Rebecca Conway

Photographer in Delhi | @TEDx speaker | @Sahar_Speaks mentor | @Reuters @AFP @irinnews alum

Exorcising the Jinn

Location: Delhi, India

Nationality: British

Biography: Currently in New Delhi, India, Rebecca works between India and Pakistan, covering conflict, women and minorities. She has worked for the New York Times, The Guardian, AFP, AP, Reuters, Stern, The National and IRIN, among others. She is based in... read on

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A Pakistani man said to be possessed by a demon sits inside the shrine of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi, where he has been living, in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 24, 2011.

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Pakistani resident Muhammad Rehan, 18, believed to be possessed by a demon, sits by the wall he has been chained to for four months at the shrine of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 24, 2011.

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Pakistani worshippers offer prayers at the tomb of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 24, 2011.

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Padlocks and threads symbolising the prayers of Pakistani worshippers are left at the tomb of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 24, 2011.

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A shrine near the tomb of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 24, 2011.

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A Pakistani resident believed to be possessed by a demon paces inside the shrine of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 25, 2011.

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Pakistani residents lie close to the tomb of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 24, 2011.

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Flowers and a shroud cover a grave at the shrine of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 25, 2011.

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A Pakistani worshipper offers prayers inside the shrine of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 25, 2011.

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Pakistani resident Muhammad Rehan, 18, believed to be possessed by a demon, sits by the wall where he has been chained for four months at the shrine of spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi in Makli in the district of Thatta in Pakistan's Sindh province on November 25, 2011.

Public Story

Exorcising the Jinn

Credits: rebecca conway

Updated: 10/27/16

Location: Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan

Archived as: Abandonment, Belief, Documentary, Emotion, Fear, Freedom, Health/Healing, Hope, Islam, Isolation, Mental Illness, Photography, Photojournalism, Privacy, Religion, Sorrow, Spirituality

Surrounded by desert on all sides a shrine haunted by a Sufi mystic draws those desperate for peace.

Living there for days or even months, worshippers who believe 10th century spiritual leader Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ashabi can rid them of possession by demons, known as jinns, leave offerings, chant prayers and grasp at walls in the rooms surrounding his tomb.

Shrines across Pakistan's Sindh province attract waves of believers, and worshippers can stay years at the Ashabi shrine in a bid to exorcise evil spirits.