Wow I finally got this multi-quote thingy right! alhamdullillah. I thought i would never learn it. i am quite the technologically challenged individual!
cute baby!
Sister, you should go there and you should try to engage in conversation with the sisters there. It may be difficult but sometimes us newcomers are the ones who have make an effort. Sometimes you may even have to force yourself into talking to someone. a simple, "assalamo alaikum, I am new here. I want to learn more about Islam." will do. or youmight ask some questions about something that they spoke about if there was a lecture. Just sitting around with them and smiling will also help you get into their group. smiling is the best way to get acqauinted with new people. Recently I went to the masjid and there was a circle of African women reciting the Quran. After they finished reading the Quran, one of the women started giving a lecture. at this time i noticed that one of the women had a butterfly embroidered on her shawl, so i wanted to tell her that that was haram since it's the picture of a living thing. I joined their circle and sat next to the woman wearing the embroidered shawl, and started to listen to the lecture while looking for an opportunity to tell her about it. I didn't understand the lecture because the woman was talking in a different language, but understood from the gestures that she was talking about the punishments in the grave and on the Day of Judgment. After the lecture was complete, they did dua. as the women were starting to disperse, I asked the one next to me (the one with the butterfly on her shawl) where they were from and what language they spoke. She said that they were Ethyopians. Then I told her about the butterfly and how it was haram in an unintimidating manner. I got many appreciative smiles from the women. So that's an example of what you can do. Join the group, smile, say salam, ask some questions, etc. And in a few meetings, you'll be as welcome as anyone else. (It's upon you to show that you're friendly and not hostile. Don't listen to the thoughts that say they are on a status rating, because you never know. It may be that they feel similar thoughts about you and might even take you to be unfriendly unless you introduce yourself and start a conversation.)
Speaking of western clothing, i don't know whats so great about pants, especially blue jeans, that so many women from muslim country feel so proud to wear. I find ankle length skirts more beautiful and they are also more islamic (if not too tight) than pants. I think it must be a trick of Shaytan to make sinful things more beautiful to the people although they are not really beautiful.
Yes, Dubai has a dark side and it's not right for a single woman to go there alone. If one goes with male mahram relatives, such as brother or father or husband, or if one has relatives there, then it's all right. I lived in UAE many years ago. There are some things I like about it, although I don't know if the same are still present there. one thing was the hijab. Their traditional hijab is the abaya with shawl. Their shawl was such that it was big enough to cover the chest. In addition, many Emirati women covered all the hair. So their hijab was good. But there were others who didn't wear hijab or abaya and some wore western clothing. mainly these were foreign women.
In many masajid (plural of Masjid) there was taqwa especially during Ramadan. Ramadan in UAE was especially beautiful and i haven't found another place like it, although I haven't been to many places. The few places I have been to don't come close to Ramadan experience in UAE. There is a magical sort of effect there, from all the taqwa.
There is a lot of luxury in UAE which is a drawback. There is also injustice and exploitation of Asian workers. Another bad thing is the forced and hidden prostitution and the forced female dancing. I heard that there were women who were forced to dance in front of men at night and then locked in a hotel during the day. Such things are really bad and dangerous for women. So women travelling to UAE (and other middle eastern countries) should beware of this. In fact, women shouldn't travel anywhere alone as such things exist in many places. not to mention the danger of being kidnapped and sent to some place for such things. There is a good reason that our holy Prophet (Allah be pleased with him) didn't allow women to travel alone without a mahram.
