Islamic Community Condemns Charlie Charlie Challenge
Published:Wednesday | June 3, 2015 | 3:43 PMKeisha Hill
Members of the Islamic community in Jamaica have condemned the Charlie Charlie Challenge, which has gained international attention and disapproval from local and international governing bodies.
The game, they say, should be taken very seriously, as it may release demonic elements (jinn), causing the individuals who play the game to become possessed by demons. In Islamic theology, jinn are said to be creatures with free will, made from smokeless fire by Allah, as humans were made of clay, among other things.
According to Dr Sulaiman Tijani, youth adviser at the Islamic Council of Jamaica, persons should avoid the game and seek protection from the Creator from such things.
SEEKING PROTECTION
"In the jinn world, there are good and bad or evil. However, the jinn that is summoned in this game, if the reports are true, would be [one of the] jinns that are not good. ... Look at the results where children have to be hospitalised for psychiatric and behavioural strains. You will
find that a lot of times you are always being asked - and even in the Qur'an - for the Creator's protection from that," Tijani said.
Tijani, during a recent Gleaner Editors' Forum, said when the game started coming to light, members of the Islamic community in Jamaica were quite surprised and did some reading about it.
"There is still a lot of doubt as to exactly where it originated. However, they are chanting what we would say in Islam is a jinn, somebody from the spirit world. Some people think it is a mix with the Ouija boards from these words. People are actually summoning this jinn, and when you summon the jinn, what happens to the child is the end result," Tijani said.
The game, which many believed opened a portal, releasing demons on earth, has created a stir in local schools with students being cautioned about taking the challenge. The game is said to be a simplified version of the Ouija board and summons a Mexican demon named Charlie.
The Charlie, Charlie Challenge, as it is being called, entails placing two pencils on a piece of paper in the shape of the cross with the words 'yes' and 'no' written in each quadrant. Participants then repeat the phrase "Charlie, Charlie can we play?" in order to connect with the 'demon'. The 'demon' is then asked specific questions and the top pencil moves in response.