inn are basically the bogeymen of the Muslim world, haunting the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Africa today just as they have done for centuries. The term actually derives from an Arabic root meaning “to conceal,” since these are beings that for the most part are said to elude human perception. It may also be related to the Avestic/Old Iranian jaini (a wicked female spirit), but it entered English as “genie,” which—in line with the Latin word genus—refers to a guardian spirit.