Governance and Regulation of Traditional Medicine: ROQYA Practices Between Quranic Orthodoxy, Hybrid Traditional-Therapeutic Approaches, and Family Meditations in the Autonomous District of Abidjan

Abstract

Renowned as a practice for treating illnesses based on the recitation of Quranic verses, prayers, and invocations to seek protection and healing from Allah in order to ward off evil forces, Islamic ROQYA treatment centers are emerging as a growing form of spiritual care. This paper examines the governance of practices at ROQYA treatment centers based on the tensions between claimed Qur’anic orthodoxy and the emergence of hybrid forms incorporating therapeutic-religious elements, shaped by competitive dynamics among practitioner’s dynamics that are themselves linked to socioeconomic and generational transformations. The hypothesis put forward is that the absence or weakness of formal regulatory mechanisms fosters a fragmentation of care standards, opening up a space for competition where the criteria for religious legitimacy, the modalities of access to care, and the power relations among actors (practitioners, families, religious networks, and patients) are all being redefined.Within this framework, two types of practitioners stand in contrast: on the one hand, those committed to strict orthodoxy based on an ethic of selflessness and doctrinal purity; on the other hand, an emerging generation that aligns ROQYA with the principles of professionalization, profitability, and social visibility through traditional therapeutic practices. The study is based on a qualitative approach combining 34 semistructured interviews with imams, roqya practitioners, Muslim worshippers, patients, and their families, as well as observations of roqya sessions in the municipalities of Marcory and Koumassi. The thematic analysis highlights: (i) the historical roots of ROQYA practices in these districts, linked to transnational religious dynamics; (ii) a reconfiguration of therapeutic norms driven by urban and economic transformations. (iii) the absence of a clear regulatory framework, which fosters heterogeneous practices that can sometimes pose risks depending on gender. These findings underscore the limitations of current governance frameworks and call for regulation that brings together state institutions, religious actors, and local dynamics with a view to ensuring safe care pathways.

Keywords: Governance, Roqia, traditional therapeutic practices, traditional medicine, Abidjan. 

Received Date: August 17, 2026

Accepted Date: September 09, 2026

Published Date: October 01, 2026

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/1067