"Satan Has Afflicted Me!": Jinn-Possession and Mental Illness in the Qur'an

Mental health stigma in Muslim communities may be partly due to a commonly held belief among some Muslims about the supernatural causes of mental illness (i.e. jinn-possession brought on by one's sinful life). A thematic analysis was carried out on four English translations and the Arabic text...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of religion and health
Authors: Islam, F. (Author) ; Campbell, R. A. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V. [2014]
In: Journal of religion and health
Further subjects:B Islam
B Mental Illness
B Spirit-possession
B Stigma
B Mental Health
B Jinn
B Koran
B Muslim
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:Mental health stigma in Muslim communities may be partly due to a commonly held belief among some Muslims about the supernatural causes of mental illness (i.e. jinn-possession brought on by one's sinful life). A thematic analysis was carried out on four English translations and the Arabic text of the Qur'an to explore whether the connection between jinn-possession and insanity exists within the Muslim holy book. No connection between spirit-possession and madness or mental illness was found. Pagans taunted and labelled people as jinn-possessed only to ostracize and scapegoat. Linking the labelling of people as jinn-possession to a pagan practice may be used to educate Muslims, so they can reassess their community's stigma towards the mentally ill.
ISSN:1573-6571
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of religion and health
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10943-012-9626-5