ISSUE NO.

38 december 6, 2011
PublIshed e V e RY f I R s T T u e s d AY o f The MonTh

IN THIS ISSUE

arTIclES

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Mohammed Alraqmi

poETry

INHABITING The WoRld of AuThoRInG

By: HaitHm al Busaidi translated By: masHaal al Hajri Authoring, a sacred mission encouraging authors to travel more seeking the unknown. It is a serious attempt aiming at bringing hope into passionate, more developed minds and souls. Authoring is a word squeezing every pulse of every word inside it. Authoring is letters enlightening lifes paths, sailing across mens hearts. Authoring is a professional camera taking snaps of critical moments and events in detail. It is a living memory restoring creative ideas, interpreting slender sensations. It is a prestigious industry producing a fine art through weaving dignified stretches of texts. Authoring is a fascinating film tape or may be an enchanting traditional lantern serving science, literature and culture. It is a living creature stimulating men to think and be innovative in thinking. Authoring is a complete lunacy, a zealous moment that possesses authors all the way long. The experience of authoring is generated through confidential research aiming at human beings reformation. It is a cultural hallucination, an intellectual stream, a developed dynamo that moves bodies towards the unknown realities to gamble and to jeopardize lives. When one writes, s\he practices a kind of worship and reverence; it is a responsibility entitles authors to undertake hard duties in order to deepen the humanitarian texture amongst different society classes. Authoring is a photo album full of events, memories and characters. It is like blood in veins, like fresh air cuddling humans souls. It is the lust of thought inhabiting the mind of every person believing in freedom principles. It is an occurrence that captivates the eyes of he who is missing paths of truth. It is hope, tender, freedom, sacrifice; it is love. In brief, when authoring reaches that level of excellence it is that time when it is not handicapped by a certain event or chance in authors lives. It is only then when authoring becomes much broader, more whole and more accurate for that it is a long journey, a regenerated practice, a life venture. It is rather an expatriation to different worlds, far away destinations and eccentric spots accompanied by more horrors, sacrifices, compromises and pains. It is the repercussions of the noble fight for the holiness of authoring that aims at achieving the authors dream; the dream of immortality in history and human records. Real authors, therefore, are the immortals with their hallowed souls, innovative intellects and glorious memory that will linger in their words and lines for eternity. t

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ISSUE NO. 38 | tuesday, december 6, 2011

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PRiNTEd ANd PuBliSHEd By musCat press & puBlisHing HOuse

Opinion between Freedom and Law

By: muatH Bin KHamis al- muKHaini translated By: raiya al-rasHdi t is true that human beings are honored among all other creatures with a mind to express thoughts, and that requires giving him the freedom to express his opinions and thoughts. Therefore, the recognition of the freedom of opinion is in fact recognition of an individuals humanity. human beings are societys nucleus, with a positive and effective energy that cannot be suppressed in any way. Allah has granted this energy to all of us without an individual monopolizing it. This is a natural law which cannot be changed. This energy is definitely a nuclear power, but it constructs life and develops it. It means for humans to express themselves in order to transcend the inner compulsions of desires, and the external compulsion, which is the others controlling him. It is also a means of reforming and developing the society. each individual presents a brick in building society; as long as he is given his rights and freedoms, he grows and completes building the society. Public opinion is just like water which consists basically of a set of elements (h2o) -, but in fact it is the most important factor in creatures survival. since ancient times, opinion has represented power and authority. Al- Mutanabbi, one of the greatest poets in Arab history, appreciated the role of

editOr in CHieF Essa bin Mohammed Al Zedjali CeO Ahmed Essa Al Zedjali editOrial supervisiOn Mashaal Obaid AlHajri editOrs Thomas Roche Salim Al Kindi Safaa Al Nabhani Badr Al Jahwari Buthaina Al Kindi Hatim Al Taei Mathla Al Wahaibi text seleCtiOn Khadija Al Busaidi Mashaal Al Hajri design By Mahmoud Al Hosni puBliC relatiOns Hassan Al Bulushi SpEcIAl THANkS TO Society for Fine Arts at Sultan Qaboos University Photography Society at Sultan Qaboos University

opinion and said that it comes before courage and bravery. he also said that a man can beat his enemies with his opinions and thoughts rather than swords and daggers. freedom of expression is of great value, this is appreciated and held high by Islam. It is the serious way to success as Allah says in the Quran: let there arise from among you a band of people who bid others to righteousness, enjoin good and forbid evil; it is they who are successful (surat Al-Imran). Thus, success is based on thoughts including directing to good, and preventing what is evil. opinion is considered as opinion only if it arises from conviction and independency rather than imitating and misguidance. Independency is achieved only with an obligatory liberty free of fear. The Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, asked Muslims - in a tradition narrated by al-Tirmidhi on the authority of hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman- not to be a weak character who says if people are good I will be good and if they are wrong I will be wrong. no, he asked them to keep in their minds; If people are good be good and if they are wrong do not do as they do. history has recorded without any intolerance that our Islamic religion has been the leader in the field of rights and freedoms. If other nations claimed that they preceded us in this field, we will refute them by saying that these are our goods and it has returned to us, in other words we re-exported it. Peaceful communications

let there arise from among you a band of people who bid others to righteousness, enjoin good and forbid evil; it is they who are successful (surat al-imran).

between the Islamic world and europe, the Crusades between them, al-Andalus being in europe and the franks taking over it, all of this had helped to sow the seeds of the european Renaissance. Then, it was announced in the most important principle of the declaration of human Rights - which arose from the 1789s french Revolution, from which the beam of freedom spread in europethat people are born free and remain free, and they have equal rights. We appreciate the struggle of europeans against repression and injustice until they announced this principle. however, this principle brings to our minds the statement of one of the great powerful men centuries ago. This man is omar bin Al Khattab* who condemned the egyptian governor at that time for some of his actions and said, since when do we enslave people while they are born free?! This statement has lit up the ideas of modern philosophers of the european Renaissance, and inspired them to formulate such a declaration as it equated the Coptic citizen with the governor. no wonder that omars statement is an inspiration from the Prophets wise thinking which has developed society. The legality of freedom of opinion: The Constitution of any state is the fundamental law which includes the rights and freedoms and the basic values of the society. Therefore- and as an implementation of the constitutional highness principle,

which makes the Constitution at the top of other legal regulations - the number-two legislation has to protect those values, rights and freedoms, in a away consistent with the principles ensured by the Constitution. The lower legislation cannot disobey the constitution; otherwise it will fall into the abyss of the constitutional violation. The constitution is like a mirror that reflects the values and freedoms of the community, and legislation- the lower part of this mirror- should reflect the same image without fracturing it. All guaranteed rights and freedoms such as the right of expression, the right to address public authorities, self defense, and public duties cannot be an object to any crime of whatsoever nature. Practicing these rights and freedoms is the main reason of authorization ... Rights and freedoms which have a constitutional value do not need a legislative text, and practicing them is a legitimate act that derives its legitimacy from the constitutional provisions which are directly applicable, pursuant to the Constitution supremacy. freedom of opinion is of a constitutional nature; it must be respected by everyone and no rule can deny it or disparaging it on the pretext of authorization .. Authorization does not mean to degrade or confiscate. legislation stipulates how to enjoy a right without detracting from it because this will detract from the Constitution and from the basic values of society, which will lead in the end to societys

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collapse. legislation and freedom of opinion: It is worth mentioning that adapting to the community is one of the biggest challenges facing many pieces of legislation today due to the rapid changes, especially with regards to rights and freedoms. Thus, legislation must keep pace with development and co-exist with it. It should not be isolated from rapid changes in order to protect and immunize the community; immunity is more effective and more useful than prevention. The most important right legislation needs to adapt to under todays technological revolution

is the freedom of opinion as opinion is no longer trapped as it was before. It is the mother of all other rights such as freedom of religion, association, and press and media. Therefore, this right needs to be activated in order to be an applicable practice rather than a theory, and it needs to be controlled in order to prevent its deviation. The most specific freedom here to mention is the freedom of press and media. some people say that people were once following the religion of their kings, but today they are following the religion of their media. however, this statement hides the truth as people now

are following the religion of others media not their own media. The reason behind this is that people and media are not two sides of the same coin any more. The media does not reflect the reality we live, the problems we suffer, or the wishes we look forward to achieve. This has inevitably led people to search for alternatives which will fulfill their wishes and relieve them of worries. Today there are various trends which have given birth to many blind and useless cultures. our identity calls us to be the actor not the object, and to be in the front not at the back. This will be achieved through real action where legislation frees

honest words, meaningful ideas, and elevated literature, to lift the community from depression towards high ranks in science, knowledge, and art. Today we urgently need to establish legislation which will act as a barrier facing cultural invasion, and it will be full of various views which are, although different, under the umbrella of the principle that says, My opinion is right but it could be wrong, and the others opinion is wrong but it could be right. In our culture, the relationship between an opinion and another is friendly and is based on coop-

eration for righteousness, not for sin. Constraints and limits on the freedom of opinion: In this article, Im not demanding the freedom of opinion which goes beyond limits, not based on reality and law. Im also not demanding for opposition for oppositions sake. Im demanding for the freedom of opinion which is based on goodwill; approving the right and denying the wrong while presenting alternatives if possible. A true legal state is the one which can distinguish the wheat from the chaff, and which balances between the limits of

public interest, and the limits of its citizens rights and freedoms bearing in mind that the relationship between the two is complementary rather than differential. In other words, public interest of a state is based on the summed interests of its citizens. Thus, legislation cannot accuse any opinion that doesnt harm the community, nor can it provide for exaggerated penalties, on the pretext of public interest.t Omar bin AlKattab was the second Islamic Khalif.

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Mahmood Al-Amri

ISSUE NO. 38 | tuesday, december 6, 2011

TIMES OF OMAN

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The Omani Journalism in Zanzibar

bold and courageous man. A large number of omani newspapers in Zanzibar were sent to oman through much participation, as Ahmed Al lamki, one of the latest editor in chiefs/executive editors in Al-falaq newspaper referred to. This was mentioned in an interview with the journalist Ibrahim Al Yahmadithat was published in Ashriah issue of Al Watan newspaper in 12th of dec 2009. The poet, Muhammed Al harthi, says that the Zanzibari ships carried the newspapers to the ports of oman where they were brought to the inner regions. They were delivered on Camels that carried them from sur port to all omani regions. They were also delivered to Mumbai in India which was an intellectual and commercial centre for Gulf people. The newspaperswere, besides, delivered to some Arabian countries and other capitals such as Istanbul and Paris. These newspaperswere read by politicians and all people who were interested in such topics. besides Al najah and Al falaq, there were other successful newspapers and the most important were Al Islah which was published in 1923, Al-nahdh 1949 and was established by saiyed saif bin humood Al-said, Al Murshid 1945 and Al umma 1958. The main concern of such journalism was to pay attention to the internalstate of oman,as it was then divided into a sultanate and Imamate. An example of such concern is what was published in Al nahdh newspaper about the minister of internal affairs in Muscat. The minister issueda decree preventing all omani residents in Zanzibar coming back to the homeland, oman. Al nahdh newspaper demanded to try the minister. Therefore, Al-sayed said bin Taymoor, the sultan of oman at that time, recommended canceling the cruel decision of the minister. In an article about omans unity published in Al falaq newspaper in 29 July 1939, sheikh hashil Al Maskiriwrote We appreciate the glory of the sultan said for gathering omani people. having a religious ruler in any country is crucial to stop the inner riots and to implement Islamic laws among tribes. Ahmad Al lamki said that, in jubilee of Al falaq newspaper, 80 pages were published. At that time, the printer didnt accommodate that number of pages. Thus, a contract was signed with Zazibarfouis newspaper to help printing some pages. besides, six hundred copies of Al falaq newspaper were published, then, at the end of 1953, 2600 copies were published. every day before noon, all the distributed copies were finished and sometimes some of the workers concealed number of copies to sell them for their personal accounts. The immigrant omani journalism adopted many important issues concerning omanis such as conserving the threatened omani identity. This is especially evident when the british removedsultan Ali bin humoodas they were being angry at his Islamic and Arab aspirations. Ali bin humood was the one who established regular schools

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Hawra Al-Said

By: ZaHir Bin HaritH al maHrOqi translated By: maHra al sHuKaili he poet, Mohammed Al harthi, says in an article about the history of omani journalism omani journalism is abused when we say that it began in the same year of publishing Al-Watan newspaper in 1970. In fact, the birth of omani journalism was 61 years before. It was not in oman where the inner circumstances were difficult to publish a newspaper, but it

was in Zanzibar, the twin of the sultanate, as Mohammed Al harthi calls it. The real birth of omani journalism was in 1911 when Alnajah newspaper was published in Zanzibar. It was directed by the famous poet, Abu Muslim Al bahalani, who was writing its editorial concentrating on national unity and abolition of discrimination. Al-najah newspaper was published during the reign of Al-sayed Ali bin homood who was known of his national aspiration. Therefore, he resisted british colonization until he was removed from

Presidential Chair. Al sayed Ali bin humood was, also, the ruler who worked on arabisng everything. besides Al-najah newspaper, Al-falaq newspaper was published in 1920. It was directed alternatively by an elite group of omani writers. The most famous was sheikh hashil bin Rashid Al-Maskiri who was known,besides his intellect, for his generosity with all omanis who travelled to Zanzibar to earn a living. My father, may Allahs mercy be upon him, told me once that sheikh Al Maskari received him when he arrived

to Zanzibar. because my father was poor, he gave sheikh Al Maskari a pen as a gift. My father told sheikh Al Maskarithat he didnt have any precious thing to give him except that pen that may help him writes in Alfalaq newspaper. This newspaper was, in fact, aplace of liaison between oman and Zanzibar. besides, it was the newspaper that focused on the issues of the home land, oman, despite the great distance. My father spent all his life appreciating sheikh Al Maskiri and he always described him as Muhanjem, which means, as I understand, a

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and in his reign curricula were written in pure Arabic. sheikh hashil Al Maskiri, in Al falaq newspaper, specifically 26thissue on feb1938, criticizes heavily the stance of the Arabs government for marginalizing the Arabic language while the foreign governments such as Italy and britain insisted on broadcasting their radio programs in Arabic in order to attract all Arabic speakers. dr. Muhsin Al Kindi, in a book about omani migrant journalism and its chief protagonists, presents an article written in Al-falaq newspaper in 1965 by salim humaid Al Rrahbi. In this article, Al Rahbi writes oh Arab people, I call upon you to teach your children the language of their fathers, religion, and

prophet. dont allow them to be negligent,knowing nothing about world. save them from ignorance and help them to seek science, work, and all what their religion asks them to do to save their language. Anyone who reads the previous two samples completely realizes the importance of all what was said through the previous years. here are some omanis suffering and paying the price for a biggest mistake. Although Zanzibar was a centre of science, culture and civilization and oman was the first country to establish the sultani press by sultan bargash and some omani merchants in Zanzibar in 1879, many of those original omanis cannot speak Arabic and some of them can

speak only broken Arabic. The sultani press published a huge number of omani books such as Al sharah dictionary, Izalat Ali-itirad, hashiyat Al Tarteeb, Mukhtasar Al Khisal, Jamia Al bisaiwi, the poem of Madarij AlKhamal, diwan Abi Muslim Al bahalani and many other books and manuscripts. besides printing the manuscripts, the sultani Press, as nasir Al riyami writes in his book Zanzibar: characters and events, undertook to disseminate Arabian culture and tobring enlightenment to omani society that was in great need of such steps. The presence of omanis in African east is full of ambiguity for many. Therefore, it is the time for omanis to bring history

to the light. This is because there are many people trying to steal omanis history. besides, there are many who deal with that history as stigma. however, such history is a torch of omans radiant history and a torch of many unique humane characters. Thus, these are some missions that Al falaq electronic newspaper should undertake. t

All wAys leAd to us

By: laila al.BalusHi translated By: saFaa al-naBHani All distances between you and me are towards an end A long way is between us To overcome the impossible, we need to unbelieve in them And to overcome departure, we need to believe in both of us.. Two clouds and thunder.. we were Tow flowers..two thorns.. we were Tow tears, sadness..we were *** All ways lead to Rome.. And all ways between you and me lead to us.. *** The lightest ways are those where Satan lives The darkest ways are the shortcuts. *** The horror is that we get led to them and wont find ourselves * * *! Faust says I love who loves the impossible I tell him back the way to the impossible is long.. And I tell my lover your sole sin is that you loved a woman who doesnt know something as the impossible *** If they blindfolded our eyes.. Our feet cant be blinded of the way.. *** Ways have a memory.. And our ways memory is only in our minds.. Our way doesnt exist in the worlds map.. In our hearts map.. its engraved with its plains, hills, mountains.. its quakes, volcanoes, storms, skyline, stars, and its sun Ways have sins..but our way is full of angels. *** The way is dark.. So if you and I didnt burn.. Whod light our way..? *** I love you.. I have to open all the ways to reach you I love you.. You have to break all the ways to reach me.. Is there an escape then..? t

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Manal Al Tobi

ISSUE NO. 38 | tuesday, december 6, 2011

TIMES OF OMAN

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Years with the sense of frankincense

By: amal almagHaiZwi translated By: matHla al-waHiBi fter hearing the Zaghroda* of her mother, she was overwhelmed with happiness and a kind of beautiful numbness ran all over her body. At that moment, she recalled her image, serving water to the guests in the guests room. she wasnt able to catch their features, the image was blurring. however, the black color that was sweeping the womens area caught her attention along with the length of the man who would marry her. unfortunately, she couldnt read any of his facial impression because she was overcome with fear and confusion knowing that all eyes were directed at her; measuring her movements and stillness. she smiled when she heard her mothers sound coming behind her: Congratulations bride! hearing that sentence was her dream that lasted for three years. especially when her cousin decided to get married and all murmurs were raised that she was the woman whom hell marry. her mother at that time announced that he would not find a better woman than her. but his sudden decision to marry another woman made her isolate herself and keep silent. They thought she would never forget Abdullah for his decision despite the fact that her groom was doing better than Abdullah who was working in a small

company. she remembered that she didnt ask about the job of her fianc. she waited for her mother to take over this role and silence all the open mouths. The news would reach Abdullah and his mother; they should know that she was getting married. That beautiful numbness played with her senses again when her mother began talking about the dowry that was sufficient to meet the needs of gold and clothing. The gathering was even more excited when her sister Maryam and their talkative neighbor shamsa joined them. Their talkative neighbor was giving them ideas for the best shopping places while Marayam was writing the names of the shops that sold stuff of good quality at reasonable prices. Maraym was writing an estimated price next to each item. At that time, she felt a sense of joy when her mother started listing the characteristics of her new husband. she was enjoying the words and pronouncing letters of his name slowly; she has always loved the name of Yahya, this name gave her more hope in life and made her more attached to it. she tried to imagine Abdullahs face and his mother when they found out that she was getting married. she saw a sad and grimacing face. An intense joy overwhelmed her when she realized the deep hatred that Abdullahs mother had for her and her mother. however, now she could smile without fear of spinsterhood, thousands of men

are waiting for her and Yahya revived the joy inside her and provided a kind of joy and excitement in her life. she arranged ideas in her head several times; joy was now expanding in every minute. she started dreaming; getting away from her world. she imagined her wedding dress. she was like a dreamy white butterfly; traveling from one place to another gently, while her hair flowed lightly behind her back. All faces were smiling and her mothers voice confirmed that she was thousand times more beautiful than Abdullahs wife. she felt great pleasure in reaching this point and crossed the grief when her mothers words whispered in her ear that she would be for Abdullah. she no longer remembered Abdullahs face. she had forgotten him after their neighbor Mariam whispered to her saying that Abdullahs mother was looking for a bride for her spoiled son. her words broke her heart into small pieces and her mothers. her mother suddenly asked about her age?! she did not tell the truth though; she was approaching her twentysixth year. she was scared that she would fall into spinsterhood, which had been waiting for her behind doors and windows. she had held big dreams when she heard that Abdullah was planning to get married ignoring her age at the time. her marriage to Abdullah meant stopping the trajectory of her life and shutting the mouths of women

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and the younger girls who had already given birth to many children. At this moment, she was overwhelmed with hatred for Abdullah, and his existence. because of Abdullahs mother who had told them that her daughter-inlaw had become pregnant and after five months announced the arrival of a baby boy looking like Abdullah in all his features. by her words, Abdullahs mother had smashed the dream that she had drawn and give birth to dozens of kids who looked like Abdullah in everything. All those thoughts came out disturbing her new happy life and made her feel so sad. she went into her room; hold her mobile phone to write messages that would deliver her happy news to everybody. she still felt internal emptiness. she no longer tasted the taste of happiness that she had tasted few hours ago. she touched the book that was placed on her neck to keep the evil-eye away and brings her good luck. The smell of frankincense was used to chase the ghost of spinsterhood away. she drove all thoughts from her head and started writing the message of her engagement that she saved three years ago. she woke up to the sound of her mother, which was coming from behind the door of her room. she opened the door with apprehension. her mother asked about her age; she mumbled; the voice of her mother becoming louder. she answered twenty-five or twenty-six?! The people who proposed want your Identity card to make

sure of your age?! on her head, a sound of drums started increasing and the smell of frankincense became a thick and sticky necrosis in the pores of her body. she heard nothing but the voice of her sister saying faintly and in hesitation while holding the Identity card, she is twentynine! At that moment, everything collapsed, leaving nothing but faint voices and the faces of Abdullah and his mother grinning with a very big smile. she received one message congratulating her! t
* It can be described as a whistle that is made to express happiness; mostly at weddings.

Abdulrahman Al Tamimi

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ISSUE NO. 38 | tuesday, december 6, 2011

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Ancient Legends
By: Badriya al aamritranslated By: aHlam al mamari Theres a legend in the land as many of us know levi strauss legend is a narrative that societies inherit in traditions and practices and a writing that appears in the stories, sacred texts, historical books and literature. Its a complex sociological and cultural truth that many scholars from different fields have investigated and analyzed due its role as a main ingredient in the nations minds. As a result, it isnt underestimated as it used to be in the past centuries when it was seen as an attribute of silliness. Modern anthropological studies show that legends can get deep into the anatomy of old and modern civilizations to obtain a remarkable position in forming the nations cultures, ideologies, practices and actions and affecting their consciousness and unconsciousness (religion, history, philosophy and art). since the beginning of creation, legend has contributed to explaining and analyzing many natural phenomena. some believe that the legend originally evolved from mans interaction with his surroundings. for instance, the legend for the pre-history man was, as Tayib Teezyni says, created through his awareness of his close physical surroundings and his relations with other members in his group as well as to other existing things that represented his reality and controlled him practically. however, legends from Modern stone Age man were connected to magic, rituals

and customs which affected mans reality through what accompanied it from customs and rituals. This means that their legends were practically applied in their magical rituals as Joseph Chelhod suggested. Apparently, every era has its legends that humans created because of their constant looking for what balances and harmonizes their lives and they, for a long time, resorted to legends to answer their concerns about the unknown. Therefore, legends for pre-historic people were history, religion, knowledge and respected sacred supernatural creatures as the origin of everything (religion), thereby explaining the origin of existence (knowledge). Throughout the ages, many nations along with their intellectuals were interested in legends. however, we should exclude the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century because they favored minds and sciences over legends. The reason for that trend was due to deeming legends as a matter of illusion, which reflected the naivety of their believers or a deception or fallacy that some monks created to mislead nations. legends were considered as important issues and were discussed in many philosophical, scientific and mythical speeches. That interest has increased since the middle of the 19th century especially with human scientists generally and anthropologists specifically. Anthropologists went through two stages in studying legends. firstly, they belittled legends and deemed them as irrational, ambiguous and reflecting primitive thinking because they used to hear the news and stories of other countries

through travelers and judged them accordingly! Yet, the second stage was an exploration of other countries where anthropologists witnessed themselves legends through living with people; thus, it was a mature stage which resulted in a totally opposite conclusion to those drawn by previous anthropologists. Malinowski, the father of british anthropology, formed a theory in Aspects of legends that suggests, as Mircea eliade said, In ancient societies, legends played a prominent role, it reflected and rated beliefs highly, kept moral principles, enforced them and guaranteed the authenticity of holy rituals, providing humans with rules and laws in their practical life. Moreover, anthropologists value legends to be a key to ancient societies and an important horizon for cultural aspects and social molds as Morsel Moose said. freud analyzed dreams, symbols and legends in psychology employing the same rule saying, A dream is an individuals legend and it cannot be interpreted without the individualistic mind, whereas a legend is a nations dream which is interpreted through the collective mind although both have the same symbols. freud didnt value the role of legends; however, his students and their followers were interested in them that they believed that legends played a role in the unconscious processes (illusions and myths) like when dreams and other imaginative processes play the oracle role between nature and culture. To conclude, psychologists in comparing dreams and legends tend to compare individuality and collectivity disputably, claiming that legends have their interpre-

tations just as dreams do. Philosophy as well has dug deeply in legends and the first philosophical disputes involving legends were concerned with the start of creation and the evolution of the universe. some great philosophers considered legends and contemplated the mighty imaginative powers which produced those ideas. In spite of the fact that some of them, such as descartes and Auguste Comte, denied legends and regarded them silly fantasies, many modern

philosophers, such as hegel, Kant, and bergson realized the importance of legends in enriching theoretical knowledge, arts and principles (the intellectual ways of expression). hegel said, legends have inner relations with the main duty that all intellectuals seek. legends are traditional stories that narrate events and aim at presenting humanitys rituals. They keep rituals meaningful and justify their figurative meaning through symbols i.e. through what it can reveal of

mans relation to his sacred symbols. They are found in all cultures and they dig deeply into the intellectual collective memory of nations. even in the modern sciences of the technological era, legends exist as remains that are transmitted through media, literature and politics. however, most nations dont recognize legends in their rituals and traditions because legends to them are always others legends..ancient legends.t

a painting by:

Sanna Al-Humaidi