AMMAN, Jordan // Nomad, street peddler and soothsayer Mohammed Abu Kareem lures customers with promises of foretelling destinies and breaking evil spells.
Hawking sunglasses and toys to motorists on Amman's congested streets is only a sideline. His true skill is tapping into Jordan's voracious - and lucrative - interest in the supernatural.
"You may wonder why you have no children, ma'am. You are cursed, and only I can release you of this sinister spell!" goes one line he delivers at busy traffic lights.
Or: "Come with me, and I can show you how bright your future really is!"
Mr Abu Kareem offers mystical solutions to the real problems of wealthy Jordanians and tourists from the Arabian peninsula. He is a Gipsy and he contends that his heritage gives him exceptional powers. Therefore, he can charge more for his services.
Some pay thousands of dollars for sessions with Jordan's community of about 30,000 Gipsies to resolve everything from pregnancy problems to identifying buried treasure and blocking curses cast by jealous neighbours.
"You would not believe the number of people I've helped with my powers," Mr Abu Kareem, 23, said from his tent community next to a Mercedes dealership. He claims his skills are the most potent in Amman.
Grown men have gone into trances before him, he said. Others break down crying when discovering that a relative has cursed them with the evil eye. He said he regularly exorcises Jinn, or troublemaking spirits.
"My powers are unique and came from my father and his father before him and his father's father," he said.
For Amman residents, the Gipsies' unsightly camps of rubbish and barefoot children can be unpleasant. But for Ahlam Jaljouli, 47, their powers are unmistakable.
A Gipsy approached her last year selling sunglasses. Then he told her that she was carrying a large sum of money and preparing to travel. She was mystified, she said.
"I tried not to listen, but it was all true," said Ms Jaljouli, an owner of a tourism agency in Amman. "I was indeed carrying the company's money with me and the next day I planned to travel."
One professor of history at a university in Jordan described how a Gipsy described to him how his wedding day was hexed. He brought the Gipsy home, paid a lot of money and had the curse lifted.
"Even with education, this stuff thrives," said the historian, who declined to be named because he feared embarrassment.
Despite the rising popularity of the occult, mainstream Islam condemns such behaviour, said Hassan Abu Hanieh, an Islamic scholar who recently wrote a book about mysticism in Sufi Islam.
"Mysticism has existed since ancient Greece and was part of Greek, Hindu and Christian heritage. This also had a significant effect in Islam," he said. Beliefs such as numerology, alchemy and the evil eye have evolved into various modern-day obsessions, he said.
"Look at astrology - that is still a popular thing in our culture, but we call it horoscopes," he said.
Gipsies, perhaps more than any group in Jordan, have exploited this fascination, said Mohammed Al Tarawneh, a former anthropology professor at Jordan's Yarmouk University.
Probably migrating from India centuries ago, Middle Eastern Gipsies adhere to an ancient, nomadic culture that is similar to European Roma and different from their Arab neighbours, he said.
They still speak an ancient Indian language and their women, usually uncovered, are relatively empowered.
Although citizens of Jordan, many Gipsies prefer to live in tent communities scattered across the country and the Middle East, and because they work as street vendors, they have a reputation as thieves and beggars.
But they also work as musical performers at festivals as well as their traditional role of fortune-tellers, and Jordanians embrace them for those skills, said Mr Tarawneh.
"Fortune-telling and mysticism is how they have become a part of the culture," he said.
Luckily for them, demand for those services may be rising. Wealthier Jordanians, seeking some spiritual connection in their lives, are turning to mysticism, said Hussein Khozai, a sociologist at Al Balqa Applied University.
"The problems in modern society are growing, and people are resorting to fortune-tellers because they believe they are an outlet and a means for satisfaction for their problems," he said.
That outlet leads directly to Mr Abu Kareem's tent, where he anticipates the summer arrival of visitors from the Arabian peninsula and their money. But cash, he insisted, is not what motivates him.
"Believe me, if I see a spell on you, it is my duty as a Muslim to cast that spell away," he said.
Then, before two journalists left the interview, he warned that an evil spell would befall them if they not pay him JD30 (DH155).
hnaylor@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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 National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
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8.50pm: Calandogan
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
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%3Cp%3EThe%20Royal%20Navy%20raid%20is%20the%20latest%20in%20a%20series%20of%20successful%20interceptions%20of%20drugs%20and%20arms%20in%20the%20Gulf%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%2011%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUS%20coastguard%20recovers%20%2480%20million%20heroin%20haul%20from%20fishing%20vessel%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%208%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20coastguard%20vessel%20USCGC%20Glen%20Harris%20seizes%20heroin%20and%20meth%20worth%20more%20than%20%2430%20million%20from%20a%20fishing%20boat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMarch%202%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Anti-tank%20guided%20missiles%20and%20missile%20components%20seized%20by%20HMS%20Lancaster%20from%20a%20small%20boat%20travelling%20from%20Iran%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOctober%209%2C%202022%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERoyal%20Navy%20frigate%20HMS%20Montrose%20recovers%20drugs%20worth%20%2417.8%20million%20from%20a%20dhow%20in%20Arabian%20Sea%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESeptember%2027%2C%202022%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20Naval%20Forces%20Central%20Command%20reports%20a%20find%20of%202.4%20tonnes%20of%20heroin%20on%20board%20fishing%20boat%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
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 TWIN BIO
Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
