Author: John C. Lamoreaux
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791453742
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Explores dream interpretation among the early Muslims, who saw dreams as a type of prophecy.

Author: John C. Lamoreaux
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791488608
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Reportedly, the prophet Muhammad told his followers that after he was gone prophecy would come only through "true dreams." Based on this and other statements, early Muslims created what might be called a theology of dreams. Dreams were regarded as an important means used by God to guide the faithful, especially after the cessation of Koranic revelation. However, since these dreams were often symbolic, they required interpretation, and early Muslims wrote numerous manuals dedicated to deciphering their meaning. Utilizing manuscripts preserved in Middle Eastern mosques and libraries, this book offers the first comprehensive account of the early Muslim tradition of dream interpretation. In addition to describing how and when the tradition developed, author John C. Lamoreaux discusses the social context in which dream interpretation arose and its role in the intellectual life of the time. He demonstrates that early Muslims considered dream interpretation a fully orthodox theological discipline, one sanctioned both by the Koran and the example of the prophet Muhammad.

Author: Kelly Bulkeley
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813548241
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Throughout history to the present day, religion has ideologically fueled wars, conquests, and persecutions. Christianity and Islam, the world's largest and geopolitically powerful faiths, are often positioned as mortal enemies locked in an apocalyptic "clash of civilizations." Rarely are similarities addressed. Dreaming in Christianity and Islam, the first book to explore dreaming in these religions through original essays, fills this void. The editors reach a plateau by focusing on how studying dreams reveals new aspects of social and political reality. International scholars document the impact of dreams on sacred texts, mystical experiences, therapeutic practices, and doctrinal controversies.

Author: Elizabeth Sirriyeh
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178673964X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
People in Western societies have long been interested in their dreams and what they mean. However, few non-Muslims in the West are likely to seek interpretation of those dreams to help them make life-changing decisions. In the Islamic world the situation is quite different. Dreaming and the import of visions are here of enormous significance, to the degree that many Muslims believe that in their dreams they are receiving divine guidance: for example, on whether or not to accept a marriage proposal, or a new job opportunity. In her authoritative new book, Elizabeth Sirriyeh offers the first concerted history of the rise of dream interpretation in Islamic culture, from medieval times to the present. Central to the book is the figure of the Prophet Muhammad - seen to represent for Muslims the perfect dreamer, visionary and interpreter of dreams. Less benignly, dreams have been exploited in the propaganda of Islamic militants in Afghanistan, and in apocalyptic visions relating to the 9/11 attacks. This timely volume gives an important, fascinating and overlooked subject the exploration it has long deserved.

Author: Iain R. Edgar
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 0857452363
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
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.

Author: Thomas Hegghammer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108508626
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Al-Qaida and Islamic State continue to captivate the world with their extreme violence. While much attention has been given to the operations and doctrines of jihadi groups, this is the first book to explore their culture. Using a wealth of primary sources, the authors examine what goes on inside these organizations and what daily life is like for the foot-soldiers. They show that Islamist militants have a rich aesthetic culture and do much more than fight and train. Life in a jihadi group is in fact filled with poetry and music, and fighters spend time on surprising things like dream interpretation and weeping. Readers will discover an entirely new perspective on radical Islamists: that despite their reputation as macho men, they value humility, artistic sensitivity, and displays of emotion. Cultural practices are essential for understanding the jihadi worldview and may shed important new light on decision-making and recruitment processes in extremist groups. This original book will interest anyone in academia, government, or the general public who is intrigued by the appeal and resilience of the jihadi movement.

Author: Nancy van Deusen
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047444019
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Dreams and Visions have constituted an important topic and point of departure in the past; but also continue to play a present role in literature, political thought, economic theory, and in the arts. An essential historical topos, Dreams and Visions--the second in a series that projects past issues into the present--brings significant contributions from an interdisciplinary spectrum of standpoints in order to discover fresh insights. Perhaps this is the essence, in any case, of "Vision"--to discover new, fresh ways of conceptualizing a problem, topic, or historical enquiry, which is the goal of this volume. Contributors are Tamara Albertini, David Bevington, Eolene M. Boyd-MacMillan, John N. Crossley, J. Harold Ellens, Wendy Furman-Adams, Robert W. Hanning, Virginia K. Henderson, Birgitta Lindros Wohl, Ann R. Meyer, Ana M. Montero, Michael Murrin, Wendy Petersen Boring, Conrad Rudolph, Nancy Van Deusen, Joanna Woods-Marsden, and Meg Worley.

Author: Anna M. Droll
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004541225
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Euro-Western descriptions of knowledge and its sources fall short of accommodating the spiritual, experiential terrain of the imagination. What of the embodied, affective knowing that characterizes Pentecostal epistemology, that is, the distinctive Pentecostal-Charismatic knowing derived from dreams and visions (D/Vs)? In this stunning ethnographic work, the author merges African scholarship with an investigation of what visioners say about the significance of their D/Vs for Christian life and spirituality. Revealing data showcases case studies for their biblical and theological articulations of the value of D/V experiences and affirms them as sources of Pentecostal love, ministerial agency, and the missionary impulse.

Author: Amira Mittermaier
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520258509
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
"This brilliant study presents contemporary anthropology at its best. Whether one's goal is understanding the permeability of traditions and modernities or the changing shape of religious imagination and thought in one of the most pivotal countries of the Middle East, this book is an outstanding point of departure."—Dale F. Eickelman, author of The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach, 4th ed. "Dreams That Matter is an insightful and well-crafted study of the practice of dreaming in contemporary Egypt. Mittermaier provides a superb analysis of the imaginative repertoires of Islamic traditions and shows how the dream has remained not only a site of Muslim scholarly interest, but an important part of the way ordinary Muslims encounter and engage with the divine."—Charles Hirschkind, author of Powers of the Secular Modern: Talal Asad and His Interlocutors "Amira Mittermaier has given us the most complete anthropological study of dream culture in the Middle East—perhaps in any culture. It is a sensitive, intellectually challenging, indeed a courageous, investigation of the psychological, ontological, and ethical assumptions that lie behind dreams, visions, and dream-visitations in contemporary Egypt—where the dream is a vibrant site of political, religious, and interpretive contest. Dreams That Matter will rank among the most important contributions to the anthropology of the imagination for years to come."—Vincent Crapanzano, author of The Harkis: The Wound That Never Heals

Author: Özgen Felek
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438439954
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Dreams and visions have always been important in Islamic societies. Yet, their pervasive impact on Muslim communities and on the lives of individual Muslims remains largely unknown and rather surprising to Westerners. This book addresses this gap in understanding with a fascinating and diverse account, taking readers from premodern Islam to the present day. Dreams and visions are shown to have been, and to be, significant in a range of social, educational, and cultural roles. The book includes a wealth of examples detailing the Sufi experience. Contributors use Arabic, Persian, Indian, Central Asian, and Ottoman sources and employ approaches grounded in history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, religious studies, and literary analysis. This is an illuminating work, showing how ordinary Muslims, Muslim notables, Sufis, legal scholars, and rulers have perceived both themselves and the world around them through the prism of dreams and visions.