Criminal Confrontation of Crimes of Witchcraft and Sorcery in the UAE Penal Code: a Comparative Analytical study

Abstract

The works of witchcraft and sorcery are among the oldest beliefs and phenomena known to humanity. History books indicate that man has practiced witchcraft and sorcery throughout the ages. In ancient times, it was perhaps the unawareness of man of what surrounds him and the fear he had that led him to deal with these supernatural things. In spite of the progress of science and technology, witchcraft and sorcery are still practiced. In 2016, the federal legislator criminalized acts of witchcraft and sorcery through clear and explicit texts. This study analyzes and discusses the crimes of witchcraft and sorcery which were added by the federal legislator to the Federal Penal Code under Decree Law No. 7 of 2016. In order to study witchcraft and sorcery, we divided the research into two chapters: the first chapter deals with magic and sorcery in relation to the crime of practicing witchcraft and other associated crimes; whereas the second chapter draws on the position of comparative legislation, including Islamic legislation on the crimes of witchcraft and sorcery. The research ended with a number of conclusions and recommendations.