A Malaysian museum will let a US research team from Ripley's Believe It or Not conduct scientific tests on genies, ghouls and other paranormal items on display to find out whether they are real.
The three-month Mysteries, Genies, Ghosts and Coffins exhibition at the Sultan Alam Shah Museum in the central Selangor state has been criticized since it began July 4. Some accuse it of being un-Islamic, while others have denounced the items as fakes.
The exhibition has drawn tens of thousands of visitors. Officials say there are around 100 items on display, including a preserved mermaid; the shriveled skeletal remains of a half-woman, half-snake; a goblin trapped in a bottle; and other creatures from Malay folklore.
PHOTO: EPA
Amzah Umar, chairman of the Selangor Museum Board, said the organizers and the owner of the exhibits have agreed to Ripley's request to examine the items.
“This will put to rest any allegations that the exhibits are fake,” he said.
The items belong to religious teacher Safuan Abu Bakar who has said that he plans to bring a “langsuir” — a deadly Malay banshee — to life to silence doubters.
“I will bring the exhibit to life. I will place the langsuir on a tree and bring it to life to let observers see it fly and screech,” he said.
He went on to say “Our exhibition is aimed at educating the public on the existence of the supernatural world. It is not against Islam; we should take it as education and entertainment,” he said.
The museum has said it expects a million visitors to the exhibition.(AP)
馬來西亞一家博物館將讓美國「利普雷的信不信由你」研究小組進行精靈、食屍鬼與其他超自然展覽物的科學檢驗,探究他們是否屬實。
為期三個月的「神祕精靈鬼怪暨棺木展」在馬來西亞中部雪蘭莪州的Sultan Alam Shah博物館舉行,自七月四日開展以來就飽受批評。有人指控這項展覽違反伊斯蘭精神,也有人痛斥展示品都是假的。
展覽吸引了成千上萬的參觀者。官員表示,大約有一百件展覽品,包括一具美人魚標本、半蛇女人的乾枯遺骨,一個瓶中精靈,與其他馬來民間傳說的角色。
雪蘭莪博物館局局長Amzah Umar表示,主辦單位與展覽品主人已同意利普雷檢驗這些物品的要求。
他說︰「這將可平息展覽品是造假的一切指控。」
這些文物為宗教導師Safuan Abu Bakar所有。他說他計畫讓馬來人傳說中的殺人吸血女妖「langsuir」起死回生,好讓存疑者啞口無言。
他說︰「我會讓展覽品復活。我要將langsuir放在樹上,讓它起死回生,讓觀察者看它飛天尖叫。」
他接著說︰「我們展覽的目的是教育大眾超自然世界真的存在。這並非違反伊斯蘭教,我們應該把展覽視為寓教於樂的活動。」
博物館說,預計會有一百萬人參觀展覽。
(美聯社/翻譯︰賴美君)
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