Wednesday, September 28, 2011

'Islamic medicine' on the rise in Southeast Asia...

A 47-year-old housewife who recently started using Islamic medicine emerged tearfully from an exorcism, speaking of newfound tranquility after a turbulent period. Also, her abdominal pains are finally easing.

Suratmi, who suffers from an ovarian cyst, has been taking a mix of herbal medicine harking back to the dawn of Islam, as well as undergoing exorcisms at a clinic in Jakarta.

She is among a growing number of Muslims in Southeast Asia turning away from Western medical care in favor of al-Tibb al-Nabawi, or Medicine of the Prophet, a loosely defined discipline based on the Quran and other Islamic texts and traditional herbal remedies.

"I heard that so many people have been healed, so I hope Allah can help me. I followed His path here," said Suratmi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

The Islamic medicine trend is often associated with fundamentalists who charge that Western, chemically laced prescriptions aim to poison Muslims or defile them with insulin and other medicines made from pigs. Members of terrorist groups have been involved in Islamic medicine as healers and sellers, while some clinics are used as recruiting grounds for Islamist causes. Full story...

Don't miss:
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  2. Islam takes root in land of mini-bikinis and Carnival...
  3. Indonesian film "Question mark" stirs religious controversy...
  4. Saudi men flocking to Indonesia for "halal sex"
  5. Italian company creates halal mozzarella...
  6. Israeli Muslim sues Coca Cola for containing alcohol...

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