Avoiding Islam faux pas

[SweetDiamond]

Hi all,

I'm off to Qatar soon and not being Muslim and if I'm honest, have no real idea what Islam is about. I'm quite anxious to avoid committing any faux pas when I move there. Since Qatar is a predominantly Islamic, I thought this might be a good place to ask.

I understand that as a Male physical contact with women is forbidden (even shaking hands), showing the souls of your feet is likewise out, and being drunk in public (luckily I'm not a big drinker anyway). Unfortunately that's about all I know, so any help on avoiding upsetting the locals would be dead handy.

Thank you in advance for any help. :)

['Abd al-Baari]

Thread Approved.

[Faye]

I understand that as a Male physical contact with women is forbidden (even shaking hands), showing the souls of your feet is likewise out, and being drunk in public (luckily I'm not a big drinker anyway). Unfortunately that's about all I know, so any help on avoiding upsetting the locals would be dead handy. :)

Why is showing the soles of the feet forbidden? I am a Muslim and I've never heard of this. As a matter of fact, my soles are showing right now. So, tell me, somebody from the Muslim Ikhwah, is this an islamic or cultural thing?

[manaal]

_ If someone greets with "As salaamu aleikum" (peace to you), reply saying "wa aleikumus salaam" (and to you)
- If you are there duting Ramadan DO NOT eat in public between dawn and dusk (period of fasting)
- do not wear trousers short enough to reveal your knees

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[Faye]

[quote=manaal;984515]- Don't wear shoes into a mosque.
- Don't take photos of people without permission

[Eeman]

_ If someone greets with "As salaamu aleikum" (peace to you), reply saying "wa aleikumus salaam" (and to you)
- If you are there duting Ramadan DO NOT eat in public between dawn and dusk (period of fasting)
- do not wear trousers short enough to reveal your knees
- Don't wear any T shirts with the star of David on it! LOL!

:laugh::laugh::laugh: OH MY i cant stop laughing!!!!!!!!!!!!


thats not true manaal is kidding!!

[Eeman]

[QUOTE=Faye;985042]

- Don't wear shoes into a mosque.
- Don't take photos of people without permission

sis why would he go to a mosque if he isnt muslim??????

ok firstly brother salam alaikum/peace

qatar is nowadays more ethnically diverse than it used to be ok it is not to the extent that dubai is but not so far behind.

never make the mistake of trying to chat up a muslim sister cos firstly if they are a good muslimah then you get into big trouble, if they are a so called muslimah then she will reject you cos A) they only stick to their own kind i.e. pure arabs and B) you dont know the trick and way that they are chatted up which is not by chatting at all but following them around for ages then dropping your card into their shopping bag very discreetly so that no one sees you dont want her to get a bad name, and making sure that only she sees it. LOL Wallah when i see this it cracks me up!!!!!!

Astaghfirullah its like these people forget that Allah swt sees all Subhan'Allah! they are more concerned with people and what they think than our creator the Almighty Lord and His wrath.

Alcohol is not really available there in the open except for hotels oh and duty free in doha airport. so your ok there since your not eve a big drinker... oh sorry but that means that you do drink!!!
silly me well let it be detox time for you where you dont drink at all... give your poor body a break eh!

it is extremely hot!!! especially the humidity just kills you its like being in a steam room, so if you have any sinus problems with ACs then i suggest you do something about it and get the proper treatment and remedies for it.

ummm what else???

oh gosh i nearly forgot brother i MUST STRESS THIS FACT TO YOU!!!
in the emirates they have ZERO TOLERANCE for drugs so please bare that in mind not that i am saying you are a druggie or anything but just dont forget and in fact they have zero tolerance for crime altogether so please ensure that you dont do anything silly to get yourself in trouble cos then God forbid you will be in BIG TROUBLE.

oh i'm sure you would know this already but in islamic countries depending on your job of course thursdays is usually half day and friday is your day off saturday and sunday is just like our woking days. unless its retail then they are open on fridays too.

ummm.... if i remember other things Insha'Allah i'll let you know..
oh while your there i suggest you research on islam in some of your free time and lok into it see what you think of it Insha'Allah (God willing).

ma salama/ peace.

[Faye]

[quote=Eeman;985565]

sis why would he go to a mosque if he isnt muslim??????

Some mosques are historic sites and become tourist attractions.

[Eeman]

LOL! oh yeh sorry i didnt think of that

[manaal]

:laugh::laugh::laugh: OH MY i cant stop laughing!!!!!!!!!!!!


thats not true manaal is kidding!!

About which part exactly? I live in an Arab country and I ain't kidding!

[manaal]

I am not joking abuot what i said earlier (expect the star of david bit, that was a joke). If someoe thinks I'm joking, its probably because hesje hasn't lived in the middle east.

remeber that Arab Muslims are very different from Asian Muslims. There is no difference in the Islam that they follow, its just the culture I'm talking about.

Things that we take lightly in South and East asian countries are taken very seriuosly here. For instance, when any Muslims sneezes he, she says, "Alhamdulillah" (All praise is to Allah), and a person hearing this should say "Yarhamukallah". But if a person does not reply Yarhamukallah to me when i sneeze and say "Alhamdulillah" , i wouldn't mind, but not so for arabs, they get really offended if you reply in the proper way.

[Grace Seeker]

[QUOTE=Faye;985712]

Some mosques are historic sites and become tourist attractions.

So, even if I go in a mosque that is no longer actually a mosque, I need to take my shoes off? Is this true with the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul which was first a church, then a mosque, and not just a museum?

[Faye]

[quote=Grace Seeker;1002469]

So, even if I go in a mosque that is no longer actually a mosque, I need to take my shoes off? Is this true with the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul which was first a church, then a mosque, and not just a museum?

I don't know about the actual rulings on it, but if the locals are doing it, you should too, so as to not offend them. Sometimes tourists are extremely offensive about religious matters, without even realizing it, just because they aren't paying attention.

[coddles76]

[QUOTE=Grace Seeker;1002469]

So, even if I go in a mosque that is no longer actually a mosque, I need to take my shoes off? Is this true with the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul which was first a church, then a mosque, and not just a museum?

Masjids are the islamic centre for spiritual learning and worship. Its a centre that is built upon the connection to our Almighty creator. Based upon this and based upon the purity and cleanliness of what the Islamic way of life incorporates its a requirement to respect that purity and Islamic Cleanliness. If it is not used for the above purposes then its not classified as a masjid and you can utilise your own level of respect towards it.

[yasin ibn Ahmad]

Hagia Sophia is a museum now.So people don't take their shoes off now.But you should take your shoes off in other mosques in Istanbul.