Witchcraft

===Abrahamic religions===
Witchcraft's historical evolution in the Middle East reveals a multi-phase journey influenced by [[culture]], [[spirituality]], and societal norms. Ancient witchcraft in the Near East intertwined [[mysticism]] with nature through [[Ritual|rituals]] and [[Incantation|incantations]] aligned with local beliefs. In ancient [[Judaism]], magic had a complex relationship, with some forms accepted due to [[mysticism]]<ref>Sanhedrin 67b</ref> while others were considered [[Heresy|heretical]].<ref name=CathEnWitch /> The medieval Middle East experienced shifting perceptions of witchcraft under [[Islam|Islamic]] and [[Christianity|Christian]] influences, sometimes revered for healing and other times condemned as [[heresy]].

==== Jewish ====
{{see also|Witchcraft and divination in the Hebrew Bible}}
Jewish attitudes toward witchcraft were rooted in its association with [[idolatry]] and [[necromancy]], and some [[Rabbi|rabbis]] even practiced certain forms of magic themselves.<ref>Green, Kayla. [http://www.momentmag.com/the-golem-in-the-attic/ "The Golem in the Attic"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825231615/http://www.momentmag.com/the-golem-in-the-attic/ |date=25 August 2017 }} ''Moment''. 1 February 2011. 25 August 2017.</ref><ref name="newlife">{{cite news|first=Dan|last=Bilefsky|author-link=Dan Bilefsky|title=Hard Times Give New Life to Prague's Golem|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|quote=According to Czech legend, the Golem was fashioned from clay and brought to life by a rabbi to protect Prague's 16th-century ghetto from persecution, and is said to be called forth in times of crisis. True to form, he is once again experiencing a revival, and in this commercial age, has spawned a one-monster industry.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=10 May 2009|access-date=19 March 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509123841/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|archive-date=9 May 2013}}</ref> References to witchcraft in the [[Hebrew Bible|Tanakh]], or Hebrew Bible, highlighted strong condemnations rooted in the "abomination" of magical belief. [[Christianity]] similarly condemned witchcraft, considering it an abomination and even citing specific verses to justify [[Witch hunting|witch-hunting]] during the early modern period.

==== Christian ====
{{Main|Christian views on magic}}
Historically, the [[Christian views on magic|Christian concept of witchcraft]] derives from [[Old Testament]] [[biblical law|laws]] against it. In medieval and early modern Europe, many Christians believed in magic. As opposed to the helpful magic of the [[cunning folk]], witchcraft was seen as [[evil]] and associated with [[Satan]] and [[Devil worship]]. This often resulted in deaths, [[torture]] and [[scapegoating]] (casting blame for misfortune),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Jeffrey Burton |title=Witchcraft |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646051/witchcraft |access-date=June 29, 2013 |website=Britannica.com |archive-date=May 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510105836/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/646051/witchcraft |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Pocs>{{cite book |last=Pócs |first=É. |year=1999 |title=Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective on Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age |place=Hungary |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-9639116191}}</ref>{{rp|p=9–12}} and many years of large scale [[Witch trials in the early modern period|witch-trials]] and [[witch hunt]]s, especially in [[Protestant]] Europe, before largely ending during the [[Age of Enlightenment]]. Christian views in the modern day are diverse, ranging from intense belief and opposition (especially by [[Christian fundamentalism|Christian fundamentalists]]) to non-belief. During the [[History of colonialism|Age of Colonialism]], many cultures were exposed to the Western world via [[colonialism]], usually accompanied by intensive [[Christianity and colonialism|Christian missionary activity]] (see [[Christianization#Colonial era (16th–19th centuries)|Christianization]]). In these cultures, beliefs about witchcraft were partly influenced by the prevailing Western concepts of the time.

[[File:Witches apprehended..., 1613 Wellcome M0016701.jpg|thumb|A 1613 English pamphlet showing "Witches apprehended, examined and executed"]]
In [[Christianity]], [[Sorcery (goetia)|sorcery]] came to be associated with [[heresy]] and [[apostasy]] and to be viewed as evil. Among Catholics, Protestants, and the [[secular]] leadership of late medieval/early modern Europe, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale [[witch-hunt]]s.  The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft. Tens of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in some regions the majority were men.<ref name="gibbons">Gibbons, Jenny (1998) "Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt" in [http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/POM ''The Pomegranate''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126213600/http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ojs/index.php/POM |date=2009-01-26 }} #5, Lammas 1998.</ref><ref name=BarstowWitchcraze>{{Cite book |last=Barstow |first=Anne Llewellyn |url=https://archive.org/details/witchcrazenewhis0000bars |title=Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts |date=1994 |publisher=Pandora |isbn=978-0062500496 |location=San Francisco |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|page=[https://archive.org/details/witchcrazenewhis0000bars/page/23 23]}} In [[Scots language|Scots]], the word [[warlock]] came to be used as the male equivalent of [[witch (word)|witch]] (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females).<ref>{{Cite book |last=McNeill |first=F. Marian |title=The Silver Bough: A Four Volume Study of the National and Local Festivals of Scotland |date=1957 |publisher=[[Canongate Books]] |isbn=978-0862412319 |volume=1 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Chambers |first=Robert |title=Domestic Annals of Scotland |date=1861 |isbn=978-1298711960 |location=Edinburgh, Scotland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sinclair |first=George |title=Satan's Invisible World Discovered |date=1871 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref>

The ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (Latin for 'Hammer of The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and Protestants<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0IAjBexFTgC&q=malleus%20maleficarum%20protestant&pg=PA27 |title=The Emergence of Modern Europe: c. 1500 to 1788 |date=2011 |publisher=[[Britannica Educational Publishing]] |isbn=978-1615303434 |editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=Heather M. |page=27 |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126013251/https://books.google.com/books?id=H0IAjBexFTgC&q=malleus%20maleficarum%20protestant&pg=PA27 |url-status=live }}</ref> for several hundred years, outlining how to identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female. It became the handbook for secular courts throughout Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying on it.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jolly |first1=Karen |title=Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Middle Ages |last2=Raudvere |first2=Catharina |last3=Peters |first3=Edward |date=2002 |publisher=[[A&C Black]] |isbn=978-0485890037 |location=New York City |page=241 |quote=In 1538 the Spanish Inquisition cautioned its members not to believe everything the Malleus said, even when it presented apparently firm evidence.}}</ref> It was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Witches|url=https://www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches|access-date=2021-10-26|website=History.com|date=20 October 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Islamic ====
{{Main|Islam and magic}}
Islamic perspectives on magic encompass a wide range of practices,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Savage-Smith |first= Emilie  |author-link= Emilie Savage-Smith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-lZ3QgAACAAJ |title=Magic and Divination in Early Islam |date=2004 |publisher=Ashgate/Variorum |isbn=978-0860787150 |language=en |access-date=2020-08-25 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192648/https://books.google.com/books?id=-lZ3QgAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> with belief in black magic and the [[evil eye]] coexisting alongside strict prohibitions against its practice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khaldûn |first=Ibn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRCnDwAAQBAJ |title=The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History |edition= Abridged |date=2015|publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691166285 |page=578 |language=en |access-date=2021-05-04 |archive-date=2021-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718192648/https://books.google.com/books?id=XRCnDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Quran]] acknowledges the existence of magic and seeks protection from its harm. Islam's stance is against the practice of magic, considering it forbidden, and emphasizes divine [[Miracle|miracles]] rather than magic or witchcraft.<ref>Savage-Smith, Emilie, ed. Magic and divination in early Islam. Routledge, 2021. p. 87</ref> The historical continuity of witchcraft in the Middle East underlines the complex interaction between spiritual beliefs and societal norms across different cultures and [[Epoch|epochs]].