The Curse of Kubel DLC is an extension to the popular video game Kubel, which adds new content and features for players to experience. This DLC introduces a new campaign mode that delves deeper into the story of the game, providing players with a fresh and exciting gameplay experience. In this new campaign, players will uncover the dark history of Kubel and the curse that plagues the land. They will embark on a dangerous quest to find a way to break the curse and restore peace to the kingdom. Along the way, they will encounter new enemies, discover hidden secrets, and acquire powerful weapons and abilities to aid them in their journey. The Curse of Kubel DLC also includes additional side quests and missions, expanding the gameplay hours and providing more opportunities for players to explore the world of Kubel.
The Hidden Histories of Islamic Magic
Mysteries of nature, modern enchantments, and the curse words of colorful incantations were among the many topics addressed in the two-day symposium “Magic and the Occult in Islam and Beyond,” held on March 2-3. Organized by Travis Zadeh (Yale University), the symposium brought together an international array of scholars with diverse areas of expertise. The papers and discussions that ensued addressed the place of the occult in Islamic thought and the modern challenges of thinking in scholarly terms with alternative and contested epistemologies. The event was funded by the Council on Middle East Studies at the MacMillan Center at Yale and the Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund, and was sponsored by the Departments of Religious Studies and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library.
The symposium opened with the question “Where to Locate the Occult?” — a panel dedicated to the definitional problems of marking various practices in Islamic history as magical or occult. Christian Lange (Utrecht University, the Netherlands) probed the Arabic concept sihr, meaning generally magic or enchantment, through an examination of its place in eschatological, ethical, and legal literature. Nicholas Harris (University of Pennsylvania) discussed the history of Islamic alchemy as a “mystical and symbolic form of spirituality” and its ultimate rejection in the nineteenth century as pseudo-science. Frank Griffel (Yale), who served as discussant, outlined the ontological interconnections between magic and miracle in classical Islamic theology, while Shawkat Toorawa (Yale) moderated the lively conversation that followed.
The second panel focused on the occult metaphysics of the Iranian theologian Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1209), a topic that has received relatively little scholarly attention. Michael Noble (Warburg Institute, London) introduced the concept of the universal soul, a lynchpin to Razi’s cosmology of the occult, which draws on neoplatonic currents explored earlier by such imminent thinkers as Ibn Sina (d. 1037) and al-Ghazali (d. 1111). The art historian Yael Rice (Amherst College) discussed an illuminated Persian adaptation of Razi’s book of astral magic produced in the Mughal court of India during the sixteenth century, a unique manuscript filled with talismanic images, visuals of astrological degrees, and “recipes for suffumigations to be used for the purpose of astral piety.” Yahya Michot (Hartford Seminary) presided over the panel as a discussant.
The final panel of the first day turned to rituals and spells, in both theory and practice. Elizabeth Price (Yale) explored early theological debates that sought to establish in various forms a rational basis to Islamic ritual devotional activity in the face of antinomian critiques attacking religious law as fundamentally irrational. Moving beyond these theological concerns, Emily Selove (University of Exeter) examined the rhetorical and at times rather obscene dimensions animating the spells and incantations in the Arabic grimoire of Siraj al-Din al-Sakkaki (d. 1229). As the discussant for the panel, Toorawa addressed how the category of prayer, from the devotional to the apotropaic and prophylactic, has been woefully under theorized in Islamic studies, a comment that led to a vigorous discussion about analytical categories, a theme repeated throughout the day.
The second day of the symposium began in the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library with a roundtable discussion entitled “How to Handle the Occult?” This hands-on session examined an array of occult manuscripts and devotional materials that Zadeh had curated from the rich holdings of the Beinecke collection. These included a fragmentary collection of incantations (Landberg MSS 35a); treatises by al-Būnī (d. 1225) and Ibn Turka (d. 1432), two luminaries of classical Islamic occult learning (Hartford Seminary Arabic MSS 70 and The Landberg MSS 146); and a scroll containing Quranic verses, and invocations with magical squares and talismanic figures (Arabic MSS 341). The roundtable consisted of presentations by Zadeh, Selove, Matthew Melvin-Koushki (University of South Carolina), and Noah Gardiner (University of South Carolina). Zadeh characterized the countless codicological materials that remain largely unexamined and unedited, particularly in the wide-ranging fields of the occult learning, as vital resources for addressing major lacunae in the modern historiography of Islamic thought.
The question of reception history continued into the fifth panel, which focused on the Arabic epistles by the famed Brethren of Purity (Ikhwan al-Safa’), written in tenth-century Iraq. Godefroid de Callataÿ (Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium) examined various allegorical interpretations of the Brethren’s celebrated Animal Fable in light of their larger political and metaphysical philosophy. Liana Saif (University of Oxford and Université catholique de Louvain) addressed the central role of magic as a licit sphere of learning in the Brethren’s program of religious renewal. Salimeh Maghsoudlou (Yale), the panel’s discussant, spoke to the broader problem of hierarchal stratification, in the tension running throughout the epistles between esoteric and exoteric structures of knowledge.
This was followed by a panel dedicated to courtly contexts for the production of occult learning. Noah Gardiner explored the diverse codicological recensions of Ibn Khaldun’s (d. 1406) treatment of occult learning in light of his courtly audience in Mamluk Cairo. Matthew Melvin-Koushki discussed the ontological coincidence of opposites as advanced by the occultist Ibn Turka (d. 1432), which served as a basis for imperial ideology amongst the Timurids, Ottomans, and Mughals. Anna Akasoy (CUNY Graduate School and Hunter College), who presided over the panel, addressed how a cosmology of imperial love could be put to the service of violence and hegemony.
The penultimate panel continued the theme of courtly patronage with two papers focused on the Ottoman period. Özgen Felek (Yale) explored the various occult interests of the Ottoman Sultan Murād III (d. 1595), which included astrology, astral magic, books of dream interpretations, and talismanic clothing and objects. Tuna Artun (Rutgers University) turned to divinatory material from the seventeenth century and its mobilization in the service of Ottoman politics. In his role as discussant, Ryan Brizendine (Yale) raised several notable parallels in both papers with contemporary practices in the Mughal court.
The final panel explored points of rupture and continuity in the modern period with a presentation by the anthropologist Alireza Doostdar (University of Chicago) of his fieldwork on occult learning and witchcraft in modern-day Iran. Doostdar turned to the trope of “gullible women” as sites of moral corruption in the competing discourses of secular modernists and religious reformists. Addressing the “hegemonic forms of rationality” that have constituted particular practices as deviant and heterodox, Abbas Amanat (Yale), who served as respondent, spoke to the broader currents in modern Iranian history that have sought to regulate and reform women’s bodies. Samuel Ross (Yale) presided as chair over the stimulating conversation that ensued.
A curious feeling of wonder followed the entire symposium, from the marvelous images of mysterious manuscripts and powerful charms to the array of voices in and outside the fields of Islamic magic, led by professors from the Yale community and beyond. Further synergies catalyzed in the contributions by the many doctoral students who participated, namely Elizabeth Price, Ryan Brizendine, Samuel Ross, Nicholas Harris, and Michael Noble, along with various graduate students who traveled to attend. Through it all, a wondrous excitement persisted, as the symposium drew to a close with reflections on the state of the field and thoughts of more conversations to come.
Reporting by Mia Tabib, Master of Divinity Student 2018, Divinity School.
Saudi Arabia's War on Witchcraft
A special unit of the religious police pursues magical crime aggressively, and the convicted face death sentences.
Members of the religious police attend a training course. The Saudi authorities have a unit dedicated specifically to hunting witches ( Ali Jarekji / Reuters )
August 19, 2013 Share SaveThe sorceress was naked.
The sight of her bare flesh startled the prudish officers of Saudi Arabia's infamous religious police, the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), which had barged into her room in what was supposed to be a routine raid of a magical hideout in the western desert city of Madinah's Al-Seeh neighborhood. They paused in shock, and to let her dress.
The woman -- still unclothed -- managed to slip out of the window of her apartment and flee. According to the 2006 account of the Saudi Okaz newspaper, which has been described as the Arabic equivalent of the New York Post, she "flew like a bird." A frantic pursuit ensued. The unit found their suspect after she had fallen through the unsturdy roof of an adjacent house and onto the ground next to a bed of dozing children.
They covered her body, arrested her, and claimed to uncover key evidence indicating that witchcraft had indeed been practiced, including incense, talismans, and videos about magic. In the Al Arabiya report, a senior Islamic cleric lamented that the incident had occurred in a city of such sacred history. The prophet Muhammad is buried there, and it is considered the second most holy location in Islam, second to Mecca. The cleric didn't doubt the details of the incident. "Some magicians may ride a broom and fly in the air with the help of the jinn [supernatural beings]," he said.
The fate of this sorceress is not readily apparent, but her plight is common. Judging from the punishments of others accused of practicing witchcraft in Saudi Arabia before and since, the consequences were almost certainly severe.
In 2007, Egyptian pharmacist Mustafa Ibrahim was beheaded in Riyadh after his conviction on charges of "practicing magic and sorcery as well as adultery and desecration of the Holy Quran." The charges of "magic and sorcery" are not euphemisms for some other kind of egregious crime he committed; they alone were enough to qualify him for a death sentence. He first came to the attention of the religious authorities when members of a mosque in the northern town of Arar voiced concerns over the placement of the holy book in the restroom. After being accused of disrupting a man's marriage through spellwork, and the discovery of "books on black magic, a candle with an incantation 'to summon devils,' and 'foul-smelling herbs,'" the case -- and eventually his life -- were swallowed by the black hole of the discretionary Saudi court system.
The campaign of persecution has shown no signs of fizzling. In May, two Asian maids were sentenced to 1,000 lashings and 10 years in prison after their bosses claimed that they had suffered from their magic. Just a few weeks ago, Saudi newspapers began running the image of an Indonesian maid being pursued on accusations that she produced a spell that made her male boss's family subject to fainting and epileptic fits. "I swear that we do not want to hurt her but to stop her evil acts against us and others," the man told the news site Emirates 24/7.
According to Adam Coogle, a Jordan-based Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch who monitors Saudi Arabia, the relentless witch hunts reveal the hollowness of the country's long-standing promises about liberalizing its justice system.
In a country where public observance of any religion besides Islam is strictly forbidden, foreign domestic workers who bring unfamiliar traditional religious or folk customs from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Africa, or elsewhere can make especially vulnerable and easy targets. "If they see these [folk practices or items] they immediately assume they're some kind of sorcery or witchcraft," he said.
The Saudi government's obsession with the criminalization of the dark arts reached a new level in 2009, when it created and formalized a special "Anti-Witchcraft Unit" to educate the public about the evils of sorcery, investigate alleged witches, neutralize their cursed paraphernalia, and disarm their spells. Saudi citizens are also urged to use a hotline on the CPVPV website to report any magical misdeeds to local officials, according to the Jerusalem Post.
According to a director of the religious police's witchcraft division in Riyadh, the unit provides confidentiality to informants. "We deal with sorcerers in a special way. No one should think that we mention the name of whomever files a report about sorcery," Sheikh Adel Faqih told the Saudi Gazette. In 2009 alone, at least 118 people were charged with "practicing magic" or "using the book of Allah in a derogatory manner" in the province of Makkah, the country's most populous region.
Faqih also claimed that the process of arresting someone for crimes of magic involved more than just receiving a tip from a neighbor or employer. A formal investigation would be pursued, and "information must be collected before an arrest can be made." What sort of information do they need? The answer was unsurprisingly vague and innocuous: if the suspect sought to purchase "an animal with certain features." For example, "he asks for a sheep to be killed without mentioning Allah's name and asks to stain the body with the animal's blood or if he asks for similar unusual things."
By 2011, the unit had created a total of nine witchcraft-fighting bureaus in cities across the country, according to Arab News, and had "achieved remarkable success" in processing at least 586 cases of magical crime, the majority of which were foreign domestic workers from Africa and Indonesia. Then, last year, the government announced that it was expanding its battle against magic further, scapegoating witches as the source of both religious and social instability in the country. The move would mean new training courses for its agents, a more powerful infrastructural backbone capable of passing intelligence across provinces, and more raids. The force booked 215 sorcerers in 2012.
The most aggressive pursuit of witches tends to be in the interior of the Arabian peninsula, a parcel of the country that hosts the capital city Riyadh and many of the most dedicated followers of Salafism, the ultra-conservative school of Sunni Islam that the government enforces throughout the country in its religious courts.
Wresting the country's criminal proceedings from the grip of one of the strictest strains of Islam would involve more than just the development of a more progressive outlook; it would require cosmic revisions in Saudi history and religious identity.
The Saudi government and many of its citizens subscribe to the 18th-century teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a revivalist Islamic scholar who called for a return to literal interpretations of the Quran, and for the abandonment of folk rituals that had developed around the worship of Islamic shrines and grave sites. According to historian Vladmir Borisovich Lutsky:
He sharply criticised such superstitious survivals as fetishism and totemism, which, to him, were indistinguishable from idolatry. Formally all the Arabs were Moslems. But, in reality, there existed many local tribal religions in Arabia. Each Arab tribe, each village had its fetish, its beliefs and rites. The variety of religious forms that stemmed from the primitive level of social development and the lack of cohesion between the countries of Arabia were serious obstacles to political unity. Abd el-Wahhab set up against this religious polymorphism a single doctrine called tauhid (unity)..
The Wahhabis fought against the survivals of local tribal cults. They destroyed the tombs of the saints, and forbade magic fortune-telling. But at the same time their teachings were directed against official Islam.
Under Wahhabi doctrine, magic is seen as a serious affront to the pure and exclusive relationship one is supposed to share with Allah.
But belief in the supernatural and magic is actually quite common in Muslim culture. According to the Quran, the jinn are demonic supernatural beings that were created out of fire at the same time as man. Some believe that jinn have the power to cause harm, and it is not uncommon for the possessed to visit faith healers or sorcerers tasked with ridding the evil.
According to the Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project:
In most of the countries surveyed, roughly half or more Muslims affirm that jinn exist and that the evil eye is real. Belief in sorcery is somewhat less common: half or more Muslims in nine of the countries included in the study say they believe in witchcraft.
Accusations of jinn worship and witchcraft once even touched the administration of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, when his advisers and aides were arrested on charges of black magic. Ahmadinejad denied the charges, but a sorcerer well-known among the ruling class claimed that he met with the President at least twice and gathered intelligence for him on "Jinn who work for Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad, and for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency," according to the Wall Street Journal.
According to the Pew survey, the majority of Muslims agree that Islam restricts making contact with jinn or using magic. But Wahhabism is particularly opposed to this notion, according to Muhammad Husayn Ibrahimi's analysis of the sect:
Based on some verses of the Qur'an, Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, Ibn Taymiyyah and the contemporary Wahhabis regard seeking help from other than God or asking for their intercession as an act of polytheism. Their main proof is the phrase, "other than God" in verse 18 of Surah Yunus. The Wahhabis regard the prophets, saints, idols, the jinn, and the dead as the most vivid manifestations of this verse.
This might explain why Saudis, many of whom are devout Wahhabi practitioners, are so fierce when it comes to the pursuit of witches.
The courts are controlled by judges -- commonly religious clerics -- who have unlimited latitude to interpret and define the content of witchcraft crime, the details of which are not articulated in a spare, barely existent penal code. They can also mete out capital punishments as they see fit. Saudi Arabia ranks third behind China and Iran for its number of executions. Evidence in these cases is limited to witness testimony and the presentation of the "magical" items discovered in the possession of the accused.
The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia did not respond to requests for comment on the specifics of its dealings with witchcraft crime.
The ability to defend against the charges seems to depend on the caprice of the particular judge assigned to the case. In the 2006 case of Fawza Falih, who was sentenced to death on charges of "'witchcraft, recourse to jinn, and slaughter' of animals," she was provided no opportunity to question the testimonies of her witnesses, was barred from the room when "evidence" was presented, and her legal representation was not permitted to enter court. After appeals by Human Rights Watch, her execution was delayed, but she died in prison as a result of poor health.
The police can also use questionable tactics. In 2008, a well-known Lebanese television personality, Ali Hussain Sibat, who made a living by telling callers' fortunes and instructing them on other superstitious matters, was lured into an undercover sting operation while making a religious pilgrimage to Mecca. According to the New York Times, he was arrested shortly after the police recorded conversations he held about providing a magical elixir to a woman that would force her husband to separate from his second wife. His death sentence was later stayed after outcry from international human rights organizations.
Belief in magic is so widespread that it is often invoked as a defense in Sharia courts. "If there's an employer dispute -- say the migrant domestic worker claims she wasn't paid her wages or her conditions are unlivable -- a lot of times what happens unfortunately is the defendant makes counterclaims against the domestic worker," Coogle said. "And a lot of times they'll make counterclaims of sorcery, witchcraft, and that sort of thing."
Domestic workers, many of whom who are not fluent in Arabic, face significant challenges in defending themselves against these charges, according to Coogle. Sometimes, he says, "they don't even know what's happening." "I think that there are cases where the authorities will provide translation, but I'm told the translation isn't always available and isn't always reliable." Many don't have the resources to hire a lawyer, so they are often representing themselves, unless a human rights organization takes on their case.
Even then, they must face a religious cleric who serves simultaneously as a judge and a prosecutor and can often introduce new charges or modify existing ones during the course of the proceedings. "When you have a situation that's so arbitrary and left to the discretion of a judge, women without the means to defend themselves can sort of be left alone," he said. Though some of the cases receive international attention, Coogle expects that many don't make headlines at all. "Given the isolation of these individuals," he said, "I just expect that a lot happens that we don't know about."
ʿAnāq bt. Ādam, the Islamic Story of the Very First Witch
Some Islamic traditions mention an enigmatic daughter of Adam named ʿAnāq. Little is known about her; for example, the corresponding entry in the Encyclopaedia of Islam simply states that ʿAnāq is the “name given by the Arabs to the daughter of Adam, the twin sister of Seth, wife of Cain and mother of ʿŪd̲j̲.” ʿAnāq is always mentioned in relation to her son, the giant ʿŪj, who was supposed to be the only creature outside the Ark to have survived the Flood in the time of Noah, and who was assumed to have been killed by Moses. We gather here the information and traditions about the Islamic ʿAnāq in order to draw a more coherent and historically contextualized portrait of this legendary first witch.
The Curse of Kubel DLC also includes additional side quests and missions, expanding the gameplay hours and providing more opportunities for players to explore the world of Kubel. These side quests offer unique challenges and rewards, encouraging players to fully immerse themselves in the game. The new DLC also introduces new characters, both allies and foes, who play a vital role in the campaign and add depth to the story.
Résumé
Quelques traditions islamiques mentionnent une mystérieuse fille d’Adam appelée ʿAnāq. Peu de choses sont connues à son sujet : ainsi, l’article correspondant dans l’Encyclopédie de l’Islam affirme simplement que ʿAnāq est le « nom donné par les Arabes à la fille d’Adam, sœur jumelle de Seth, épouse de Caïn et mère de ʿŪd̲j̲ ». ʿAnāq est systématiquement mentionnée en rapport avec son fils : le géant ʿŪj, supposé être la seule créature qui n’était pas sur l’Arche à avoir survécu au Déluge et avoir été tué par Moïse. Notre propos est de réunir ici les données et traditions sur la ʿAnāq islamique afin de dresser un portrait cohérent et historiquement contextualisé de cette légendaire première sorcière.
In addition to the new campaign mode, the Curse of Kubel DLC also includes new multiplayer features. Players can now team up with their friends in cooperative missions, battling together against challenging enemies and bosses. This cooperative mode adds a new level of excitement and teamwork to the game, allowing players to strategize and coordinate their efforts to overcome the toughest obstacles. Overall, the Curse of Kubel DLC expands the gameplay experience of the original game, offering new content, storylines, and features for players to enjoy. It provides a fresh challenge for seasoned players and a great starting point for newcomers. Whether you're a fan of the original game or looking for a new adventure, the Curse of Kubel DLC is sure to provide hours of fun and excitement..
Reviews for "The Curse of Kubel DLC: Exploring New Terrifying Environments and Locations"
1. Mike - 2 stars
I was really excited to play the Curse of Kubel DLC for my favorite game, but I ended up feeling disappointed. The storyline felt forced and shallow, with characters that lacked depth and development. The gameplay was repetitive and didn't bring any new or interesting mechanics to the table. Overall, it felt like the developers rushed this DLC out without putting much thought or effort into it.
2. Sarah - 1 star
I have been a loyal fan of the game and was eagerly awaiting the Curse of Kubel DLC, but it fell short of my expectations. The DLC was filled with glitches and bugs that made the gameplay frustrating and almost unplayable at times. The dialogue was poorly written, with cheesy lines that made me cringe. The whole experience felt like a cash grab rather than a well-thought-out addition to the game. I would not recommend wasting your money on this DLC.
3. John - 2 stars
I found the Curse of Kubel DLC to be underwhelming. The story had potential, but it was poorly executed. The pacing was off, with long stretches of tedious tasks and very little payoff. The new areas introduced in the DLC were visually appealing, but lacked substance and meaningful exploration. Overall, the DLC felt like a missed opportunity to expand the game's lore and provide an engaging experience for the players. I hope the developers take note and improve upon their future DLC releases.
4. Emily - 3 stars
While I didn't hate the Curse of Kubel DLC, I can't say that I enjoyed it either. The storyline felt predictable and lacked any real surprises. The new enemies introduced were also uninspiring and didn't pose much of a challenge. I was hoping for a more immersive and engaging experience, but unfortunately, I was left feeling underwhelmed. It's not the worst DLC I've ever played, but it's definitely not one that I would recommend to others.