Tattoos and piercings

[browneyez40 0]

My husband says they are gross and abnormal j/k

He does say they are both haram, with the exception of piercings in the ears.

Why would piercings in the ears be the exception? Just curious.

Because there is evidence in the Sunnah that women wore earrings, including companions of the Prophet, without it being a problem.

Would that also apply to the traditional Berber tatoos that women have? I know its less and less these days and always has been berber culture not Islam. Curious.

I asked. He says haram is haram. No exception for the Berbers

yeah I should have seen that coming. I'll have to ask my berber

Found this little blurb- http://www.inkedblog.com/archives/2005/08/...oos_banned.html

[peezey 0]

My husband says they are gross and abnormal j/k

He does say they are both haram, with the exception of piercings in the ears.

Would that also apply to the traditional Berber tatoos that women have? I know its less and less these days and always has been berber culture not Islam. Curious.

I've actually written extensively on this, and yes, younger generations unfamiliar with the tradition do find it strange, especially if they've had little amazigh contact. It is accepted, though, because it's a long cultural tradition, much older than Islam in NA.

My husband says they are gross and abnormal j/k

He does say they are both haram, with the exception of piercings in the ears.

Would that also apply to the traditional Berber tatoos that women have? I know its less and less these days and always has been berber culture not Islam. Curious.

Good example of how Amazigh culture in Morocco (Berbers) predate Islam. You never see younger women with face tattoos anymore. Someone needs to get out and document these women before this practice completely disappears. It is considered "haram" but is one of those things that is so pervasive as to be uniquely Moroccan "halal."

My advisor did her pHd field work in amazigh tattoos and language. I've taken tamazight books over for her a number of times (French books translated into tamazight). There is a bit of work done, but most of it is by French anthros, although some Americans have jumped in.

[AichaKandisha 0]

I only have my ears pierced (twice but I wear only one pair now) and no tattoos. I thought about getting a tattoo at one time, but felt that I may regret it later. My fiance loves the fact that I don't drink, smoke, have more piercings than I do and have no tattoos. I give credit to the religion I converted to 2 years ago which encourages all women and men to all of the above (no piercings for men!).

It is incredible how much Islam and the church I belong to have so many of the same principles. My fiance and I feel like we grew up with the same beliefs.

[Henia 11]

As Bosco stated women in the time of the Prophet (saw) had ear piercings...but I do wonder how this is halal. when piercings are changement of the form Allah gave you at birth...maybe someone can explain.

And as far as I know tattooes are most definately haraam and women with tats are sworn women in many (muslim) cultures.

I myself have no tattoes but my ears are pierced (they were when I was a baby)

[~Jess~ 0]

i see a lotttttttttt of arab women with nose rings, small studs but thats still a piercing and lottttttttttttts of women here have their ears pierced!! not sure bout tats cause not like im lookin everyyyyyyywhere on the women

i have my nose pierced and 1 hold in each ear........but we arent muslim. just addin my opinion

[honeyblonde 0]

Not just the Berbers had the face tattoos. Abdel's family is Arab but his mother and some of his aunt's had them. The only picture of his mother in the house shows the face tattoos, and the very old aunt that was in our pictures of our engagement ceremony had them. I asked him if he was Berber, or if any of his family was, and he specifically said no, they are all Arab. His whole family is not really Muslim, but still keeps closer to the pre-Islam Arabic traditions. They observe Ramadan, but not in the religious sense, just as a holiday.

As for tattoos and piercings on me - I have two piercings in each ear but rarely wear any earrings. I spend a good bit of my day at work on the phone and earrings can get pretty painful when pressed into the skull for a while.

I have 2 tattoos and Abdel's sisters saw them at the Turkish bath. As I said, they aren't really Muslim, so they didn't care at all. He likes them and doesn't care if I want to get more. He says it's my body, I can do as I please.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

One of my husband's great-grand-mothers and some of his great-aunts had the old-style facial tattoos. This tradition is observed by many Gulf peoples as well. But you don't see it much any more in Palestine, except among the Bedouin.

[StupidJourney 0]

My husband says they are gross and abnormal j/k

He does say they are both haram, with the exception of piercings in the ears.

Would that also apply to the traditional Berber tatoos that women have? I know its less and less these days and always has been berber culture not Islam. Curious.

Good example of how Amazigh culture in Morocco (Berbers) predate Islam. You never see younger women with face tattoos anymore. Someone needs to get out and document these women before this practice completely disappears. It is considered "haram" but is one of those things that is so pervasive as to be uniquely Moroccan "halal."

I agree wholeheartedly about at least documenting and preserving what we have left of Amazigh culture before it disappears completely. There has been a revival in recent years, and the languages are being taught more in schools, but it's sad how some people who are Amazigh turn their backs on their identity. For example, my fiance didn't put Tamazight on the form when it asked for what languages it spoke, as if it's not a "real" language of the same status of Arabic, French, or English.

There are many groups that are devoted to preserving the culture, such as http://www.tamazgha.org/ and http://www.mondeberbere.com/

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I so much agree -- it's so very important to document these old traditions while we still have the chance to see it with our own eyes !! Not very many young girls will wear this style these days, of course. But it does have a haunting, unique beauty all its own, and we absolutely need to work now to preserve it.

-MK

Here are some pics I found of some tattooed al Shaam women (al Shaam is the area of Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon):

Syrian Bedouin woman

Bedouin woman

Palestinian woman

Bedouin woman

[honeyblonde 0]

Those are such intricate lovely designs. Do you think that is what the henna patterns are supposed to be based on?

[browneyez40 0]

I think the facial tattoos are beautiful. They seem so exotic and rare, like a dying art form. (Which they are...)

-CB

[jordanianprincess 0]

I so much agree -- it's so very important to document these old traditions while we still have the chance to see it with our own eyes !! Not very many young girls will wear this style these days, of course. But it does have a haunting, unique beauty all its own, and we absolutely need to work now to preserve it.

-MK

Here are some pics I found of some tattooed al Shaam women (al Shaam is the area of Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon):

Syrian Bedouin woman

Bedouin woman

Palestinian woman

Bedouin woman

This reminds me of a photo I took in Jordan where we dressed up like bedouins and they put fake tatoos on my face.

[deeshla 0]

Not just the Berbers had the face tattoos. Abdel's family is Arab but his mother and some of his aunt's had them. The only picture of his mother in the house shows the face tattoos, and the very old aunt that was in our pictures of our engagement ceremony had them. I asked him if he was Berber, or if any of his family was, and he specifically said no, they are all Arab. His whole family is not really Muslim, but still keeps closer to the pre-Islam Arabic traditions. They observe Ramadan, but not in the religious sense, just as a holiday.

As for tattoos and piercings on me - I have two piercings in each ear but rarely wear any earrings. I spend a good bit of my day at work on the phone and earrings can get pretty painful when pressed into the skull for a while.

I have 2 tattoos and Abdel's sisters saw them at the Turkish bath. As I said, they aren't really Muslim, so they didn't care at all. He likes them and doesn't care if I want to get more. He says it's my body, I can do as I please.

That's Berber. Families are not always "out of the closet" Berbers. Face tats on women in Morocco are Amazigh. Can you describe the tattoo? Maybe peezey can identify better, since she has been studying this. The pattern will denote tribal affiliation.

Most of Morocco has Amazigh origins though big-city people will resent admitting it or even know the exact heritage of their families. Amazigh-speaking relatives are usually only a few generations removed, but I am amazed at how many Rabatis I met who do not know the Amazigh word for "peace" or even "hello."

[StupidJourney 0]

Not just the Berbers had the face tattoos. Abdel's family is Arab but his mother and some of his aunt's had them. The only picture of his mother in the house shows the face tattoos, and the very old aunt that was in our pictures of our engagement ceremony had them. I asked him if he was Berber, or if any of his family was, and he specifically said no, they are all Arab. His whole family is not really Muslim, but still keeps closer to the pre-Islam Arabic traditions. They observe Ramadan, but not in the religious sense, just as a holiday.

As for tattoos and piercings on me - I have two piercings in each ear but rarely wear any earrings. I spend a good bit of my day at work on the phone and earrings can get pretty painful when pressed into the skull for a while.

I have 2 tattoos and Abdel's sisters saw them at the Turkish bath. As I said, they aren't really Muslim, so they didn't care at all. He likes them and doesn't care if I want to get more. He says it's my body, I can do as I please.

That's Berber. Families are not always "out of the closet" Berbers. Face tats on women in Morocco are Amazigh. Can you describe the tattoo? Maybe peezey can identify better, since she has been studying this. The pattern will denote tribal affiliation.

Most of Morocco has Amazigh origins though big-city people will resent admitting it or even know the exact heritage of their families. Amazigh-speaking relatives are usually only a few generations removed, but I am amazed at how many Rabatis I met who do not know the Amazigh word for "peace" or even "hello."

I also came across a lot of people who did not want to admit being Amazigh.

[Cassie 8]

This has been fascinating to read about, I never knew about the tradition of facial tattoos in the Middle East --thank for talking about this!