What are the djinn? Creatures of mythology or creatures of reality? Are they inhabitants of this world or creations of a parallel universe, bleeding through into our own?

Islamic texts describe the djinn as made of smokeless fire, capable of both good and evil, who along with humans and angels make up the three sapient creations of God. Indeed, the most famous of the djinn is Iblees, or Satan himself. Many Muslims believe djinn are real creatures, capable of causing physical and mental harm to human beings. This can lead to mental health issues being falsely attributed to djinn possession and results in backstreet exorcisms and religious treatments that can leave patients in a more severely ill state than they were to begin with.

Join Islamic psychologist, Rasjid Skinner, as he sifts facts from fiction by addressing questions such as ‘what is the Islamic take on djinn?’, ‘how common is this belief?’ and ‘do djinn possessions really take place?’.

About The Speaker

Hadj Abdur Rasjid Skinner

Hadj Abdur Rasjid Skinner works with Ihsaan, a Bradford based project that offers Islamically-based psychological therapies. He lectures at Sheffield University, and at the Cambridge Muslim College. He is visiting professor in clinical psychology to the University of Karachi. He is author of the paper ‘An Islamic Approach to Psychology and Mental Health’.