A man who conducts ‘genuine' Islamic exorcisms has spoken exclusively of his work and says many people are being conned into believing there is a problem when there isn’t.

Ahmed Ali sees around 50 people a week who travel to his madrassah from across the UK.

He also claims to have converted jinns to Islam and says he is attacked by the evil spiritual beings at night because they see him as a threat.

Ahmed said, “People come to us for Ruqyah (spiritual healing) from all over the UK and even all over the world. People have come from Canada, Africa, Dubai to have Ruqyah done with us.

Ahmed Ali who has had clients from Lancashire visit him says he is careful when he conducts the Ruqyah.

He said: “I personally do Ruqyah on family and friends. You can get harmed sometimes when you do it so you have to be careful.”

Belief in black magic and jinns are an integral part of Islam, yet how spiritual healers counter these forces remains a contentious issue.

Jinns are mentioned frequently in the Quran and are said to be one of three known creations of God – the others being man and angels.

For Ahmed, the impetus to provide this service came from his own experience and angst after watching his father being misdiagnosed by mercenary Raqi’s. “I watched my own father suffer for years.

“It took years of travelling all over the world before we found help.

“So many people lied to us and charged extortionate amounts of money for treatment which never worked.

“Eventually we found out he was mentally ill.”

Ahmed’s madrassah Al-Fajr Centre based in Village Street, Derby can see up to 50 people a week, although he is vociferous in stating that not all cases involve a jinn at all.

He also has a Facebook page Al-Fajr Academy Derby where he updates people but only posts details with permission from clients.

“From all the people that have come to us, I would say 80% think a jinn is in them when it isn’t. It’s all in their head.

“They want to think it’s a jinn, or black magic or as a result of a taweez. They actually get upset when you tell them there is nothing there.

“Ultimately these things are used as a scapegoat to justify something bad that has happened in their life.

“They want to blame it on a jinn that has been sent by a vindictive or jealous relative like an aunt or an uncle.

“Pir’s are the ones who prey on people and make them believe that a family member wants to harm them.

“Even when they know there is no jinn inside someone, the dodgy Raqi’s, the crooks will still make the person, especially the vulnerable person believe there is a jinn inside them.”

What happened in a real life exorcism in Pakistan

Ahmed was in Pakistan in July as part of a charity project. During his visit, he was called to the house of a 21-year-old woman who was thought to be possessed by a jinn.

He explained the process in which he tackled the jinn after making an initial assessment.

“Jinns are mentally young in age and are made from smoke. They love to make you feel scared. But in my role as a Raqi, I can’t show any fear to the jinn.

“I started with reciting the azaan in the ear of the woman.

“Then I read Sura Fatiha and then the Qul’s. Next I read the Ayat-al-Kursi repeatedly.

“Usually at this stage, if there is a jinn, it will show itself. This girl was resting her hands on her knees. Her fingers started moving randomly.

“I spoke to the jinn in Urdu. The jinn spoke back to me.

“I asked the jinn if it was a Muslim. The jinn said it was a kafir. The family of the woman were shocked to hear this.

“I kept talking to the jinn, giving it dawah.

“I explained politely that you can’t do this to a Muslim girl.”

Ahmed Ali says he is backed-up with a team who conduct the exorcisms and support him

Dealing with stubborn and evil Jinns

Ahmed went on to ask the jinn why it was present in this girl. The jinn claimed it had been sent by the girl’s paternal aunt, although it later admitted that was a lie and that it simply wanted to cause mischief to the girl who is due to get married after Eid.

“After a few hours of talking to the jinn, I asked if it would become a Muslim.

“I told the jinn that Allah would forgive it for what it had done to this girl if it became a Muslim. The jinn agreed and took the shahada. Then it left the girl.

“You know the jinn leaves when the person starts coughing violently. This means it is in the chest and throat and is starting to leave.

“Then the person is coughing so aggressively, almost to the point of throwing up, and that is when you know it has left.”

According to Ahmed, this particular case was straightforward and succinctly concluded. Ahmed said that some more complicated cases which entail stubborn jinns can take up to weeks to leave the person’s body.

In another case that took place at his Islamic centre in Derby, Ahmed said an English revert had black magic put on him by a woman which resulted in an extra marital affair.

“This doctor, a married man, works in the psychiatric unit in a hospital in Derby.

“One day he didn’t come home to his wife after work. It turned out that he went to her friend’s house instead.

“This woman did black magic on this man through the food she cooked for him. This led to an affair between him and his wife’s friend.

“He even gave up Islam during the affair. The man’s wife brought him to us for help.

“We were able to remove the black magic through Ruqyah and senna leaves.

“The senna leaves have to be boiled and then the person drinks it. The leaves have a laxative effect which means the person essentially excretes the black magic.

“The man drank this mixture for two days whilst I did Ruqyah on him.

“We recorded the footage of the Ruqyah to show the man afterwards. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.”

Visit from Lancashire Islamic school

In another instance, Ahmed says that twenty girls from an Islamic school in Lancashire came to his madrassah presenting similar symptoms to each other two years ago. He said, “They all attended the same Muslim girl’s school in Lancashire.

“And they all were possessed by really nasty, aggressive jinns who were spitting and swearing.

“Their school had been built on land that had previously been abandoned for years. It was no coincidence that so many girls from one school came to us.”

As well as addressing concerns about corrupt Raqi’s, Ahmed spoke of the dangers of taweez, and how so many unlearned Raqi’s cheat people by creating their own taweez with Quran verses and random algorithms and numbers.

Describing the act as ‘a scam’ Ahmed says Raqi’s can charge anything from £2,000 to £20,000 for a taweez.

“One woman had the good intention to get a taweez for her daughter as she wanted her daughter to get married to a man in Pakistan.

“The taweez was effective in that the woman agreed to the marriage.

“However, the jinn that was sent with the taweez fell in love with the bride.

“Ultimately that marriage soon ended in divorce.”

Ahmed says there is an element of risk in performing Ruqyah and says that he is attacked by jinn at least once a week.

“They try to intimidate me because of the work that I do.

“At night time my bed will suddenly start vibrating, or the blanket will be violently pulled off me. Things will fall down randomly in my house.

“I can feel them trying to enter my leg sometimes. I don’t get scared. I just start reciting the Quran.”

Ahmed work has led to much contempt from other self-titled Raqi’s.

“Look, everyone has the right to earn a living."

Risk in tackling the unknown

Ahmed says there is an element of risk in performing Ruqyah and says that he is attacked by jinn at least once a week.

“They try to intimidate me because of the work that I do.

“At night time my bed will suddenly start vibrating, or the blanket will be violently pulled off me. Things will fall down randomly in my house.

“I can feel them trying to enter my leg sometimes. I don’t get scared. I just start reciting the Quran.”

Ahmed’s decision to provide the Ruqiyah for free has led to much contempt from other self-titled Raqi’s in the UK who claim he is stealing their business.

“Look, everyone has the right to earn a living.

“But if you seek help from a religious person and they charge you extortionate amounts with ongoing charges, then you have to realise they are dodgy."

If anyone wants to contact the centre they can call 07813838235.

This article was updated on February 8