourages reasoning and the gaining of knowledge and holds scientists in high esteem. There was a time when Arabs made gigantic leaps in various scientific fields but they could not maintain this leading position due to various reasons related to politics and sectarian struggles as well as the absence of reasoning.



The case of the judge who said he was possessed by jinns may help us get rid of old inaccurate ideas and concepts. Our legal system is in dire need of development in order to be on the same level as those of modern civilized countries.