Family sues genie

MADINAH: A Shariah court in the town of Mahd Al-Dahab is taking up an important question: Can genies be summoned . . . to appear before a judge? According to Wednesday’s Al-Watan newspaper, a family has filed a lawsuit against an unnamed genie for stealing mobile phones, sending threatening voice messages through mobile phones imploring the family to move away and pelting family members with stones when they go out at night. The family has been living in the same house for 15 years, but claims that it only recently began to feel the presence of the genie over the past two years. “We have to look into this case and verify its truthfulness despite the difficulty of its consideration,” said Sheikh Amr Al-Salmi, the head of the local court. If he thinks it’s going to be difficult to verify these charges, just wait until the judge orders the genie to pay compensation.

You just have to love these backwards people.