The duality of self and other in the book “Al-Etibar” in light of Henri Bajou’s theory

Imagery or surology is one of the branches of comparative literature and studies the manifestations of imagery in literary works, including the image of the self and the other. The image is about a geographical environment, a historical event, a culture, customs, traditions, and different groups that have a symbolic language and linguistic characteristics. In the study of image, concepts and components such as stereotypes, bias, image, and representation are introduced. One of the theories in light of which we can study the image of the self and the other is the theory of Henri Pajou, the French visual artist, who believes that the image has three directions: the superior direction or positive distortion, the inferior direction or negative distortion, and the horizontal direction or neutrality. He is a great writer and poet who lived in Shizer region shortly before the crusades, and his book Al-Etibar presents a detailed and amazing image of different social and political classes and strata, including the image of the author himself and his family. , different tribes of Arabs, Fatimids, Ayyubids, Christian invaders and other groups. This research aims to investigate the duality of the self and the other in the Book of Al-Etibar through a descriptive-analytical method and based on the theory of
 surology, and to answer the basic question of what are the types of images of the self and the other and their examples in this book?
Keywords: Comparative literature, surology, self and other, Osama bin Munqidh, Al-Etibar.
Introduction
Surology is one of the most important subjects of literary research in the field of comparative literature. This science examines the image of oneself and others in literary works. The present study aims to examine the image of me and another in the book of Al-Etibar. This book is full of various religious, political, social and cultural knowledge. Osama's memoirs (1095-1188) were included in this book, a valuable message for future generations; And I played a long way in narrating many beautiful pictures and special sights of different countries, traditions, customs and living utensils, and shed light on the history of these countries. The book Al-Etibar contains a lot of political, geographical, historical, social, cultural and religious information, and therefore it is suitable for studying the image and manifestations of the self and the other in it. In this book, Ibn Munqidh presents a clear image of the different classes and groups by carefully looking at different angles of the social and political life of the people of his time. The importance of this research lies in the fact that it attempts to study the types of images in the book Al-Etibar and through it to identify Osama’s point of view and his portrayal of the groups and classes he talked about, because this book is considered one of the most important sources related to the issues and events associated with the Crusades and the power of Christians in Jerusalem and their injustice towards the different groups, as it also talked about their social, political and cultural behavior.
Materials & methods
This research was conducted using the descriptive analytical approach and by collecting the necessary information about the subject and analyzing it in light of Henri Pajou’s theory of the image.
Results
After studying the duality of self and other in the book Al-Etibar, we can come up with the following results:

Osama described what he saw and heard in his travels and memories, without any favoritism towards any person or group. What distinguishes his presented images is frankness and expression of details; as he describes the events that took place in the Crusades in detail and talks about the different races and nationalities participating in these wars.
The self models in the book Al-Etibar are the Muslim Arabs and the other models are the Christian Crusaders. When talking about each group, Osama tries to be neutral and present their news, events and customs as they are, and acts with integrity and honesty.
Osama has adopted a fair position towards the crusader enemy and has had a realistic view far from contempt or bigotry in depicting their customs and character and morals. This approach made his travelogue have a lot of historical value and through it one can learn about the facts of this period of Muslim history and their resistance against the advance of the Crusaders.