It is not surprising, therefore, that previous traditions live on—not as organized medical systems per se, but rather as numerous syncretic healing philosophies characterized by a multifaceted array of etiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic beliefs and practices regarding the nature of health and illness and the treatment of various forms of sickness. Underwood, Peter, and Zdenka Underwood. Most of these shrines contain the tombs of dead saints, and some, especially the relatively famous ones, host magnificent mosque-tomb complexes. Bakker, Jogien. Betteridge, Anne H. "Muslim Women and Shrines in Shiraz." The "evil of an envier" is mentioned directly in the Qurʾān, but the belief in evil eye predates Islam, appearing in both the Bible and in Sumerian texts as early as five thousand years ago (Dundes, 1992). Madison, Wis., 1992. Social Science and Medicine 58 (2004): 697–702. For this reason, cautery is thought to be extremely useful for male infertility and impotence, both of which may be attributed to "weak nerves" in the back (Inhorn, 1994a). 84 0 obj Social Science and Medicine 13B (1979): 339–348. The Evil Eye. Although cupping has been reported for other parts of the Middle East as well, it is described much more frequently than cautery in reports on Egypt. The Daya of Egypt: Survival in a Modernizing Society. Relationships between Middle Eastern patients and Western health care professionals are often troubled by mutual misunderstanding of culturally influenced values and communication styles. Healing and Medicine: Popular Healing Practices in Middle Eastern Cultures Social Science and Medicine 28 (1989): 381–388. Cults also offered medical specialization; for example, some dealt specifically with the ailments of women, whereas others specialized in psychiatric problems, which were usually attributed to spirit possession. In many cases, pilgrimages and healing rituals are undertaken during the exact hour of the Friday communal noon prayer—the most important one in the Islamic weekly cycle of thirty-five prayers. It is these popular healing traditions and their connection to Islam that represent the substance of this brief essay. Social Science and Medicine 26 (1988): 651–657. Encyclopedia.com. between Muslim/Middle Eastern patients and medical providers. Swagman, Charles F. Fijaʿ. Getting God's Ear: Women, Islam, and Healing in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Misconception of Middle Eastern Culture and Religion | Melika Rahmani | TEDxJMU Melika is a student at James Madison University. Firstly, the Middle East is the origin of many of the major world … Historically prophetic me… Relationships between Middle Eastern patients and Western health care professionals are often troubled by mutual misunderstanding of culturally influenced values and communication styles. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Provo, Utah, 1983. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Thus middle- to upper-class Middle Eastern patients can avail themselves of medical diagnosis and treatment services in cities such as Jiddah, Saudi Arabia; Cairo, Egypt; Tehran, Iran; or Beirut, Lebanon, with expectations that the services rendered will be on a par with those offered in the best medical centers in the West. 2. Given the incredible diversity of the region, the Middle East is home to a rich armamentarium of popular healing practices delivered by multiple types of healers. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Healing and Medicine: Popular Healing Practices in Middle Eastern Cultures. Historically prophetic medicine constituted a quasi-medical "religious medicine" based exclusively (at least putatively) on passages in the Islamic Scriptures (Dols, 1984). Throughout the Middle East the most pervasive amulet is the so-called hand of Fatima, a down-turned, stylized, five-fingered hand often made of silver or blue pottery (or both) and often incorporating Qurʾanic verses or representations of a human eye. PwC takes a highly holistic approach to the health industries sector in the Middle East. Countries of the Middle East – a link to a list of 11 countries. Sociological Perspectives, Health and Disease: III. After the Prophet's death, Muslim believers, such as Al-Suyūṭī in his Tibb-ul-Nabbi (Medicine of the Prophet), collected everything the Prophet was reported to have said about hygiene, alcohol consumption, circumcision, menstruation, breast-feeding, sanitation, and various diseases and then institutionalized these sayings into a form of medical practice (Gran, 1979). Eickelman, Dale F. Moroccan Islam: Traditions and Society in a Pilgrimage Center. Although pharaonic medicine and later yunāni medicine were extremely important literate medical traditions in this region of the world, this essay begins with a brief history of prophetic (Islamic) medicine, which arose during the period following the Prophet Muḥammad's death in 632 ce and which still represents an extremely influential healing tradition throughout the region. Gender, Sickness, and Healing in Rural Egypt: Ethnography in Historical Context. Encyclopedia.com. RELIGION: Islam; Chr…, Islam In Mormons and Muslims, edited by Spencer J. Palmer, pp. Technologies such as coronary bypass surgery, organ transplantation services, and the latest forms of in vitro fertilization are widely available in urban centers. Social Science and Medicine 39 (1994b): 487–505. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry 12 (1988): 85–112. First, children—and particularly more highly valued male children—are believed to be one of the main targets of the evil eye, with their sickness, injury, and even death constituting possible outcomes. Harfouche, Jamal Karam. •People close to patient consider it a duty to be there. In the Middle East in the early twenty-first century, opposition to popular healing rituals does not come mainly from biomedical quarters. Ethnomedical therapies for female infertility in Egypt include vaginal suppositories with various herbal and mineral substances; cupping on the lower back; vapor sitz baths; cauterization of the skin with a heated rod; sewing of the skin of the lower back; wearing a belt and padlock; countershocking the infertile woman who has been shocked; sorcery nullification; spirit appeasement; and elaborate rituals for a culture-bound syndrome known in Egypt as mushāhara or kabsa, which is thought to be the major cause of infertility in women. The exodus of Christians from the Middle East is real and tragic. How This Impacts Care •Patient brings 1 or 2 additional people to visit who listen carefully for patient and may answer for patient. Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. In this belief, anything that provokes jealousy in another gives the jealous person the power to cause illness or misfortune for the lucky person or family. In the early twenty-first century in the Middle East, there are two recurrent features of evil eye belief and practice that are relevant to a discussion of health and healing. The United Arab Emirates’ health care system has a good ratio of doctors (2.5 per 1000 population) and is financed by a healthy $1600 per capitaper year. About 20% of the world's Muslims live in the Middle East. I was wearing […] Pillsbury, Barbara L. K. Traditional Health Care in the Near East. Dols, Michael W. Medieval Islamic Medicine: Ibn Ridwān's Treatise "On the Prevention of Bodily Ills in Egypt." The practices of cupping and cautery were the most common healing methods employed in pre-Islamic times, according to medical historians (Ullman, 1978). In 1988, this author went to a small Afghan hospital in Peshawar to visit one of my Afghan students who’d developed typhoid fever. Instructions. And how far gone is the issue of obesity across Middle Eastern countries? "Hegemony and Healing in Rural North Yemen." While generalizations of Middle Eastern culture are readily apparent, some variation and extremes are found within the geographical area known as the Middle East. ." >> Health Science project by Kate, Will, Alex, Andrea. Indeed, it is women—not men—who are most actively involved in saint veneration and who are, therefore, the primary participants in the salvation-oriented ziyārāt to local and regional saints' tombs. The Middle East is the birthplace of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all monotheistic religions that grew from the same tradition. "Perceiving Systems: Cold or Spirits? Indeed, biomedicine can be thought of as a historical newcomer to this region of the world. New York, 2003. For this reason amulets often adorn the clothing of infants and young children. Encyclopedia of Religion. Middle Eastern religion, any of the religious beliefs, attitudes, and practices developed in the ancient Middle East (extending geographically from Iran to Egypt and from Anatolia and the Aegean Sea to the Arabian Peninsula and temporally from about 3000 to 330 bc, when Alexander the Great conquered much of the area). Washington, D.C., 1978. Thus, in many settings in the Middle East, belief in the evil eye serves as a primary explanatory model for infant and child morbidity and mortality (Harfouche, 1992). Health care organizations must make available easily understood Berkeley, Calif., 1990. As any visitor to a souk anywhere in the Middle East will see, Western, allopathic medicine exists alongside a continuing belief in traditional medical practices, such as herbalism, in a synthesis that precedes the contemporary West's interest in integrating scientific and complementary systems of … Cautery may be used directly on the site of a patient's bodily complaint (e.g., lower back, arm or leg joints), or it may be used on other sites of the body to "tighten" relaxed nerves and muscles. The religion that God set forth for Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and muḤammad proclaimed by the latter in Arabia in the 7th century, which enjoys the…, veil The earliest evidence for veiling is an Assyrian legal text dating from the thirteenth century bce, requiring women of clearly defined social st…, Niger Middle Eastern Christians are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate, as they have today an active role in various social, economical, sporting and political aspects in the Middle East. According to medical historians, however, prophetic medicine was actually a syncretic blend of biblical Jewish medicine as contained in the Book of Leviticus ; Persian medicine as taught in the famous medical school of Gondeshapur, which was attended by several of the Prophet's relatives; nomadic Bedouin medicine as practiced in Arabia (particularly in Medina and Mecca) during the Prophet's lifetime; and Hippocratic-Galenic yunāni medicine from Greece. We believe that health issues impact on a wide range of economic and functional aspects of any economy which go way beyond the traditional view that health means hospitals. As Peter Gran (1979) points out, the Ṣūfī cults and their shrines flourished in countries such as Egypt because they catered to the spiritual, psychological, and political needs of the lower classes as well as to their medical complaints. Madison, Wis., 1992. Well-equipped and well-staffed for a relatively small population, there are around 70 hospitals and 150 clinics, making up a competent health care infrastructure. Inhorn, Marcia C. "Sexuality, Masculinity, and Infertility in Egypt: Potent Troubles in the Marital and Medical Encounters." The Middle East is a fascinating region with complex cultures, religions, and relationships. The forms that the fertility rites assumed varied from region to region, depending on climate and geography. Several poems inspired by the ancient legends from the Middle East. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Indeed zār has been described by some scholars as a proto-feminist challenge to women's objectification and subordination (Boddy, 1989), a way to challenge authority and compensate for exclusion from formal religion in the Muslim world (Doumato, 2000). Health Care Providers' Handbook on Muslim Patients is a 22-page document prepared by Queensland Health in Australia. Furthermore, as Manfred Ullman (1978) has argued, many of the ḥadīth (sayings and traditions of the prophet Muḥammad), upon which prophetic medicine was supposedly based, were actually inauthentic, prescribing pre-Islamic folk practices that were later reinterpreted using concepts from yunāni medicine. In Women in the Muslim World, edited by Lois Beck and Nikki Keddie, pp. 2. Apart from being the largest religion in the Middle East, it is also one of the largest religions in the world. Dietary law: Rules And Customs In World Religions; Health and Disease. ... cultural health beliefs and practices and preferred language. Philadelphia, 1996. Middle Eastern Christians are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate, as they have today an active role in various social, economical, sporting and political aspects in the Middle East. "Women, Saints, and Sanctuaries." CHARACTERISTICS OF MANY TRIBES. Gran, Peter. 7. About 20% of the world's Muslims live in the Middle East. Eickelman, Dale F. The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach. << Wearing a hand of Fatima as a piece of jewelry is thought to prevent human harm and illness. Philadelphia, 1994a. Such healing furthermore may be multifaceted. Strong religion beliefs often govern family life and their way of life. Edinburgh, Scotland, 1978. Social Science and Medicine 27 (1988): 233–240. By the sixteenth-century, cults of popular Islamic mystics, known as Ṣūfīs or marabouts, began to proliferate in the countries of North Africa. Islam is the most widely followed religion in the Middle East. In the modern era, … Mental health conditions in the Middle East. The most widespread religion in the Middle East is Islam. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Boddy, Janice. For us, Islam is not only considered a religion but is also a way of living. Born in the heart of Persia over 3,000 years ago, Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. Most of these shrines are associated in some way with a dead "pious one" (Eickelman, 1998), either a sayyid (a descendant of the prophet Muḥammad); a renowned cleric regarded as pious for the quality of his learning; a founder or descendant of a founder of a Ṣūfī religious brotherhood; or a holy person, male or female, known for exceptional religiosity and the demonstrated ability during his or her lifetime to perform miracles.