MANCHESTER, UK – You would think that accusations of witchcraft were so Middle Ages. Tell that to the terrorists.
Question: are there still such things as witches? You know, those ‘creatures’ we were taught to fear as kids, people who could cast a spell on you or turn you into a frog? Do they still exist, apart from the kids who dress up on Hallowe’en?
There is no question that witches are part of popular culture. Hell, you can even get a ‘sexy witch costume‘ to entice your lover! But we do not accuse our neighbours of witchcraft to the same extent we once did. And that is a good thing since those on the receiving end of the finger pointing did not end up so well (hello Salem witch trials!).
No, thankfully, the only witches most of us ‘believe’ in are active only on October 31st these days. No one takes this stuff seriously.
Or do they?
On this day in 2016
An Islamist extremist in Rochdale, UK bludgeoned to death an imam he believed was performing “black magic”. Mohammed Kadir killed 71-year old Jalal Uddin in a children’s playpark because he ‘hated’ the elderly man’s Islamic practices – a form of healing Kadir, and his accomplice Mohammed Hussain Syeedy, saw as witchcraft.
Uddin was dealt at least five blows when he was bludgeoned in the face with what is believed to have been a hammer in the park. The ferocity of the attack meant his skull was driven down into his brain and his dentures were broken. He later died in hospital. Kadir fled to what is believed to be Syria while Syeedy was sentenced to life in prison.
You and your co-offender saw the practice as a form of black magic that could not be tolerated within Islam. You stalked him with the intention was to cause extreme, grave and permanently disabling harm.
Presiding judge
The bottom line is that two ISIS wannabes decided to kill a man for his faith: it did not jive with their narrow – and erroneous – interpretation of Islam. They acted as judge, jury and executioner.
Luckily, a REAL judge has put one of these terrorists behind bars for life. Where he belongs.
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