Sparks says the book is written for parents who are trying to manage mass-media effects on children and avoid negative consequences. The Associated Press reported on Oct. 16 that 153 people accused of sorcery have been mysteriously murdered in Indonesia. In scenes reminiscent of the Salem witch hunts, mobs have attacked and killed people they accuse of black magic. Some victims have been Muslim clerics while others were farmers or ordinary villagers. Police speculate the slayings might be revenge for the slaughter of tens of thousands of communists in the mid-1960s when President Suharto took power.
Some historians accuse the Muslim clerics of assisting in the carnage.
Others believe the killings may be part of a bloody play before general elections next year. While a third possibility is that Muslim groups that want to stamp out mysticism are behind the slayings. With a population of 202 million, Indonesia is the world's largest Islamic country. Since 1990, more than 2,000 cases of witchcraft-related violence, including 577 killings, have been recorded in Tshilamba, South Africa, located in the remote, northern corner of the country. The Baltimore Sun reports that a five-day conference of government and social agencies held last week in Thohoyandou, capital of Northern Province, called for a national educational campaign to counter popular superstition.