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Informationen zum Autor Iain R. Edgar (1948-2021) was a Social Anthropologist at the University of Durham, UK. He was the author of Dreamwork, Anthropology and the Caring Professions (Avebury 1995) and Guide to Imagework: Imagination-based Research Methods (Routledge 2004); and coeditor of the Anthropology of Welfare (Routledge 1998), Learning Fields volume I: Educational Histories of European Social Anthropology (Berghahn 2003) and Learning Fields volume II: Current Policies and Practices in European Social Anthropology Education (Berghahn 2004). Klappentext The war in the Middle East is marked by a lack of cultural knowledge on the part of the western forces, and this book deals with another, widely ignored element of Islam-the role of dreams in everyday life. The practice of using night dreams to make important life decisions can be traced to Middle Eastern dream traditions and practices that preceded the emergence of Islam. In this study, the author explores some key aspects of Islamic dream theory and interpretation as well as the role and significance of night dreams for contemporary Muslims. In his analysis of the Islamic debates surrounding the role of "true" dreams in historical and contemporary Islamic prophecy, the author specifically addresses the significance of Al-Qaeda and Taliban dream practices and ideology. Dreams of "heaven," for example, are often instrumental in determining Jihadist suicidal action, and "heavenly" dreams are also evidenced within other contemporary human conflicts such as Israel-Palestine and Kosovo-Serbia. By exploring patterns of dreams within this context, a cross-cultural, psychological, and experiential understanding of the role and significance of such contemporary critical political and personal imagery can be achieved. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements Glossary Foreword: Anthropological scepticism encounters dreamt realities following fieldwork in Pakistan Dr. Steve Lyon Ethnographic case studies from Pakistan Feeding people Dreaming of the Qur'an Assumptions of validity and meaningfulness Conclusion: the justificatory and motivational Power of dreams Introduction Chapter 1. context and history Dreams as perceived metaphysical and divinatory knowledge in Islam Dream Interpretation in Islam The True dream across cultures Promised land dreams in Palestine and Kosovo Significance of night dreams to Muslims in general Chapter 2. Methodology Methodological issues in dream work Methods Used in this Book: An Oversight Sources studied: primary and secondary Conclusion Chapter 3. Istikhara: Islamic dream incubation Case study from Sarajevo, Bosnia Conclusion Chapter 4. Sufism and dreams Ethnographic study of dreaming in a UK Sufi centre The sunday evening Zikr Shaykh Nazim in Northern Cyprus Chapter 5. Militant jihadist dreaming in the Middle East and the UK The patterns and threads running through Jihadist dream interpretation Their understanding of dreams Legitimating function Connection to the Golden Age of Islam Focus on manifest content of dreams Dreams interpreted as world is interpreted Dreams and events related Dreams, politics and warfare Dreams of al-Qaeda Osama bin Laden Zacarias Moussaoui Richard Reid Al-Zarqawi and other Iraqi Martyrs Dreams of other Jihadists Pakistani relations Guantanamo Bay A dream of a dead Mujahideen Chapter 6. Dreams of Mullah Omar, Taliban Leader Discussion and contextua...
