When Nature Speaks, Superstition Answers:

 

Across the Middle East and North Africa, superstition has long coexisted with religion, folklore, and everyday life. Beliefs surrounding the evil eye, divine curses, unseen forces, and supernatural causes for misfortune continue to shape how many people interpret disasters and hardship. While these traditions have deep historical roots, Algerian novelist and thinker Amin Zaoui argues in his essay, “When Natural Disasters Become a Breeding Ground for Superstition,” published in Independent Arabia, that their continued prominence carries consequences extending far beyond personal belief -- that is, superstition is not merely a harmless cultural practice but a force that can discourage critical thinking, perpetuate social injustice, and provide political authorities with a convenient escape from accountability.*

 

Zaoui contends that one reason superstition remains so resilient is that it offers psychological comfort. It provides simple explanations and reassurances for people that there are comprehensible causes behind their suffering, even if that explanation has little basis in evidence. He describes many Arab and North African societies as being "immersed in a state of blissful indolence, the absence of reason, and the honeyed comforts of superstition." His use of the phrase "honeyed comforts" is particularly striking. Superstitious explanations may soothe anxiety in the immediate moment, but they also distract people from confronting uncomfortable realities. Rather than examining structural failures or scientific evidence, such societies find reassurance in stories of divine punishment or supernatural intervention.

 

Zaoui stresses that this tendency becomes especially dangerous during moments of crisis. Earthquakes, floods, pandemics, and other disasters often expose weaknesses in public infrastructure and the government’s preparedness. Yet instead of prompting serious reflection about these shortcomings, superstition can redirect attention toward divine wrath or heavenly curses. In this sense, superstition becomes more than a personal belief system; it becomes a political instrument. By encouraging supernatural explanations, authorities can avoid scrutiny for inadequate disaster planning, poor healthcare systems, or corruption within state institutions.

 

This dynamic was evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a rise in superstitious interpretations across parts of the Arab world and North Africa. Rather than viewing the pandemic solely through the lens of epidemiology and public health, some religious figures and public voices framed it as a manifestation of God's anger. According to Zaoui, such narratives shifted public attention away from failures in healthcare preparedness and government response. Instead of asking whether hospitals were adequately equipped or whether public health policies were effective, public discussion risked becoming focused on moral blame and supernatural punishment.

 

The persistence of superstition, Zaoui argues, also creates fertile ground for exploitation. Charlatans and opportunistic religious authorities often flourish during periods of uncertainty. Fear creates demand for certainty, and superstition provides answers that many people find emotionally satisfying. Zaoui observes that "in our societies, the more superstition assumes a religious character, the greater its influence. This is why preachers and religious authorities proliferate in times of disaster." When supernatural explanations are cloaked in religious language, they gain additional authority and become more difficult to challenge, allowing those who promote them to expand their influence over vulnerable communities.

 

Women frequently bear the greatest burden of superstitious beliefs. Zaoui argues that patriarchal societies have historically placed disproportionate blame on women during periods of crisis, often portrayed as "the cause of heaven's curse," accused of provoking earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, pandemics, and other calamities through their actions, attire, or perceived moral failings. These accusations transform women into convenient scapegoats for events entirely beyond human control. Rather than confronting the actual causes of disasters, societies redirect blame toward those with the least power to defend themselves.

 

Beyond individual prejudice, Zaoui believes political authorities deliberately cultivate superstitious thinking because it serves their interests. When governments fail to protect their citizens, supernatural explanations can become an effective form of political diversion. Instead of acknowledging negligence, authorities encourage narratives that absolve them of responsibility. Zaoui describes this process as a form of political "whitewashing," in which natural disasters are presented as manifestations of divine will rather than evidence of institutional failure.

 

The practical implications of this diversion are significant. Governments are responsible for building dams that reduce the impact of floods, maintaining healthcare systems capable of responding to epidemics, enforcing construction standards that minimize earthquake damage, and investing in scientific research that improves disaster preparedness. When disasters are attributed primarily to heaven's curse, public anger is redirected away from failed institutions and toward superstitious explanations.

 

This redirection is not accomplished by governments alone. Political regimes, he writes, recruit a wide range of influential voices to reinforce these narratives: "In this diversion of attention — from criticism of a failing authority to attributing its negligence to heaven's curse — political regimes enlist intellectuals, politicians, journalists, writers, and religious figures to redirect the criticism and anger of afflicted citizens and strip them of their social and economic content." In other words, public discourse becomes focused on supernatural explanations instead of practical questions about governance, preparedness, and accountability.

 

Zaoui recalls that following the devastating earthquake that struck the Algerian town of El Asnam in October 1980, a belief spread that the disaster was an act of divine punishment because the city's name carried pagan associations. Rather than focusing on disaster management and reconstruction, authorities embraced this narrative and eventually renamed the city Chlef. While the new name may have symbolically addressed popular fears, it did nothing to resolve the structural problems exposed by the earthquake itself. For Zaoui, the episode demonstrates how superstition thus becomes a substitute for meaningful and vital reform.

 

He contrasts this approach with countries where scientific inquiry plays a greater role in public life. In societies that prioritize scientific research and reason, natural disasters are understood through geology, meteorology, engineering, and medicine rather than supernatural punishment. Zaoui draws from the Japanese model for disaster response and management, explaining how earthquakes in Japan are not interpreted as signs of divine anger but as natural geological events that require preparation and resilience. Consequently, their government invests heavily in earthquake-resistant construction, early warning systems, and emergency planning designed to minimize casualties.

 

Similarly, scientific inquiry, rather than superstitious belief, has helped societies better track and prepare for volcanic activity. Scientists monitor seismic activity, gas emissions, and ground movement to predict eruptions with increasing accuracy. Their findings allow authorities to identify at-risk neighborhoods and organize evacuations before disaster strikes. Science cannot eliminate natural hazards, but it can dramatically reduce their human cost. Rather than searching for supernatural causes, scientific societies seek practical solutions that allow people to coexist more safely with nature.

 

According to Zaoui, there is a clear relationship between scientific advancement and the decline of superstition. As scientific knowledge expands, societies become better equipped to understand natural phenomena and develop effective responses. This does not eliminate religious belief, nor does it erase cultural traditions, but it does reduce reliance on explanations that obscure reality. Scientific reasoning encourages citizens to ask difficult questions about public policy, infrastructure, and governance instead of accepting calamity as inevitable divine punishment.

 

Ultimately, Zaoui's critique is directed not simply at superstition itself but at the social and political systems that benefit from its persistence. He argues that the widespread tendency to explain disasters through supernatural causes reflects what he describes as "the absence of reason and critical thinking" when confronting earthquakes, pandemics, infectious diseases, and other natural phenomena. While developed countries increasingly rely on scientists, laboratories, hospitals, and research institutions to understand and respond to crises, many societies in the developing world continue to interpret similar events through the language of divine wrath and heavenly curses.

 

For Zaoui, the choice is not between religion and science, but between explanations that encourage accountability and those that excuse failure. Superstition may provide emotional comfort in moments of uncertainty, but when it becomes a substitute for reason, it also becomes a barrier to reform. As long as disasters are explained away as acts of heaven rather than failures of preparation, governments face less pressure to improve public institutions, vulnerable groups remain easy targets for blame, and societies lose opportunities to build a safer future grounded in evidence, responsibility, and critical thought.