"Satan has afflicted me!" Jinn-possession and mental illness in the Qur'an.
Mental health stigma in Muslim communities may be partly due to a commonly held belief among some Muslims about the supernatural causes of mental illness (i.e. jinn-possession brought on by one's sinful life). A thematic analysis was carried out on four English translations and the Arabic text of the Qur'an to explore whether the connection between jinn-possession and insanity exists within the Muslim holy book. No connection between spirit-possession and madness or mental illness was found. Pagans taunted and labelled people as jinn-possessed only to ostracize and scapegoat. Linking the labelling of people as jinn-possession to a pagan practice may be used to educate Muslims, so they can reassess their community's stigma towards the mentally ill.
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada, fislam@yorku.ca.
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D001294:Attitude to Health; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam / Q000523:psychology*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D057545:Social Stigma