ABU DHABI // A man lost both his ability to walk and Dh16,000 after seeking the help of a black magic practitioner, a court heard.
The 36-year-old Emirati AM approached the Sudanese mutawa'a (religious teacher) SK about five years ago on the advice of a colleague. He believed he was suffering the ill-effects of a spell, and his colleague suggested the mutawa'a could cure him with the help of the Quran.
The man then sponsored the man to come to the UAE as a Quran teacher for his son.
The mutawa'a stayed in the man's house for two months and each day he would write phrases on a small blackboard that the man did not understand. He would then erase the words and take the residue of chalk from the erased words and dissolve it in water for the man to drink.
The mutawa'a told the man to buy a special type of incense called "laban thakar" which he said would cure the house and its inhabitants of all evil. The man then went to a salesman recommended by the mutawa'a and paid Dh10,000 for the incense.
Two days later the mutawa'a told him the incense had been stolen by jinn.
On a subsequent occasion the man drove to Dubai with his cook and the mutawa'a and left Dh6,500 in cash on the dashboard while he ran an errand. When he returned the mutawa'a and the cash were both missing. The cook informed him that the mutawa'a had taken the money and fled.
The man then reported the mutawa'a to police. He told officers that he also suspected the mutawa'a had been in league with the incense salesman to scam him out of the Dh10,000.
A few days after approaching the police the man suffered a stroke which left him unable to walk - a condition he claims was caused by the drink the mutawa'a fed him daily. The man is receiving treatment in the UK and is now able to stand up and walk a few steps at a time, but still relies on his electronic wheelchair.
He told the court he approached the Islamic Affairs Authority and that it informed him that the mutawa'a was casting incantations on him.
The mutawa'a was arrested at the airport recently after returning to the UAE on another man's sponsorship.
The Criminal Court cleared the mutawa'a of fleeing his sponsor and of theft.
The man said he would appeal.
hdajani@thenational.ae
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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