[nukkad] Fwd: Re: [nukkad] Ritual

["Net Geek" <>]

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tip of the day:  Photos of Mumbai at:
              http://www.mumbai-central.com/album/     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Nukkies
            For the benefit of those who could not access the following site 
regarding the ritual.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,910176a11,FF.html


Bye


Netgeek
-------


NZ NATIONAL NEWS

© Independent Newspapers Limited 2001. All the material on this page has the 
protection of international copyright. All rights reserved



Doctors operate on man slashed in religious ritual
21 August 2001

-----

A Muslim man is in critical condition after he had his stomach slashed and 
his bowel inadvertently pierced in a religious ritual, despite assurances 
from his family that the ceremony is safe.
The 40-year-old Sunni Muslim Indian from California had his stomach cut open 
by a knife in front of 200 others at the Otahuhu Seventh-day Adventist 
Church on Saturday night.

He was initially reported to be in a stable condition at Middlemore 
Hospital, but his condition deteriorated yesterday and he underwent 
emergency surgery last night. He was reported to be in a critical condition 
late last night.

The man had travelled to New Zealand to take part in the ceremony, which was 
performed by his priest brother, Mohammed Safique, of Mangere East.

During the ritual Mr Safique slashed his brother's stomach several times, 
and then joined others in a prayer in an attempt to heal him with sacred 
readings.

A brother of Mr Safique and the wounded man, Mohammed Rafique, also of 
California, said his family were familiar with the ritual and injuries from 
it were rare.

"We've been practising this for years – ever since I was a child," Mr 
Rafique said.

"Nothing has ever gone wrong. Something went wrong with my younger brother, 
but I can say this is a very isolated incident."

He said his wounded brother, whom he declined to name, would eventually 
heal. He labelled those who criticised the ritual as ignorant.

"We are not a cult. Anyone who says that is totally wrong and there will be 
a curse against them."

Ameer Ahmed, spokesman for the Ma'untal Islam Association – a group which 
has ties to the ritual – said Saturday's ceremony was a private one. He said 
it had been performed once before in New Zealand and was an annual ritual 
for Ma'untal followers overseas.

"It happens all of the time. It is not secret. It is well documented in 
Fiji, Africa, India and the Middle East."

But the president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, 
Dr Hj Anwarul Ghani, said the ceremony incited a culture of self-mutilation 
that had no place in modern society.

"The police would be entirely correct to charge the person responsible for 
this incident," he said.

Detective Sergeant Gerry Whitley, of Otahuhu police, said the ritual 
obviously "went a bit wrong".

"Because of the unusual nature (of the case) we want to take our time, 
complete our investigation, and then we will be in a position to decide on 
laying charges," he said.

"Basically, you cannot consent to someone cutting your bowels open. The 
actual offence that will encapsulate this is injuring by an unlawful act."

The ritual had been performed here before, at another location, with the 
same people, Mr Whitley said. The group had been warned not to perform it 
again.

A witness to Saturday's incident, church caretaker Api Guakeu, said he saw 
three people cut, while others were pricked with needles, inside a circular 
area marked off by a rope, before the American man was hurt.

The man, dressed in a white outfit with a small white hat, removed his shirt 
and dropped to the ground before getting his stomach slashed several times 
with a large knife.

"I was quite concerned about the fact it was taking place in our hall and we 
don't practice that," Mr Guakeu said.

He said when the cut was bigger than anticipated, the man did not scream, he 
just lay there, but then people became alarmed and were saying: "... 
something has gone wrong... someone in the ring is not clean."

An ambulance was called and the man was taken to hospital about 11.30pm.



>From: "Mubashir  Shaikh" <mubashir_n_s@rediffmail.com>
>To: "Net Geek" <netgeek72@hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [nukkad] Ritual
>Date: 22 Aug 2001 13:35:17 -0000
>
>What is the ritual?The web page is missing from the site.Please clarify.









_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Subscribe [Unsubscribe] send a blank message to 
        nukkad-list-request@mumbai-central.com 
with the word 'subscribe' ['unsubscribe'] (without quotes) in the Subject 
of your message.
The list is archived at  http://www.mumbai-central.com/nukkad/archive.html