Comments on: Friday Links — December 19, 2008

By: bint battuta in bahrain: cultural exchange?

bint battuta in bahrain: cultural exchange? — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:52:34 +0000

[...] There’s an article in the Reno Gazette-Journal about Bahraini student Zainab Ali Al Mahari (bound to be known by, if not related to, someone reading this post) who is in the United States on an exchange programme. I was a little depressed by a comment made by the head teacher of the school she is studying at:[Al Mahari's] visit also has been about dispelling stereotypes about Muslims. That’s a goal of the YES program, which was created by the U.S. Congress after the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001 to promote peace and understanding for future generations of Americans and Muslims.”The biggest (stereotype) some people have is that all Muslims are terrorists,” Al Mahari said. “I try to show people that isn’t true by how I act with them.”She and the other students at ICDA have realized they have much in common.”All kids recognize McDonald’s, Starbucks, iPods and YouTube,” said Allen Beebe, the school’s principal. “They really learn there is no difference.”(hat tip: Muslimah Media Watch) [...]

By: Broomstick

Broomstick — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:30:40 +0000

wow, that hijab strangling article was really fucked up.

[This comment has been edited to fit within moderation guidelines.]

By: » MMW Weekly Roundup 12/19/08 Talk Islam

» MMW Weekly Roundup 12/19/08 Talk Islam — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:28:30 +0000

[...] talked about a Facebook campaign aiming to improve perception of spinsters, and overdosed on our Friday links. [...]

By: laila

laila — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:21:23 +0000

Salam ladies,

I found this article interesting* for your Friday Links for Muslim women News, I would have e-mail it you to you Fatemah but I don’t know your site e-mail. It’s called:

“Muslim Ladies’ Cycling Club gaining popularity in UK”

http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=TT0811-3739

By: Salaam

Salaam — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:10:31 +0000

Salaams,
I’m linking up a couple of the stories here at my blog, and I posted this there, but figured I’d put it here for feedback too. Am I on to something or is this a totally wild theory:

The Reno Gazette-Journal article excerpted below is a feature on Zainab Ali Al Mahari who is a foreign exchange student from Bahrain. Al Mahari is reported to count a Brazilian foreign exchange student among her new friends. My anecdotal observation: I recall that when my former stepdaughter began school, she formed a new group of friends that was entirely composed of bi-cultural immigrant children. I wonder whether Muslim children, when they lack a critical mass of other Muslims with which to form a peer group (I live in a suburb), seek out the next group of people with which they are likely to have a shared experience and affinity, which would be the internationals. Generally (an important qualifier on this thought), foreign cultures are more conservative and restrained than that in the US, which may be some comfort to Muslim parents who are worried about who will become their child’s new friends.
I’m also curious about how Muslims who reject public schools feel about foreign exchange programs that put foreign Muslim students into the same schools that they rejected for their own children.

By: Saliha

Saliha — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 07:28:58 +0000

I’m feeling so mixed about this issue. I want to respect any woman’s right to dress as she pleases, but I also think we need to be realistic about the nature of the job. I don’t know anything about British culture, but in the U.S. it’s pretty standard that cocktail waitresses are there to provide some sort of sexual excitement, even if only in the form of sexy clothing, in addition to the food and drink.

I’m just shocked at the statistic from the article on Lebanese women. Five to one!? That’s downright hellacious. I think these women are deeply troubled to be so picky and shallow period, but when they’ve got that kind of competition it’s downright insanity. I really hope the author is exaggerating wildly.

I know it’s bad because I’ve had discussions with women in Lebanon and in the U.S. about it. I always thought about the Shi’a because that’s our community, but it makes sense that its a nationwide problem. I kind of feel like the Sheikhs need to step in and discourage men from marrying foreign women. When I was in Lebanon I heard a lot of talk (and saw a few examples, including attending the wedding of a similarly situated couple) amongst the Shi’a in the south about younger women bypassing men in their age range and seeking out older married men. They could tell how well he’d provide for her based on how he was providing for his current wife and children. As an African American Muslima, I can certainly relate to the sheer suckiocity of man shortages, that’s how I ended up with a Lebanese. Talk about irony!

By: anon

anon — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:37:48 +0000

I’m sorry but what exactly are you talking about? I never said she deserved what she got for getting a job at a bar so I’m not sure where you’re getting that from.
It’s one thing to be fired from a job for wearing hijab or other religiously modest articles of clothing that have nothing to do with your job . It’s another thing entirely to take a job in an environment where you actually know that it’s expected that you should show off your assets and and whatnot because that all translates into more alcohol sales when you’re around drunken men but then refuse and use your religion as an excuse.

“No one deserves to be asked to do something they’re not comfortable with, no matter where they work or their (assumed) level of religious observance.”
I agree, but generally speaking it would be smart not take a job that you know directly conflicts with what you stand for

By: Fatemeh

Fatemeh — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:06:30 +0000

@ anon: It sounds like you’re saying that she deserved what she got for getting a job at a bar, is that right? I think that’s a bit harsh, especially since we don’t know much about this woman. What if she had taken this job out of economic necessity? Besides, this is a bar, not a strip club. These two things are not synonymous.

Her reasons aside, I’m never a fan of the “she deserved it” line of thinking. No one deserves to be asked to do something they’re not comfortable with, no matter where they work or their (assumed) level of religious observance.

By: anon

anon — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:43:37 +0000

I think the woman who got fired for refusing to wear the dress is being ridiculous. She was working as a cocktail waitress serving alcohol for a living and now that she got fired she wants to use the “this is goes against my religious beliefs” excuse?. It’s just not flying with me. I think most people know that the general uniform of a cocktail waitress involves skimpy clothes. The smaller the better. The more attractive the woman the better. It’s all about boobs, butts, and legs. If she was unaware of this she must have been living under a rock somewhere. It’s like me getting a job making drinks at a strip club and then complaining when the owner wants me to wear hoochie clothes. It’s plain silly

By: Fatemeh

Fatemeh — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:40:46 +0000

Waleykum salam!

Yes. Yes it was. Because what happened to this woman was a combination of things: racist, Islamophobic, hateful, shocking, unnecessary…I could go on and on.

But I try to make the Friday links brief, so I summed it up.