In Pakistan, Djinns are more popular than science and scientists

 

Programmes on djinns galore on YouTube and TV channels in Pakistan

Main Points

1. Horror show producers visited haunted houses and ask djinns to appear

2. Fake scenes are created to create suspense among viewers.

By S.Arshad, New Age Islam

17 July 2021

Djinns -- the invisible creatures possessing human attributes assume a special place in any Islamic society. They are mentioned in the Quran and Hadith and in the traditions of companions of the prophet pbuh. Their mention evokes awe and fear among Muslims. Therefore, stories of confrontation between djinns and human beings are very popular among Muslims. Books on djinns have always been popular among Muslims.

Since Pakistan is a Islamic country, djinns have assumed a considerable space on media platforms as well. In an age where youtube likes and views and TV ratings are linked to monetary benefits, djinns are exploited by youtubers and TV channels in Pakistan for attracting larger viewership for monetary gains.TV channels have horror shows based on djinns and youtubers present programmes on houses haunted by djinns or ghosts.

Some of the programmes on djinns are Woh Kya Hai on Express News TV channel and Raaz Ki Baat and the programme on MK TV Post. The producers of these horror shows visit haunted houses and record paranormal activities which create sensation among the viewers. These programmes are very popular among the viewers and the views reach in lakhs. The success of these programmes has encouraged others to launch similar programmes on djinns.

Interestingly, there are some producers who not only go to haunted houses to record paranormal activities there but claim to "clear" the place of djinns with the help of their in-house "aamils". For example, Mux9TV producer Jam Shaukat has an Aamil in his team. This Amil named Ashique Hussain accompanies Jam Shaukat on every visit to haunted places and clears the place with his knowledge of amaliyat ( knowledge of warding of evil forces).During the process, they witness and record paranormal activities and most of the times they are terrified or even physically harmed by the unseen forces. These scenes create sensations among the viewers.

MK TV Post is one such programme which has an Amil in its team. The aamil tries to clear the place or house with the help of his knowledge while the other members of the team are attacked and some times possesed by djinns and their is an altercation between the djinn and the amil.

The fact is that the producers create fake scenes to create suspense and thrill among the viewers. For example, when the aamil is reciting verses of the Quran and asks djinns to appear in any form, flames of fire are seen in another room. The viewers are made to believe that the djinns are showing their ire in form of the flame. Sometimes stones are thrown towards the team members from behind the camera to make the viewers believe that djinns were throwing stones.

In one of the episodes of Woh Kya Hai on Express News, a female djinn appears on the celing of a building an walks closer to the team member asking the members " Aao qarib aao, tumhe dar lagta hai.( Come closer. Are you afraid?) Freightened, the team members splash sea water on her and the female djinn escapes after throwing an axe towards them. ( The team leader says that djinns are afraid of sea water and so she fled. She had brought an axe to hit them). Any one can make out that it was a drama scripted by the producers.

On the other hand, programmes on science and technology on Pakistani TV channels and youtube are few and these programmes attract very few viewers. For example, one episode of the programme Sience and Tech on Express News attracted only 250 viewers in four months. In that episode the anchor said that during the 60s, workshops and seminars on Quantum Physics were routinely held in different cities of Pakistan but gradually the interest in science in Pakistan receded. Another programme on science on youtube attracted 1.4 thousand viewers in one year. This shows that programmes on fake confrontation between djinns and human beings are more popular in Pakistan than science programmes.

In Pakistan, religion has always dominated Muslim psyche and due to the common misconception that science is against religion, Muslims of Pakistan did not give much importance to science. In 1979, Dr Mohammaf Abdus Slam won the Nobel Prize in science for his Electroweak Unification Theory because of the science culture in Pakistan during the 60s. But during the rule of Gen. Ziaul Haque, religion pushed science backwards and religious extremism assumed centrestage. In later years, various extremist organisations like Taliban Pakistan, LeT, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-Sahaba etc emerged in Pakistan that discouraged modern education and even attacked and destroyed educational institutions.

The media could have played a great role in promoting scientific temperament in Pakistan but unfortunately it promoted superstitions and unscientific trends in the Muslim society. Instead of visiting haunted houses, people like Jam Shaukat and Sajjad Saleem could have visited small towns and villages discovering young scientists and promoting science among Pakistanis.

Djinns are creatures of God and live in the same world with human beings. They have their own families, their own schools and markets. They have their own society. Since they live with human beings, clash of interests and confrontation is natural. But the clash and confrontation is rare because both try to avoid a confrontation and when it happens, it creates stories. Generally, the invisible creatures do not want to disturb human beings but when people like Jam Shaukat and Sajjad Saleem go to a house inhabited by djinns and say, "Kya aap saamne Aa sakte hain?" they show some reaction and try to harm them to make them leave their place. It is a very unscientific approach on part of these youtubers and TV channel producers to intrude in their privacy and disturb their peace.

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Sohail Arshad is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com.

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