Toronto Star: Purported spiritual healers a widespread problem

Balpreet Singh, legal counsel for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, says the problem of purported spiritual healers preying on the vulnerable is much broader than the case of convicted conman Mohammad Umar Ashrafi.

Like fortune tellers, televangelists and palm readers in other cultures, Singh says these self-styled holy men offer an “easy solution” to members of the South Asian community with nowhere else to turn. 

“I suspect people that are using these services are doing it clandestinely,” he said. “It’s probably embarrassing for them.”

Ashrafi, who was convicted of fraud and blackmail and sentenced to 9 years in jail in Leicester, England, on Thursday, claimed he became a faith healer after being cured by a devotee of the Indian spiritual master Sai Baba.

He used a grab-bag of tricks to convince believers that, in exchange for thousands of dollars, his prayers could bring them a big lottery win. 

Although the phenomenon is more cultural than religious — as Singh points out, the Sikh religion forbids the use of fortune telling — he says there is a long tradition in the Punjab region of India of so-called holy men “who can intercede on behalf of humans with God.”

Typically using South Asian radio stations and newspapers to advertise, they claim to possess a range of powers, from the ability to identify the source of a curse to vanquishing debt overnight. Most often, the ads list phone numbers based in India, he said. 

Singh says places of worship try hard to educate the community about these conmen, but the scams continue to lure in victims. 

“All this stuff is bizarre, but it appeals to a certain segment of the population,” Singh said. “Anyone that’s paying for these sorts of services is wasting their money.”