Egyptian Landscapes of the
Imagination
AMIRA MITTERMAIER
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Question 1: As a result of several religious and secular organizations cohesively taking charge in the attempt to ban a popular television program in Egypt: Ru’a, which elaborates on the themes of dreams and dream interpretation, the issue of the world of dreams became thus more of a controversial discourse. Muslim reformers aim to assist the Muslim world in its quest for renaissance through political, social and economic reform. They stand on the side that frowns upon the issue at hand. Their ultimate goal would be to ban dream interpretations from the masses and mass media.
Historically speaking, reformists argue that nothing in Islam actually …show more content…
The thing is dream visions can move the visionaries, their neighborhoods and even entire societies. However, dreams and their interpretation trouble rationality and the institutions that are at the pursuit of defining Islam for the community. Ultimately, dream interpretation disrupts the cultural hegemony that reformist are trying to build; therefore, in restricting dream interpretation practices to the private sphere, results in a reduced degree of interruption in the larger social …show more content…
As one of her informants says: “The government used to steal our money. Today they steal our hope.” I couldn’t help but think back to last January the Egyptian revolution that disposed of the Mubarak regime. It was one of the rare times where one could have hope for the abolition of the injustice lived. This feeling made me want to know even more about how dreams actually matter in a political stance.
In general, anthropologists are instructed study a theme that is distant from their own background. This instruction is intended to make them an objective observer in the field. In the case of Dreams that Matter, Mittermaier’s goes against the standard and elects to study on something very personal. She combines both her parents’ backgrounds to create a larger meaning. That personal touch attracted me to wanting to know more and relate more to the author making me enjoy the book more given that I am no longer just reading a series of events and information. As an immigrant child, I related to her need to combine both these backgrounds and make sense of the puzzle that she grew up in. I find myself constantly trying to peace the puzzle of my cultures