Government by Magic Spell

In this story, a woman named Halima has tricked her entire town into thinking she is possessed by a jinni. She uses this "power" to make all of her local people think that she can control what the jinni does and also predict the future. This story reminded me a little bit of "The Crucible", where all of the young women pretend that they can see evil spirits. This would be a typical example of a child who discovers that she can twist the truth to her advantage. And so she does as she continues to grow up and amass more and more power. When Halima is summoned by the government (which is currently being run by her own clan), they place her in power because they know that people will be to frightened to question her decisions. She continues to abuse her power to gain money, build businesses, and restrict and control natural resources to her benefit. When the story ends it is apparent that at the expense of her native people, Halima has made sure that her own clan has benefited and stayed in power. I would say a revolution is in order.