American women vs Arab women raising children

[amal 4]

Did you travel to the mid east and suffer?

i did.

please explain how exactly you suffered.

had a lot of people wanting to kill me

I "think" about killing you every day ... but that's not suffering, that's a privelage j/k ... sorry...I just had to say it... carry on.....

[doodlebugg 10]

Did you travel to the mid east and suffer?

i did.

please explain how exactly you suffered.

had a lot of people wanting to kill me

Ok well that is pretty general.....were you carrying a gun, were you part of a military operation? Details please so we can understand more about your suffering.

the entire iraqi army wanted me and my traveling companions dead.

this was jan 91

[Ban Hammer 13,133]

had a lot of people wanting to kill me

I "think" about killing you every day ... but that's not suffering, that's a privelage j/k ... sorry...I just had to say it... carry on.....

Did you travel to the mid east and suffer?

i did.

please explain how exactly you suffered.

had a lot of people wanting to kill me

Ok well that is pretty general.....were you carrying a gun, were you part of a military operation? Details please so we can understand more about your suffering.

the entire iraqi army wanted me and my traveling companions dead.

this was jan 91

Edited October 8, 2008 by charles!

[morocco4ever 63]

Did you travel to the mid east and suffer?

i did.

please explain how exactly you suffered.

had a lot of people wanting to kill me

Ok well that is pretty general.....were you carrying a gun, were you part of a military operation? Details please so we can understand more about your suffering.

the entire iraqi army wanted me and my traveling companions dead.

this was jan 91

I highly doubt that Iraq is the only nation to feel this way.

[Ban Hammer 13,133]

Did you travel to the mid east and suffer?

i did.

please explain how exactly you suffered.

had a lot of people wanting to kill me

Ok well that is pretty general.....were you carrying a gun, were you part of a military operation? Details please so we can understand more about your suffering.

the entire iraqi army wanted me and my traveling companions dead.

this was jan 91

I highly doubt that Iraq is the only nation to feel this way.

kuwait wasn't one of them

[ginny20 0]

Personally, I think this thread shows that too many Arabs/muslims are immigrating to the west for the wrong reasons. Wanting to make more money in the US or wanting to take advantage of the welfare system in Europe is not a valid ground for immigration. Immigration is not a right it is a privilege! And privileges have to be earned. If you have no desire to assimilate to the culture of the country that you chose to move to then you have no right to stay. If you want to wear an abaya and live like a ME muslim then you should stay in the ME. I think it should be far harder for muslims to immigrate to the west as the majority refuse to assimilate and insult those that were generous enough to allow them the privilege of living in their country. We have as much right to maintain our more advanced and egalitarian standard of living as you do to retain your old-fashioned way of life. After all, if islam and the ME is so great then why are you trying to leave it? I'm getting sick of Arabs whine about the prejudice they experience in the west when the extremely mild difficulties they face in the west are nothing compared to what foreigners/non-muslims suffer in the ME. You can smell the hypocrisy coming off the average arab from a mile away. And I think Hanginginthere's description is a pretty mild and tame depiction of the average Arab, not all of them; but the average and it wasn't racist, it was pretty accurate. Only when you say All rather than some, average or most is there a problem. Sometimes pointing out the truth of what the average person in a culture behaves like hurts. And that is what we are pointing out here, the average; not all. And when individuals or whole societies refuse to admit their faults then they are doomed to continue those faults.

I do find your words a bit harsh. I find there are a lot of people here from the middle east that came here to improve their life. If that is what makes them happy then go for it. I think they have every right to wear their Abayas and live like a ME muslim. The only difference is that they don't have the right to dictate how others choose to live.

As for whining about prejudices. Well it is very real, and I have witnessed it. I find it quite sad that an entire culture is judged soley on the actions of radicals.

As for the individuals and societies that refuse to admit their faults, well that can be stated on many cultures, Americans as well.

The majority of us here are derived from immigrants. I may have been raised here all of my life, but I know for a fact that the only people that can claim to be original Americans are the Native Americans. I thank them for the right to live here. I thank them for allowing me to live in their country as to how I was raised, not by their traditions.

I hope this doesn't end up to be another flame thread. That was not my intentions. Just to point out that there are times to speak up, and then there are times to let things slide. The woman that S&S encountered needed to be addressed. Do I think it will change her opinion of Americans? No. But I would certainly hope that it will let her know that sometimes it is best to keep her opinions to herself. I only wish that more people could simply look inside themselves to find their own faults rather than constantly looking in others for theirs.

Frankly after being called 2 3 4 5 times and being told not to cry, to take care of someone who is CLEARLY not taking care of me and being made to sit in the car during my sons funeral service and glared at as I tried to talk to my AMERICAN mother and then the babys flowers being not allowed on the grave and to have not a single person in the janazza warmly greet my mother with some kind of condolence and the only conversation with me was to tell me that I needed to move the baby out of the KUFFAR cemetary, I hardly see where I HAVENT experienced reverse racism or ill treatment. That imam could have been gracious to my mom. They could have let us come up to the grave as he was lowered into it. And I could have been treated like a human being after the death of my child. Its been AMERICANS who have sent flowes. AMERICANS who have fed me. Not a single person from his family or from the masjid offered to bring food or has helped me in ANY WAY. An american sent over food from boston market and my husband wouldnt eat it because it was from someone from a CHURCH..

God help me in my topic. Culture problems dont come out when everything is hunky dorey and tragedy doesnt happen. When tragedy beyond your wildest dreams happen, you see the differences in culture. Imagine ANY OF YOU , including you Ta me what ever your name is being told you couldnt watch your baby go into the grave or have some weird guy in a dress glare at your KUFFAR mother all along criticising your funeral arrangements, terrorising your family further. For all of that, I paid the plot the service and the ambulance bills are arriving as I speak. And I am supposed to sit by and think some bimbo telling a very nice American girl that she s not a good mother or americans arent good mothers. I buried my child and I have had absolutely NO SUPPORT from any non american, The non americans tell me I was only allowed to cry 3 days and I am supposed to get over it. The non americans who have NO FUNERAL EXPENSES in their countries cant imagine what I have had to shoulder. Instead of hugs ,condolences, I get phone calls NOT TO CRYN NOT TO MOURN and that it was Allahs will. The whole Allahs will I can buy but not all the nasty kuffar comments. the complete lack of respect for my american christian family by the participants in the jannazza. My mother who never has had an ill word to say about anyone and she is 73 years old and a respected college professor has an AWFUL taste in her mouth from what happened. Can you imagine being yelled at to stay away from your grandchilds coffin?

All this talk is well and good but if you dont think there are VERY MARKED differences between american women and arabs, you need to have your head examined. We are without a shadow of a doubt, leaders thinkers and doers. It may not be the womens fault. They may be raised to be servers and subservient. They can live in fear of being divorced verbally ( Ive lived that and so have others) and their rights mean nothing. Here in the USA if a man divorces you, it has to be in the courts. Please dont think in anyway when *(*& hits the fan that culture doesnt matter. It does. I ve lived it. I may not always voice things politically correct but I was greviously wronged. And I get sick and tired of people being in THIS COUNTRY not appreciating what they have here.. bashing everything and everyone around them

I wanted to say HEY IMAM>. YOUR DA WAH sucks. How can I ever show my american family or any other woman at that service that islam is fair when they were treated so badly by muslims.. Just food for though.. Ruminate over what I just said if you will

I love you guys but I had to say something because what happened to my family really sucked. You dont see the deepest cultural divisions until the world is pulled out from under you

I am very sorry for this hell that you've been through. It sounds like a nightmare and your husband, his family, and his Salafi 'friends' from his mosque have been extremely disrespectful of you and your wishes. That being said, this is not the norm, in the US or in Morocco, amongst Muslims. Only a tiny minority of the Muslim community would consider itself Salafi and most Muslims here in Morocco that I know really do not like this rigid way of practicing their religion. Over the years that I have lived here, I have experienced a lot of deaths and they were nothing like what you described. We go to the cemetery at least once every other month to visit my fiance's father and others' graves to tend to the garden that is planted on his tomb, clean the headstone, and read Qur'an. The many Moroccan women that I know here who have lost children grieve for years for them, but no one tells them they shouldn't cry. People don't buy that Salafi interpretation of Islam here very often.

In Morocco, people also now have to be divorced in court--this verbal divorce is not valid unless it is in front of a judge and the man has to pay a lot to his wife. Women are also allowed to divorce men in Morocco (the family laws changed in 2002). Otherwise, it doesn't count. Women that I hang out with work long hours, and I have had the honor to meet many brilliant and kind female judges, lawyers, doctors, university professors, primary school teachers, etc. Women who stay at home work extremely hard--especially in the countryside (50% of the country) where women do back-breaking farm labor, in addition to household chores. And those women are fierce!

I totally understand your anger towards your husband and his family and think it's great that you can get support from this forum. There are a lot of other people who need support through difficult immigration processes and going through the adaptation process to the U.S., as well. Your comments about many or most Muslims and Arabs being the way your husband and his family are simply are not true. You got a bad apple who practices an extreme form of Islam, which does totally suck, but that doesn't mean you have to insult the families of other people who are perhaps also looking for support.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Personally, I think this thread shows that too many Arabs/muslims are immigrating to the west for the wrong reasons. Wanting to make more money in the US or wanting to take advantage of the welfare system in Europe is not a valid ground for immigration. Immigration is not a right it is a privilege! And privileges have to be earned. If you have no desire to assimilate to the culture of the country that you chose to move to then you have no right to stay. If you want to wear an abaya and live like a ME muslim then you should stay in the ME. I think it should be far harder for muslims to immigrate to the west as the majority refuse to assimilate and insult those that were generous enough to allow them the privilege of living in their country. We have as much right to maintain our more advanced and egalitarian standard of living as you do to retain your old-fashioned way of life. After all, if islam and the ME is so great then why are you trying to leave it? I'm getting sick of Arabs whine about the prejudice they experience in the west when the extremely mild difficulties they face in the west are nothing compared to what foreigners/non-muslims suffer in the ME. You can smell the hypocrisy coming off the average arab from a mile away. And I think Hanginginthere's description is a pretty mild and tame depiction of the average Arab, not all of them; but the average and it wasn't racist, it was pretty accurate. Only when you say All rather than some, average or most is there a problem. Sometimes pointing out the truth of what the average person in a culture behaves like hurts. And that is what we are pointing out here, the average; not all. And when individuals or whole societies refuse to admit their faults then they are doomed to continue those faults.

I do find your words a bit harsh. I find there are a lot of people here from the middle east that came here to improve their life. If that is what makes them happy then go for it. I think they have every right to wear their Abayas and live like a ME muslim. The only difference is that they don't have the right to dictate how others choose to live.

As for whining about prejudices. Well it is very real, and I have witnessed it. I find it quite sad that an entire culture is judged soley on the actions of radicals.

As for the individuals and societies that refuse to admit their faults, well that can be stated on many cultures, Americans as well.

The majority of us here are derived from immigrants. I may have been raised here all of my life, but I know for a fact that the only people that can claim to be original Americans are the Native Americans. I thank them for the right to live here. I thank them for allowing me to live in their country as to how I was raised, not by their traditions.

I hope this doesn't end up to be another flame thread. That was not my intentions. Just to point out that there are times to speak up, and then there are times to let things slide. The woman that S&S encountered needed to be addressed. Do I think it will change her opinion of Americans? No. But I would certainly hope that it will let her know that sometimes it is best to keep her opinions to herself. I only wish that more people could simply look inside themselves to find their own faults rather than constantly looking in others for theirs.

Frankly after being called 2 3 4 5 times and being told not to cry, to take care of someone who is CLEARLY not taking care of me and being made to sit in the car during my sons funeral service and glared at as I tried to talk to my AMERICAN mother and then the babys flowers being not allowed on the grave and to have not a single person in the janazza warmly greet my mother with some kind of condolence and the only conversation with me was to tell me that I needed to move the baby out of the KUFFAR cemetary, I hardly see where I HAVENT experienced reverse racism or ill treatment. That imam could have been gracious to my mom. They could have let us come up to the grave as he was lowered into it. And I could have been treated like a human being after the death of my child. Its been AMERICANS who have sent flowes. AMERICANS who have fed me. Not a single person from his family or from the masjid offered to bring food or has helped me in ANY WAY. An american sent over food from boston market and my husband wouldnt eat it because it was from someone from a CHURCH..

God help me in my topic. Culture problems dont come out when everything is hunky dorey and tragedy doesnt happen. When tragedy beyond your wildest dreams happen, you see the differences in culture. Imagine ANY OF YOU , including you Ta me what ever your name is being told you couldnt watch your baby go into the grave or have some weird guy in a dress glare at your KUFFAR mother all along criticising your funeral arrangements, terrorising your family further. For all of that, I paid the plot the service and the ambulance bills are arriving as I speak. And I am supposed to sit by and think some bimbo telling a very nice American girl that she s not a good mother or americans arent good mothers. I buried my child and I have had absolutely NO SUPPORT from any non american, The non americans tell me I was only allowed to cry 3 days and I am supposed to get over it. The non americans who have NO FUNERAL EXPENSES in their countries cant imagine what I have had to shoulder. Instead of hugs ,condolences, I get phone calls NOT TO CRYN NOT TO MOURN and that it was Allahs will. The whole Allahs will I can buy but not all the nasty kuffar comments. the complete lack of respect for my american christian family by the participants in the jannazza. My mother who never has had an ill word to say about anyone and she is 73 years old and a respected college professor has an AWFUL taste in her mouth from what happened. Can you imagine being yelled at to stay away from your grandchilds coffin?

All this talk is well and good but if you dont think there are VERY MARKED differences between american women and arabs, you need to have your head examined. We are without a shadow of a doubt, leaders thinkers and doers. It may not be the womens fault. They may be raised to be servers and subservient. They can live in fear of being divorced verbally ( Ive lived that and so have others) and their rights mean nothing. Here in the USA if a man divorces you, it has to be in the courts. Please dont think in anyway when *(*& hits the fan that culture doesnt matter. It does. I ve lived it. I may not always voice things politically correct but I was greviously wronged. And I get sick and tired of people being in THIS COUNTRY not appreciating what they have here.. bashing everything and everyone around them

I wanted to say HEY IMAM>. YOUR DA WAH sucks. How can I ever show my american family or any other woman at that service that islam is fair when they were treated so badly by muslims.. Just food for though.. Ruminate over what I just said if you will

I love you guys but I had to say something because what happened to my family really sucked. You dont see the deepest cultural divisions until the world is pulled out from under you

I am very sorry for this hell that you've been through. It sounds like a nightmare and your husband, his family, and his Salafi 'friends' from his mosque have been extremely disrespectful of you and your wishes. That being said, this is not the norm, in the US or in Morocco, amongst Muslims. Only a tiny minority of the Muslim community would consider itself Salafi and most Muslims here in Morocco that I know really do not like this rigid way of practicing their religion. Over the years that I have lived here, I have experienced a lot of deaths and they were nothing like what you described. We go to the cemetery at least once every other month to visit my fiance's father and others' graves to tend to the garden that is planted on his tomb, clean the headstone, and read Qur'an. The many Moroccan women that I know here who have lost children grieve for years for them, but no one tells them they shouldn't cry. People don't buy that Salafi interpretation of Islam here very often.

In Morocco, people also now have to be divorced in court--this verbal divorce is not valid unless it is in front of a judge and the man has to pay a lot to his wife. Women are also allowed to divorce men in Morocco (the family laws changed in 2002). Otherwise, it doesn't count. Women that I hang out with work long hours, and I have had the honor to meet many brilliant and kind female judges, lawyers, doctors, university professors, primary school teachers, etc. Women who stay at home work extremely hard--especially in the countryside (50% of the country) where women do back-breaking farm labor, in addition to household chores. And those women are fierce!

I totally understand your anger towards your husband and his family and think it's great that you can get support from this forum. There are a lot of other people who need support through difficult immigration processes and going through the adaptation process to the U.S., as well. Your comments about many or most Muslims and Arabs being the way your husband and his family are simply are not true. You got a bad apple who practices an extreme form of Islam, which does totally suck, but that doesn't mean you have to insult the families of other people who are perhaps also looking for support.

I am not insulting anyone. I am merely recounting what happened EXACTLY. Maybe in Morocco they have this law but not everywhere else and islamic divorce still is in the minds of many muslim men, all they have to do to divorce you. The paper work becomes a formality. Second, Morocco is NOT where my husband is from nor do the traditions of morocco wash with people from other countries. From grave markers, to ceremonies to anything else. Morocco is extremely progressive nor has it seen muslim on muslim killing exceeding over 100000 in less than 10 years. Morocco is relatively safe,progressive and western friendly with tourists going in and out. Youd be hard pressed to find a moroccan with no connections to the US. They are familiar with us and we with them.

Now onto my point. What you have seen with cousins and afar are NOT what you would experience if you yourself lost a child. It would depend on your husbands families death tradition. Even stretched to the wildest most open minded limit, they dont mirror ours. Their views of how people are buried and die dont mirror ours. If you lost a baby with someone from there and then you had to incorporate your american non muslim family into the mix, you would quickly see the differences

And as far as how people act here? That come from arabic countries? It really runs the gamut from assimiliation and happy with being here to being resentful and hateful towards America but needing the paycheck. This is whats called a THIRD COLUMN. This means people living here working here and managing and never really blending like other immigrants before did. Sticking to themselves and not being open and warm to american culture and people. I think this syrian falls into this catagory. I dont think she would have EVER said this stuff around me or to me if she met me because frankly after 7 years of being a muslim and seeing all the things I have seen both in and out of the masjid, I would state very clearly that Islam is a beautiful religion.. now if only muslims would PRACTICE it the way it is, then we would have a better world. My problem isnt with salafis per se, because at least I can tell where they are coming from and predict their behavior. Its with muslims who pick and choose what they will follow... and get all jacked up in ramadan and go about a very very sleazy life after. There is warped view of who americans are to them as well. I am sick and tired of the perception by many arabs I have met that American women are a stepping stone to get married to and get your papers but there is no forever behind that commitment. I think personally that to NOT see both sides is a form of criminality towards the American woman who is putting it all out there so that her husband CAN WORK and adjust status. I also find fault with the Iraqi that was with s and s and with the syrian for not launching into the woman

Another thing that jerks my chain is that some of the harshest critics of the usa are reverts who feel that to fit in with a new group and with their husband that they have to disavow everything positive about this country to be accepted. I see this again and again. Women who knew nothing about this or that as far as mena, learn a little bit, maybe not even the whole story but al jazeeras interpretation and become the biggest bashers of all.

For God Sake ( or Allah if you are muslim) there is NOTHING wrong with being American. Nor should we have to defend our mothering ability to some #### who married someone from here and is living here and pissing on us.\

I am in the whole hell no department if you think I wouldnt have flattened her ### in a minute. I never heard these kinds of things hanging out with arab women. They knew better. I would bring up a whole litany of ####### from greencard fraud to god knows what before that wench knew what hit her. These women bully those they think they can. Cause they have nothing better to do then pretend to do housework, cook some lentils, throw some flour in their face and act like they are cooking and then talk about the nasty,dirty, non mothering kuffars.. ( DISCLAIMER.. this is NOT ALL ARAB WOMEN GUYS) but certainly this wench falls into this catagory . And yes I said it WENCH

[Simply_Uno 1]

Ignoring all the arab bashing and what this topic has turned to- Hanging In There; U r allowed to moun cry n be sad all u want over ur baby. Whats not allowed is the screaming becoz it hurts the deceased!

... ... ....

[Ban Hammer 13,133]

Ignoring all the arab bashing and what this topic has turned to- Hanging In There; U r allowed to moun cry n be sad all u want over ur baby. Whats not allowed is the screaming becoz it hurts the deceased!

... ... ....

i learn something new in mena every day.

[SaadBell 0]

Let‘s just keep it simple folks, people can be ####### in any country, we have our fair share of ####### right in our backyards. I think getting married is a gamble; no matter what anyone tells you. How many couples that everybody said was a match made in heaven, known each other their whole lives. Then one day you see their pictures in the paper, headlines, of one of them hacking the other into tiny bits. No one ever sees it coming, so years of watching couples destroy one another, I will stand by what I say, you never ever can predict the future. That out of the way, I didn’t feel anyone was over the top in any kind of prejudice, lighten up, I don’t mind people taking cracks at my heritage, I am the first one to say things, just for laughs, life is too mess up without adding more ####### into it. If you want to fight about something, than fight over whether our country should bail out these rich pricks on Wall Street, I can give so many other great topics, truly I feel we are watching history in this country so really comparing it to this, no comparison. Peace

I still think people do have racial hang-ups, but I think one of the reasons I can joke about it is people are shedding those racial hatreds.

Dave Chappelle

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Let‘s just keep it simple folks, people can be ####### in any country, we have our fair share of ####### right in our backyards. I think getting married is a gamble; no matter what anyone tells you. How many couples that everybody said was a match made in heaven, known each other their whole lives. Then one day you see their pictures in the paper, headlines, of one of them hacking the other into tiny bits. No one ever sees it coming, so years of watching couples destroy one another, I will stand by what I say, you never ever can predict the future. That out of the way, I didn’t feel anyone was over the top in any kind of prejudice, lighten up, I don’t mind people taking cracks at my heritage, I am the first one to say things, just for laughs, life is too mess up without adding more ####### into it. If you want to fight about something, than fight over whether our country should bail out these rich pricks on Wall Street, I can give so many other great topics, truly I feel we are watching history in this country so really comparing it to this, no comparison. Peace

I still think people do have racial hang-ups, but I think one of the reasons I can joke about it is people are shedding those racial hatreds.

Dave Chappelle

Ganja, there are good and bad everywhere. Trust me I know this from the last 3 weeks. I just cannot stomach being nice to someone who would downgrade Americans or American mothers while living here. I could NEVER go to lets just say EGYPT and sit there with a bunch of Egyptians talking about how they give their kids too much candy and everyones teeth seems to be rotting out of their heads.

My mother once summed it up like this. Sometimes people dont have a filter between their brain and their mouth and everything just come pouring out.

Even if she thought it, she didnt have to say it to S and S. Thats called tact. And respect. And whatever else you want to call it. I am glad I wasnt there. It would have been her running very quickly to her room. I have no patience for that kind of stuff and tons in store for anyone who wants to live in the USA and be nasty to the people living here.

We may not be perfect... us kuffar americans, but its certainly alot freerer than Syria who by the way, a fatwa against MICKEY MOUSE was just issued. No I am not kidding

Apparently this Syrian cleric has now said the olympics are satanic, mickey mouse is satanic and tom and jerry glorifies rodents

If you dont believe me, read this http://www.religionnewsblog.com/22384/mickey-mouse-fatwa

[HLM 1]

Ignoring all the arab bashing and what this topic has turned to- Hanging In There; U r allowed to moun cry n be sad all u want over ur baby. Whats not allowed is the screaming becoz it hurts the deceased!

... ... ....

i learn something new in mena every day.

Its a muslim belief. Its supported by a hadith by the Prophet; but unfortunately i dont have them in english.

[SaadBell 0]

Hanging in there

I have your back girl, you don't have a thing to explain. I just wish they would cut me a deal on that bail out deal, I would even be up to taking a good 100,000.

[palilover 1]

Hanging in there: I think it was the clerics from Saudi Arabia, not syria who do not like Mickey Mouse. Mice are seen as dirty in Islam or soemthing like that.

Using that lgoc though, msot Muslims are dirty so they should issue fatwah about that:)

And I also agree that culture issues do not arise until poopy hits the fan. When everything is good, everone holds hands and sings like this lalalalala but when it is no good, then you have problem because everyone deals with problems differently and some not at all.

And speaking of women who live here and bsh America....do you guys know my sister in law? I lost count of the times she has bragged about how American women can only do boxed maceroni and cheese and Arab women salve away over stoves cooking for their families. I got sick of hearing her. In the end, who is the one getting a divorce now? Her. That was the most ironic thing about it:) When I lived with her, if she cooked soemthing (which was rare contrary to what she said), we'd sit down and she'd ALWAYS begin the discussion with "So is it true that American women do not cook. My son goes to his friend's house and he always eats maceroni and cheese. Why don't American women cook like arabs do"

GGRRR

[Staashi 371]

I will say that no matter where you are in any country - going to the MENA countries or MENA citizens coming to the US, everyone will be able to point out either silently in their own mind or to others, the cultural differences that are apparent. However, I will say that parenting skills or lack there of are worldwide. I'm always amazed at how people raise their children here and abroad - some better, some worse. I'm not down with making sweeping statements about one culture or another, but it does happen and some of the issues that K pointed out are true. If they weren't true, it wouldn't have stung like it did.

Aside from that, and this is directed to no one in particular, at the end of the day, if you were born in the US you are an American. You were raised by an American mother and father, have American grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They are your family, and as my dad always said, "you can pick your nose, you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family." I don't care how much you try to deny it, you are from here...so unless you take your passport and chuck it, and then renounce your citizenship (which is an option), you will always be an American. When it is all said and done, anytime anyone makes a broad statement about American women, I would hope that you would stick up for the American woman - because no matter what abaya or hijab you wear beyond these borders, or how well you speak Arabic, you will always be viewed as an American woman - and so will the daughters that you bring into this world as well.

Just my two little cents.

Edited October 8, 2008 by Staashi