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Arabs..muslims?


Mahuta ♥

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Hijabi women and the old men wearing traditional Arab clothing don't scare me. I actually have a lot of respect for them, since they are proud of their traditions and wear their clothing as a symbol.

However, the people that do scare me: the young teenage Arab guys that hang around on the streets here. You try being a girl and walking on the street by yourself. The catcalls and whistles are just uncomfortable. Not to mention that they all think I'm Jewish (because I have brown hair and non-Arab features), and having "yehudiyye" whispered on the street with people giving you evil eyes is not that funny when you're on the Arab side of town.

Then again, most of these young guys don't have anything better to do than stand around, and they won't actually do anything to you. I ignore them and carry on. If I did as some of my friends do, which is stop and swear at them, they would just get what they're looking for: attention.

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It was pretty general. 'You guys' is representing the entire Arab Muslim population, and AFAIK the veiled women, not going out chaperone-less, and not driving in Saudi Arabia is all just culture centric in the entire Arab world. Sure Saudi Arabia doesn't allow women to drive, but that's the Saudi Wahabi culture.

Ah. My mistake. I implicated all Arabs when I really should have only implicated the Saudis. Thanks.

What would happen, though, if a woman went out without any hijab at all in other Arab countries? I mean, other than just maybe dirty looks.

Edited by Mr. Shiver
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Hijabi women and the old men wearing traditional Arab clothing don't scare me. I actually have a lot of respect for them, since they are proud of their traditions and wear their clothing as a symbol.

However, the people that do scare me: the young teenage Arab guys that hang around on the streets here. You try being a girl and walking on the street by yourself. The catcalls and whistles are just uncomfortable. Not to mention that they all think I'm Jewish (because I have brown hair and non-Arab features), and having "yehudiyye" whispered on the street with people giving you evil eyes is not that funny when you're on the Arab side of town.

Then again, most of these young guys don't have anything better to do than stand around, and they won't actually do anything to you. I ignore them and carry on. If I did as some of my friends do, which is stop and swear at them, they would just get what they're looking for: attention.

As for the guys looking at you and whistles , lots of guys no matter where you are do that guys being guys , i know i shouldne be saying this but i have had mant arguemnts with men on the street caz they did that to a cuzin of mine, and the yehudiyee i SWEAR i HONESLTY say sorry on behalf of them and plzz one tip dont ever pay attention and the minute to say something back or reply its like all your hardwork is gone so never reply plz?

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As for the guys looking at you and whistles , lots of guys no matter where you are do that guys being guys , i know i shouldne be saying this but i have had mant arguemnts with men on the street caz they did that to a cuzin of mine, and the yehudiyee i SWEAR i HONESLTY say sorry on behalf of them and plzz one tip dont ever pay attention and the minute to say something back or reply its like all your hardwork is gone so never reply plz?

Well, I'm totally agree with you. (Usually) those guys who look at girls and whistle should just be ignored. No matter the girl is being covered or not. Giving a response to them is like open the doors for they to act something bad on you. Girls may feel its okay to just reply by saying "HI", but the thing is, they will expect more on you. So, it's better to just walk straight and do not look at them if you happened to walk pass through them.

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What would happen, though, if a woman went out without any hijab at all in other Arab countries? I mean, other than just maybe dirty looks.

Nothing at all. Generally, no one cares. There are bigoted self centred people everywhere. I'm sure there are a few that give dirty looks to 'uncovered' women in the ghettos of Toronto.

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If by uncovered you mean scantily clad, then I suppose you're right. But of course that's a lot different from not having a hijab on.

I guess I don't much like the idea of equating "no hijab on" to being "uncovered". I realize it's the cultural norm, and if it works for you guys then great. But we in the West find that slightly misogynistic, because generally we're more sexually open.

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If by uncovered you mean scantily clad, then I suppose you're right. But of course that's a lot different from not having a hijab on.

I guess I don't much like the idea of equating "no hijab on" to being "uncovered". I realize it's the cultural norm, and if it works for you guys then great. But we in the West find that slightly misogynistic, because generally we're more sexually open.

Tell that to the father who killed his daughter because she wouldn't wear a hijab: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/i...151774720071211

Generalising again, 'you guys' and 'we in the west'. Stop polarising the two. I'm not on either side, and I'm as open as any of you in 'the west'. It irks me when people start generalising about cultures when they don't know anything about them.

Just to add, there are religious freaks everywhere. I dare say, that there are more freaks who care about religion in East London than the affluent areas of Karachi.

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I think you and I have different definitions of the word "general". You seem to consider "general" to mean "exhaustive", and I'm simply talking about "general" as in the "aggregate". Individually, there may be exceptions to the aggregate, but observations about the aggregate are not "generalizations", because they're not exhaustive. That's all I've been doing--I refer to "you guys" and "we in the west" as wholes, not as the sums of their individual parts. So there's no reason for you to take it personally, and I'm surprised you did at all.

Anyway, you'd have a very difficult time trying to deny that North America, let alone Europe, is more sexually open than Arab countries.

Edited by Mr. Shiver
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I'm not taking it personally and I don't need to, since neither party referred to is related to me. I think your meaning is a bit hard for everyone to understand, since 'You guys' is pretty much what it sounds like. An ensemble of everyone in the Arab world.

Yes I would have a hard time denying that, since in the end they're different places.

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Well I figured, since this is a thread about impressions, that it was obvious I was talking about Arab countries as a whole, not every Arab person who's ever existed. I was simply giving the impression I have of Arab countries, which by definition implies that my point of view is imprecise and therefore accommodating of exceptions.

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Sexually open? Have you seen what kind of underwear they sell in Syria?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7786564.stm

"Just off the crowded central market in Old Damascus, a sales assistant called Mahmoud is giving me my first introduction into an unusual Syrian speciality - musical knickers.

The garments come in many different shapes and colours, and play little tunes - or other extraneous noises like telephone ringtones - all made by small electronic devices hidden in the lining.

Singing underwear isn't the only item on sale at the "Fatin Shop for Ladies Indoor Clothing", where Mahmoud is proudly showing off his product lines.

He's got knickers with flashing fairy lights, others that glow in the dark, a bra-and-knickers set shaped like manicured women's hands enveloping the wearer's crotch and breasts.

In a slightly higher price range, he's got remote-controlled bras and knickers, designed to spring open and fall to the floor with a clap of the hands or a press of a button.

Welcome to the no-frills world of Syrian lingerie - no frills, but plenty of tassels, and feathers, and zips, and bras which open like curtains, and... " Read the article to see actual pictures, a video and more information.

I don't know where you guys live, but I'm doing juuuuust fine here :D People might not be open about it (as in, walk around dressed like Pamela Anderson), but there are plenty of lingerie shops and even normal shops sell quite open clothing. People wear it at home, not amongst complete strangers on the street.

No, really. None of my classmates wear hijab, and even in the other schools I know of there's not a single girl that wears hijab. And we're talking Jerusalem, religious capital of the world. Most people are actually afraid of this region becoming more religious, especially since Hamas took over Gaza. Fatah is more liberal in terms of dress, teaching material in schools, etc.

Many of my Muslim friends that have moved to university say they avoid Muslim societies there like the plague, because the societies tend to attract fanatically religious people. Once you get involved with them, they start trying to dictate how you dress, when you pray, etc. This is coming from a male friend who's studying in Canada. And my friends' parents here tell their kids to avoid 1) any Arab societies in university 2) Any Muslim societies in university, because apparently, the gossiping about what you're wearing and how you're behaving (always scandolously) just never dies down, even in a foreign country.

I don't have the problem that my Arab friends do of having gossip spread about you and your family hearing about it, with the end result being that your entire family gets a bad reputation. No one gives a damn about a Westerner's family. Not once has someone gone up to my parents and said "your daughter did this and this at yesterday's party". However, the people that do have to worry about this protect their own reputations. They don't walk around in public holding hands with a guy, they don't leave the house dressed too "suggestively" (although they will probably take along a change of clothes for when their neighbours can't see what they're wearing) and they try not to come back at indecent hours.

I live on the Jewish side of town, and my neighbourhood was thought to be a nice place, free of people trying to dictate your behaviour, etc. That was until someone put nails in our tyres last week. Reason? My family drives the car on Shabbat (Friday night-Saturday night, which is considered a day of no work). Apparently, the people living in the building opposite us are religious and don't like our "customs" (hypothesizing here, since we don't know who did it). If I lived on the Arab side of town, I wouldn't have to worry about this happening (since they don't observe Shabbat), but there would be other stuff like not being able to walk home alone in the dark and so on that would make life difficult.

So in essence, life is always interesting.

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Ah. My mistake. I implicated all Arabs when I really should have only implicated the Saudis. Thanks.

What would happen, though, if a woman went out without any hijab at all in other Arab countries? I mean, other than just maybe dirty looks.

hehe...lol..nothing at all:D...well in most countries i guess...in my country...there are more ladies without hijab then those with hijab:)..

even in the gulf countries..like Oman..and UAE...and qatar....you're free to wear whatever you want...ALTHOUGH..if a girl goes around like..wearing very short mini skirt..and very exposing clothes in generale..she would just get looks and whispers..this is..in the gulf countries only i guess...

in countries like Tunisia...and Algeria..etc...its normal...the reason is..we were a french colony during the first 5 decades of the past century....so we still have some of the things they have..especially language....

but anyhow...nothing happens really..except in KSA..they'll probably chase you around with sticks and baton :D..

hmm...since Aboo is the only moderator i can really get to...JUST asking..how did my posts get deleted..and why?..lol..maybe i said something bad or i dont know what....

because i had like more than 40 posts yesterday..and now they're 38 only:S

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hmm...since Aboo is the only moderator i can really get to...JUST asking..how did my posts get deleted..and why?..lol..maybe i said something bad or i dont know what....

because i had like more than 40 posts yesterday..and now they're 38 only:S

None of your posts have been deleted so far :D When you do post multiple times in succession, your posts get merged together. We only do this because members with higher posts counts (VIP with 100+) get benefits, and so we have to make sure that there are no unfair climbs to a 100 posts.

Nothing that you said bad. In fact, it'll be 37 now since I've just merged your last two.

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None of your posts have been deleted so far :D When you do post multiple times in succession, your posts get merged together. We only do this because members with higher posts counts (VIP with 100+) get benefits, and so we have to make sure that there are no unfair climbs to a 100 posts.

Nothing that you said bad. In fact, it'll be 37 now since I've just merged your last two.

lol...ok......i see..i never knew that about 100+ posts..lol..(A)

but ok...then when dont they get merged? like if someone kept asking something...and i reply...do all those replies count as one?

and yes...fair enough...about unfair climbs to 100 posts:D..

so i have to go check in the other forums for deleted posts:)..thnx though

(sorry for not posting something regarding this thread...but Aboo...apparently we're not allowed to msg u)

Edited by mahuta
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lol...ok......i see..i never knew that about 100+ posts..lol..(A)

but ok...then when dont they get merged? like if someone kept asking something...and i reply...do all those replies count as one?

and yes...fair enough...about unfair climbs to 100 posts:D..

so i have to go check in the other forums for deleted posts:)..thnx though

(sorry for not posting something regarding this thread...but Aboo...apparently we're not allowed to msg u)

Oh no, each reply is one post. It all adds up.

And ******** about not being allowed to message us. Who said that?

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Oh no, each reply is one post. It all adds up.

And ******** about not being allowed to message us. Who said that?

i still dont get it..lol...u said each reply is one post...then how do you merge them if they're going to stay one reply one post...sorry if its simple and i didnt get it...IB does:S..

about the message....i tried messaging you and its said its blocked or something:S....settings maybe?

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Sorry, I get what you mean now. 1 post = 1 post in the word count. So if you have consecutive posts, they get merged together to form one post, so that you don't get more posts that way.

And it's strange that you can't PM me, the PM system is strange here.

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Sorry, I get what you mean now. 1 post = 1 post in the word count. So if you have consecutive posts, they get merged together to form one post, so that you don't get more posts that way.

And it's strange that you can't PM me, the PM system is strange here.

ah..yes..yes....i understand now...."shokran"..lol...fair enough..fair enough

ill try the PM later..thanks anyways:D

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