How does belly dancing fit into Islam?

[Kashnowe]

this has always baffled me. i went to a party once with Muslim friends and they had a belly dancer and the men were all looking at hre lustfully and she was definitly not covered and very seductive. it seems liek the complete opposite of being acceptable to be a dancer and to watch the dancing.

[ardianto]

Salam, Kashnowe,

Belly dancing is a dance art from "Jahiliyah" (age of ignorance), a period before Islam. And actually it doesn't fit into Islam. If belly dancing is still exist in some Muslim countries or Muslim communities, that's because not every Muslim is religious.

[Woodrow]

Prostitution is legal in several Christian countries (Mexico, France, Netherlands, USA in Nevada and other countries) How does Prostitution fit in with Christianity? It doesn't. Neither does Belly Dancing fit in with Islam. People commit sins no matter how much their religion forbids the sin.

Are you certain your friends are Muslim? Not all mideasterners are Muslim. Many if not most mid easterners in the USA are Christians.

[Kashnowe]

well they say they are muslims......they celebrate all the holidays and claim they are nothing but muslim. i know about prostitution i was just wondering if belly dancing is some form of exception because it seems to be everywhere and there is always an audience...so just wondering.

i know not everyone is religious. and there are people all over the spectrum. but i hear about belly dancers at weddings all the time and hundreds of purported muslims are there having a good old time. seemed ironic to me.

i already know about christianity. just trying to figure islam out.

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[Asiyah3]

Allah guides whom He wills.

...Say: Unto Allah belong the East and the West. He guideth whom He will unto a straight path. (2:142)
...He whom Allah guideth, he indeed is led aright, and he whom He sendeth astray, for him thou wilt not find a guiding friend. (18:17)

[Woodrow]

well they say they are muslims......they celebrate all the holidays and claim they are nothing but muslim. i know about prostitution i was just wondering if belly dancing is some form of exception because it seems to be everywhere and there is always an audience...so just wondering.

i know not everyone is religious. and there are people all over the spectrum. but i hear about belly dancers at weddings all the time and hundreds of purported muslims are there having a good old time. seemed ironic to me.

i already know about christianity. just trying to figure islam out.

We only have two holidays to celebrate, music and dancing are not part of those holidays. Neither are they permitted at weddings or birthdays. we do not celebrate birthdays. I tend to doubt those people are Muslim. Belly Dancing and Music are quite popular among non-Muslim Arabs, and non-Muslims in Morocco, India, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Algeria, Tunisia, and a few other North African, Mediterranean and Mid-Eastern countries. The majority of Muslims would be very appalled at the sight of free mixing of the genders, music and belly-dancers. At various time I have lived throughout North Africa and in the mid east both as a Muslim and as a non-Muslim. I did find many night clubs and the like when I was not Muslim. but none were owned by or frequented by Muslims. these were in the non-Muslim communities. I have never met a Muslim that would partake of a party which had dancers, music or free mixing. I wont deny it happening as I know we do have our share of people who call themselves Muslim, but do not follow Islam.

[Snowflake]

well they say they are muslims......they celebrate all the holidays and claim they are nothing but muslim. i know about prostitution i was just wondering if belly dancing is some form of exception because it seems to be everywhere and there is always an audience...so just wondering.

i know not everyone is religious. and there are people all over the spectrum. but i hear about belly dancers at weddings all the time and hundreds of purported muslims are there having a good old time. seemed ironic to me.

i already know about christianity. just trying to figure islam out.

Hi Kashnowe,

You can learn about Islam from authentic sources online, such as the following websites.


www.beconvinced.com
www.irf.net
www.ShareIslam.com
www.GodAllah.com
www.ProphetOfIslam.com
www.ScienceIslam.com
www.SearchForIslam.com
www.ChatIslam.com
www.WatchIslam.com
www.HearIslam.com
www.WhatsIslam.com



.

[Snowflake]

edit: double post

[جوري]

I haven't attended any 'Muslim weddings' with belly dancers .. I think it depends on the crowd you befriended...

as once a scholar sent two young men into Lebanon and asked both of them to come back and tell him what they saw.
The first said, Lebanon is a land of debauchery, who rish women, drunkards and clubs and the scholar said you are correct,
and he asked the second and the second said, well what I saw is the land of the pious, the land of those who fulfill their religious obligations, those that answer the call of prayer, fast and charity and again the scholar said, you are right..
the first protested how can we both be right?
the scholar said, each of you found what he sought in Lebanon!

all the best

[Samiro]

There was one at my cousin's wedding..I was pretty surprised. I dont understand how they could have gotten one!

[Woodrow]

There was one at my cousin's wedding..I was pretty surprised. I dont understand how they could have gotten one!

ASTAGFIRULLA!!!!!

I also am quite shocked to hear that any Muslim would have a belly dancer at a wedding. I hope this is not becoming a common thing among Muslims living in Western countries.

[*charisma*]

well they say they are muslims......they celebrate all the holidays and claim they are nothing but muslim. i know about prostitution i was just wondering if belly dancing is some form of exception because it seems to be everywhere and there is always an audience...so just wondering.

i know not everyone is religious. and there are people all over the spectrum. but i hear about belly dancers at weddings all the time and hundreds of purported muslims are there having a good old time. seemed ironic to me.

i already know about christianity. just trying to figure islam out.

I find it odd that you mention there being bellydancers at weddings that often...I have never ever been to a wedding where a bellydancer was even suggested, and I've been to many weddings. Furthermore, even culturally they are often not included in weddings, so whether Muslim or not it's still not as common. In the west, bellydancing is becoming more popular amongst the westerners, even in Arab-oriented restaurants, the bellydancers are often nonArab and nonMuslim. I have a friend who used to be a bellydancer before converting to Islam and she mentioned that most of the people in her area were consummed in the Arab culture and mesmerized by it. Every culture has it's theme, I guess, but generally people wouldn't dish out more money just to get a dancer, makes no sense to me.

It is really a given to know in Islam culture and religion are separate, and Islam and Muslims are separate. For instance, culture has nothing to do with Islam and vice versa. Just because a culture does something, doesn't mean it's made an exception in Islam. And just because a Muslim isn't perfect, doesn't mean Islam isn't perfect. A Muslim makes mistakes, changes, sins, etc. but Islam has been the same for over 1400 years guiding the misguided, so always turn to what the Quran and Sunnah say because that is what is most correct, and avoid accepting the actions of a sinful Muslim as being Islamic.

[Zafran]

Salaam

Once we went to a safari tour in dubai and the last event on there was a belly dancer. We had to make a quick exit after eating the food. So its not just a western country muslim thing - it happens in the mid east as well for tourists!

edit - it was similar to this line up

http://www.desertsafaridubai.com/des...ari-dubai.html

as you can see belly dancing is still there.

peace

[Ramadhan]

I think you are confusing arab culture with Islam.

I have been to hundreds of weddings, i am not joking, and I haven't seen a single belly dancing in any of those.

well they say they are muslims......they celebrate all the holidays and claim they are nothing but muslim. i know about prostitution i was just wondering if belly dancing is some form of exception because it seems to be everywhere and there is always an audience...so just wondering.

i know not everyone is religious. and there are people all over the spectrum. but i hear about belly dancers at weddings all the time and hundreds of purported muslims are there having a good old time. seemed ironic to me.

i already know about christianity. just trying to figure islam out.

[Woodrow]

Salaam

Once we went to a safari tour in dubai and the last event on there was a belly dancer. We had to make a quick exit after eating the food. So its not just a western country muslim thing - it happens in the mid east as well for tourists!

edit - it was similar to this line up

http://www.desertsafaridubai.com/des...ari-dubai.html

as you can see belly dancing is still there.

peace

Dubai stopped being an Islamic Nation when it became a playground for tourists.

[FS123]

this has always baffled me. i went to a party once with Muslim friends and they had a belly dancer and the men were all looking at hre lustfully and she was definitly not covered and very seductive. it seems liek the complete opposite of being acceptable to be a dancer and to watch the dancing.

Originally, belly dancing was for preparing women for pregnancy as it builds up muscles in the core areas of the body and it used to be women only place. Word harem comes from haram originally haram place to enter for men. Then probably not so religious person thought that men will pay to enter and the rest is history. Current practice has no place in Islam but not all people are religious as already mentioned by other members.

[FS123]

Dubai stopped being an Islamic Nation when it became a playground for tourists.

Lets not entirely condemn Dubai since it has good side too. Since last 5 years on average close to 2,000 people have converted in Dubai every year, which as far as I know is the highest conversion rate for any muslim city. I think if Dubai was not what it is then these conversions wouldn't have been happening. Dubai has open culture for sure, but it is still conservative compared to average western city and it gives good opportunities for non-muslims to interact in person with Islam and muslims regardless how it sounds. You don't see many people converting to Islam in Karachi for example.

Huda Al Kaabi, head of the New Muslims Section at the Islamic Affairs Department, said as many as 13,946 people from 72 nationalities have embraced Islam in Dubai since 1996.

"These include 10,450 new Muslims from 2005 to 2009," Al Kaabi was quoted by Khaleej Times as saying.

"When people come to Dubai, they know better about the bright image of Islam, and how it tolerantly meets man's needs in all places and times," she said.

While 3,043 people converted to Islam in 2009, the first half of 2010 saw 1,373 new Muslims -- most of them were from the Philippines, Russia, China and India.

"The nationality of most new Muslims differs from one year to another," Kaabi said, adding that more women than men opt for Islam.

"This year among the converts, 1,098 are women and 275 men. Likewise, 984 of the 1,365 new Muslims in the first half of 2009 were women, and 576 of the 878 people who embraced Islam in the first six months of 2008 were women," she said.

Read more: Over 13,000 have embraced Islam in Dubai since 1996 - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/w...#ixzz11XtKaVGD

[mht]

Well said :)......

[CosmicPathos]

Lets not entirely condemn Dubai since it has good side too. Since last 5 years on average close to 2,000 people have converted in Dubai every year, which as far as I know is the highest conversion rate for any muslim city. I think if Dubai was not what it is then these conversions wouldn't have been happening. Dubai has open culture for sure, but it is still conservative compared to average western city and it gives good opportunities for non-muslims to interact in person with Islam and muslims regardless how it sounds. You don't see many people converting to Islam in Karachi for example.

what a bunch of non-sense. Those 2000 people accepted Islam because Allah willed their guidance. Dubai did not play any role in that, on the contrary I believe Dubai is a place where muslims leave Islam due to the misguidance willed by Allah.