Harry Potter: Facts about Fiction

[bamalli]

Harry Potter: Facts about Fiction
By Khalid Baig

As expected there was much frenzy around the
latest Harry Potter book. Bookstores and clubs
around the world arranged special midnight parties
and other events in celebration of the launching of
the long-awaited fifth book in the series. A
grandiose countdown was held in Times Square for the
coming of the fifth book.
The book was set to break many old records. Online
bookseller Amazon had already received one million
pre-orders of the new book, its largest pre-order
ever. Scholastic, the American publisher had ordered
8.5 million copies as the largest first printing
ever. Worldwide, 13 million copies of the book had
rolled off the presses in a massive print run.
The other books in the Harry Potter series have
been translated into more than 55 languages,
including Urdu, Persian, and Turkish. Nearly 200
million copies of the first four books have been
sold in 200 countries.
What is all this craze about?
The series chronicles the growing up of a young
orphan wizard named Harry Potter who attends a
secret magic boarding school called Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry is a very unique wizard. His parents are
killed while he is a baby by a wicked powerful
wizard named Voldemort, but generally called
"you-know-who" or "he-who-must-not-be-named".
Voldemort fails in his attempt to kill Harry and
instead is nearly destroyed when his magic rebounds
on him. Harry is left with a lightning shaped scar
on his forehead.
Harry is sent to live with his "muggle"
(non-magical people) relatives for the next ten
years. He lives a miserable life, tormented by his
aunt and uncle and his spoiled cousin. They attempt
to keep him from knowing that he is a wizard.
Then, suddenly a letter arrives from Hogwarts on
his eleventh birthday, changing his life completely.
Harry finds out he is a wizard and rather famous for
his encounter with the evil lord Voldemort. Despite
opposition from his aunt and uncle, Harry goes to the wizard boarding school where he meets new
people, including his best friends Ron and Hermione.
Harry discovers that he has both admirers and
enemies.
Each book details the events of one school year.
The main characters in the story have
few noble qualities; they lie with impunity, use
profanity, don't respect their elders, break rules
regularly, and are unrepentant.

While the books are characterized by most people
as innocent fantasy and entertainment, they contain
many evil messages - not all of which are subtle.
The books glorify magic and sorcery. Harry and his

classmates regularly cast spells, brew potions,
learn to tell the future, communicate with the
spirits of the dead, train magical animals, and ride
brooms. They study astrology, crystal gazing,
numerology, transfiguration, and divination. Darker
things occur as well such as murder, human
sacrifice, drinking of unicorn blood, etc. The fight
between good and evil in this book is actually a
conflict between "good magic" and "evil magic", both
of which are evil.
The books are in effect promoters of paganism.
> They glorify magic and paganism while non-magical
> people, called Muggles, are despised and portrayed
as boring, narrow-minded, and paranoid of magic.
Not surprisingly, the main characters in the story
have few noble qualities; they lie with impunity,
use profanity, don't respect their elders, break
rules regularly, and are unrepentant.
And for all these qualities and more, the books
are popular and are having an effect. It is the "in"
thing to purchase the book. And not just the book.
Children have gone crazy over Harry Potter
memorabilia, surrounding themselves with Harry
Potter T-shirts, posters, toys, costumes, wands,
hats, etc.
The media has been glorifying the book
that glorifies sorcery.

Welcome to the world of capitalism and paganism,
where superstitions and the occult reign supreme in
the hearts and minds of people, and where the twin
forces have forged an "alliance of the willing" that
is doing its "magic" on a global scale.
Capitalism is all about maximization of profits
and if that requires appealing to the lowest
instincts and the darkest recesses of human nature,
so be it. Millions of dollars have been spent on
advertising the latest craze on billboards, buttons,
bumper stickers, and posters etc. U.S. publisher
Scholastic alone has planned a $4 million marketing
budget for this single book - among the largest
advertising budgets ever for a book.
The media machine --- equally adept at political,
cultural, and commercial propaganda --- has been
doing its part faithfully, paying a great deal of
attention to the smallest events relating to the
coming of the fifth book. It has been glorifying the
book that glorifies sorcery.
Even if it were innocent entertainment (which it
is not) the extreme devotion would be unjustified.
But this culture is given to extremes and incidents
of mass craziness are nothing new in it. The cabbage
patch dolls craze in the 1980s was similar to
current craze over the Harry Potter books. The
Cabbage Patch Dolls were the fad of the 1980s. The
most distinctive feature about them was that each
doll looked a bit different from others and came
with its own unique name and birthday, "adoption
papers," and a "birth certificate." Marketing
gimmick and television coverage combined to make
sales explode starting in 1983. Chartered planes
were used to bring the dolls from the overseas
manufacturing plants to meet the ever increasing
demand. Fist fights among eager customers often
broke out in retail stores when a shipment of dolls
arrived. In 1985, Coleco posted record sales of $600
million, thanks to their Cabbage Patch Kids.
When life has no higher purpose, entertainment and
fun become the over-riding goal in life. When there
is no belief in or clear concept of God as Creator
and Master of the universe, superstition, sorcery,
and the occult become fascinating.
When life has no higher purpose,
entertainment and fun become the over-riding goal in life.

It is a reflection on the state of the society
that there has been scarce opposition to this series
that promises to become darker with each new
release.
The Role of Muslims
> In this current state of hysteria, Muslims should
have played an important role in opposing this book
and exposing the flaws of this culture. It is the
duty of Muslims to guide the world, rather than blindly follow the ignorant masses. The Qur'an
commands us in Surah Al-Kahf, "And don't obey any
whose heart We have permitted to neglect the
remembrance of Us, one who follows his own desires,
whose case has gone beyond all bounds." [Al-Kahf
18:28]
Yet, unfortunately, we find very little opposition
or reflection from Muslims, many of whom have chosen
to blindly follow the pop culture. Many Muslims have
assured themselves that the books are harmless
fiction. Others even claim them to be beneficial
because they encourage reading. Reading what? It
does not occur to them to ask that question.
Islam prohibits both pointless entertainment
(lahw) and sorcery. But countless Muslims seem to be
unaware of that. And they are the ones fascinated by
Harry Potter