Many Saudi women watch TV shows specializing in explaining and interpreting dreams but for some, these dreams turn into real nightmares.
Hoping to learn about the future, analyze the present and interpret things in dreams, many women seek dream interpreters. Not only do they believe what is being said, they are also willing to pay large sums of money to the so-called interpreters.
Haneen, a dream interpreter, said that women could face real problems if they are careful. She said that a growing number of unprofessional people claim to interpret dreams, especially on social media and TV. “This is a science and these people have not studied the subject,” she warned. “They work forgetting all religious morals and values of honesty. I have been in this field for six years and I haven’t heard of these problems until recently.”
“Many women help the dream interpreter blackmail them as they confide personal and intimate details,” said Haneen. “The intimate relationship with the husband, the wife’s attitude toward her family, her body features, and love relationships are private topics that shouldn’t be shared with those people who might use the information against them,” she stressed.
As a dream interpreter, Haneen recommends women consult well-known and trusted interpreters to avoid risk. She cautions them not to be obsessed with interpreting dreams. From her experience, jealous women seek interpretations out of fears that their husbands will marry other women. Childless women ask about any dream that might signal that they will become pregnant. Young women ask about the interpretation of dreams that may mean they will marry.
Professor Abed Al-Aziz Al-Dakheil says interpreting dreams is not considered a science because “science has its origins, theories and systematic plans.”
“Interpreting dreams have become a career and a way to earn money,” he said. “These people seek money, fame, power and authority while others use it to blackmail women who comprise 70-80 percent of the people calling the shows for advice,” he said.
Al-Dakheil believes women tend to have a more emotional side than men, making them seek dream interpreters and try to understand the unknown.
“What is the point of interpreting a dream?” Al-Dakheil asks. “Even if the interpretation is correct, how can we base our lives and reality on dreams?”
Al-Dakheil explained that the lack of education and the weakness of the media encouraged this culture and made it a desirable service. He called upon interpreters to advance their interpretations by scientific research and studies, follow up on their interpretation and tell the audience how many of their interpretations were correct.
Fahad Al-Assimi, a host of “The Dreams” show on a television channel, says that women comprise the majority of his audience. “According to a statistic I made on my website, I found that the women to men ratio was 3 to 1,” he told Arab News.
When asked about dream interpreters who blackmail women, Al-Assimi said that they were a minority. He stressed that interpreting dreams was a science with origins and tools.
“Our goal is to solve problems and not show off our explanation skills,” he said, encouraging interpreters to keep silent if they find dreams that might cause family problems.
Dream interpretation turns into a nightmare for some women
