Durham University - Dream believers

A study has revealed that many modern Muslims still rely on the traditional practice of dream interpretation to make major decisions about politics, marriage and career. Researchers at Durham University interviewed 60 Muslims in the UK, North America, Europe and Pakistan, focusing on istikhara, or "dream incubation". A Pakistani woman living in the UK, for example, began to worry about the state of her daughter's marriage after she did istikhara and dreamed of an attractive bowl of dates, which turned out to taste bad. The results, published in the journal History and Anthropology, will be developed more fully in a forthcoming book by Iain Edgar, senior lecturer in anthropology at Durham.