The Gulf dispute is no laughing matter. But many Qatar residents couldn’t help but chuckle yesterday after accusations that they support witchcraft went viral.
Over the weekend, an Al Arabiya correspondent accused Qataris of hiring sorcerers to conjure genies (jinns) as a way to end the crisis.
مشعوذون من السينغال و موريتانيايحصلون على ملايين الدولارات بعد تواصلهم مع شيوخ في قطر عرضوا عليهم استنزال الأرواح وتسخير الجن لحل الأزمة
— الخليل ولد اجدود khalil Jdoud (@KHjdoud) July 8, 2017
سينغالي مشهوربنشاطه وعلاقاته ويزعم تمكنه من علم السرقال إن خليجيين طلبوا منه "جدول المثلث" وهو كتابة طلسمية لجلب الضرر لقادة يختلفون معهم 😄
— الخليل ولد اجدود khalil Jdoud (@KHjdoud) July 8, 2017
Hashtag laughter
In response, Qataris created a new hashtag poking fun at the allegations.
The hashtag #قطر_تتعامل_بالجن (Qatar employs jinns) attracted hundreds of tweets and quickly began to trend inside the country yesterday.
Qatar responds to sorcery accusations
Witchcraft is a crime
All jokes aside, practicing sorcery in the Gulf is a serious offense.
In Qatar, it is punishable by a prison sentence of three to 15 years and/or a maximum fine of QR200,000.
Lawyers previously said the law protects residents from fraud, because people try to capitalize on the various beliefs and superstitions held by the country’s large and diverse expat population.
According to the penal code, witchcraft and “quackery” includes:
“Performing actions or saying words or using methods aimed at deceiving a victim and giving him/her delusions of the ability to perform sorcery and witchcraft, know the unseen, disclose what lies in one’s conscious, fulfill a need, desire or benefit, prevent danger or cause harm.”
Thoughts?
