The latest style for promoting superstition in Arabic media and social media is to deal with superstition as approved facts, and to go further in discussing its details. Especially the case of elves, which is very common in Arabic culture.

Many Arabs from different levels of education believe in elves, as they really exist around us. Creatures created with fire (but they are not hot, nor detectable by any thermal detector) exist with us, but they are non-materialistic creatures. Although we may listen to their voices sometimes, or they may move things around us. Such superstition that exists in many cultures with different names may not have the same media support as it has in Arab speaking countries.

However, the most recent method, is to use the form of “Did you know?” when talking about elves. “Did you know that eating an odd number of dates may protect you from elves for the whole day?”, imagine that you’re coming from a different planet, and you read such statement, you may assume that elves are just some kind of living creatures like bacteria, but the worst part is how people react and share such kind of deception.

Usually we do not mention superstitious beliefs to provoke the traditional Islamic beliefs, but when it starts to harm people, it is the time to intervene.

The most common superstitious posts and articles that we read these days regarding elves are about:

Amulets, mascots and holy texts

Well, this is the good part. That people do not spend their money for reading prayers, amulets or mascots, which are mainly coming from Islamic holy texts. This type frequently preached by the modern social media and with modern ways promotion like “did you know that”. However, it also does harm people when they think that a real disorder or sickness possibly cured by reading holy texts, so they lose time and may die while they should go to the correct modern medicine.

Split salt

Until a very recent time we were not able to consider split salt as an Arabic or Islamic superstitious tradition. However, now we can see that using technology possibly done by the bad way sometimes. CSI website[1] mentions that the origin of this practice dates back to Roman Empire time, when salt was respected and valued so people started to give it a holy value and given the protection super powers. Nevertheless, this was among European peoples not the Arabs!

Culturally, salt has a different meaning in Arabic; it is a symbol of loyalty, the old Arabic proverb says, “his salt is on his clothes”, criticizing the man who is loyal to you only when he sits with you. In addition, current Arabs say “food and salt” when they express a good old friendship[2].

Surprisingly, today we may find many posts in Facebook, emails or whatsapp forwarded messages talking about the capabilities of salt to protect people from elves. It seems like some people affected by western cinema, and by immigration to the western world but in that way, to import superstitious beliefs; add traditional effects to it, and publish it to the ignorant crowds.

We are not intending to discuss that belief, because it does not have any rational base. A superstitious belief to protect you from another superstition, but we are just focusing on the  way that myths travels across the cultures using the modern technology and modern life methods, provided by the science!

Incense

Arabs knew incense from old times, when they first made trade with east, used to perfume the houses and palaces. However, incense has a common use in religious ceremonies among other peoples. Incense used by Egyptians and Jews[3] and in the temples of East Asia.

Therefore, regardless of the religion, it seems like the magical minds are thinking in the same way, and it was easy for Muslims to give this value to the incense, even though it was not a part of their ceremonials.

We do not exclude that incense use for expelling elves and mythical protection has some links with trade and commercial promotion using the same strategies and vulnerabilities of magical minds. For example, Harmela seeds entered the Iraqi culture during the last century, it has effects on the human dopamine secretion in a way that makes it close to the common illegal drugs, so it may give the rituals felling and give the result that shamans or quackery sheikhs want[4].

Herbals

Finally, herbals also get more attention in the new promoting methods. They usually talk about herbals effects like something tested by Academic teams. (maybe some Academic team that test the herbals effect on killing experiment elves). but herbals does not only contribute in the alternative medicine. They also used for elves expelling, specially that, we may see common diseases treated by people as some kind of elves’ effect or evil eye effect, that cannot be cured by modern medicine, or at least until the major effect of elves or evil eye goes away.

Resources:

[1] Spilt Salt, csicop.org, January 13, 2004

[2] Jamahir magazine website, “Salt literature”, no.12076, 24 April 2006

[3] Exodus 30:34-36

[4] Atheel Fawzy, “Harmela effects on Dopamine”, Real-sciences