Non muslims in a Muslim Country..

[deemabrouk 0]

I am carring this over from the Tuesday thread.. I'm just curious how people Do.. when they go to a Muslim country and start to cover.. I have seen people say this before... that when they visit their SO.. they cover in that country they cover as to not stick out...

are you seriously gonna have to wear abaya's / hijab out there??? your not even muslim. Is it really a requirement? (why does the spelling of that word not look right....)

Ive seen pictures with non covered woman in Saudi

I think unless you are living on a western compound, the abaya is really "necessary."

well.. I have gotten used to being fully covered and dealing with the heat.. and I do mean.. clothes.. abaya.. arm covers.. underscarf and hijab.. all 100 layers ...

BUT i would think it would be SOOO hard to be a non muslim.. who Never covered.. to then move to saudi.. where in July its 120+ degrees.. where you then have to cover..

Maybe I'll make this a new thread... Since it's not Tuesday anymore

[ya falaha! 0]

I used to cover here full time (higab/abaya or gilbab). I did this for several years. I don't know exactly what happened but I started feeling very uncomfortable with covering. I've been "uncovered" for about 3 yrs now. I do cover when I'm in Egypt. I do it mostly out of respect for my family there. My SILs, MILs, and the rest of the females in the family cover. They wear conservative clothing and a higab (tarha). Only one of my SILs wears an abaya. She lives most of the time in UAE with her husband so I think she got used to wearing it there. I also cover to avoid the stares. I'm terribly uncomfortable when ppl stare at me.

I covered here during the summer so it wasn't such a shocker to be covered in Egypt during the summer (both here and in Egypt I wore lighter colors and materials during the summer). Now if I had never covered and all of a sudden had to go full higab/abaya (dark colors) in an extremely hot country like Saudia I'd never make it. I'd probably never leave the house.

Edited July 11, 2007 by moody

[deemabrouk 0]

I used to cover here full time (higab/abaya or gilbab). I did this for several years. I don't know exactly what happened but I started feeling very uncomfortable with covering. I've been "uncovered" for about 3 yrs now. I do cover when I'm in Egypt. I do it mostly out of respect for my family there. My SILs, MILs, and the rest of the females in the family cover. They wear conservative clothing and a higab (tarha). Only one of my SILs wears an abaya. She lives most of the time in UAE with her husband so I think she got used to wearing it there. I also cover to avoid the stares. I'm terribly uncomfortable when ppl stare at me.

I covered here during the summer so it wasn't such a shocker to be covered in Egypt during the summer (both here and in Egypt I wore lighter colors and materials during the summer). Now if I had never covered and all of a sudden had to go full higab/abaya (dark colors) in an extremely hot country like Saudia I'd never make it. I'd probably never leave the house.

yeah but you see.. you sorta knew how it was... cause you did cover for a while...

but the people that never really do.... Honestly I dont think I would leave the house either!!.. Over there I probably wont even have a choice..

[hollyw 0]

i'm not sure if this is relevant because i'm not living in a muslim country, but i'm not muslim and i don't cover here. I don't really cover in Algeria either, but i did find that whenever i started to feel uncomfortable with the people staring, i could just throw on a djleba/abaya and no one gave me a second look. it was nice sometimes to feel like i blended in with everyone else, but most of the time it was too freakin' hot! i though it was interesting that people didn't notice me with the djleba because i'm still a strawberry blonde with hazel eyes and freckles, but i guess my husband said that people probably thought i was berber. i haven't ever worn a head scarf, it makes me feel very self conscious for some reason, even in a muslim country where half of the women you see are wearing one.

[doodlebug 3]

If I were not muslim there is no way in heck I'd live in a country where they made me cover. I would just feel wronged if that makes sense. I guess if there were a good reason to be there, like my husband making over $200k/year or something, then I'd deal but I would demand to live in a US compound where covering wasn't necessary.

I forgot to add that I don't cover here either for personal reasons but I will cover in Egypt, but then I'm muslim so I look at it as a sacrafice and as adding points if that makes sense.

[deemabrouk 0]

If I were not muslim there is no way in heck I'd live in a country where they made me cover. I would just feel wronged if that makes sense. I guess if there were a good reason to be there, like my husband making over $200k/year or something, then I'd deal but I would demand to live in a US compound where covering wasn't necessary.

I forgot to add that I don't cover here either for personal reasons but I will cover in Egypt, but then I'm muslim so I look at it as a sacrafice and as adding points if that makes sense.

so how did you deal with the cairo heat and covering?

oh wait... you were there in Dec right? was it hot then?? or no

[doodlebug 3]

If I were not muslim there is no way in heck I'd live in a country where they made me cover. I would just feel wronged if that makes sense. I guess if there were a good reason to be there, like my husband making over $200k/year or something, then I'd deal but I would demand to live in a US compound where covering wasn't necessary.

I forgot to add that I don't cover here either for personal reasons but I will cover in Egypt, but then I'm muslim so I look at it as a sacrafice and as adding points if that makes sense.

so how did you deal with the cairo heat and covering?

oh wait... you were there in Dec right? was it hot then?? or no

NO. rofl. It was freezing!!!!

I don't think I'll have to worry since I"ll be in Cairo all of one day. I arrive at 3pm, will go straight to his flat and change immediately into shorts since it'll just be me, him and his sisters. Then the next day the interview we have to be there at 7:30am so I'm thinking it won't be so so hot but then after the interview we have to go to a friend of his' restaurant right where the pyramids are so that will suck but then we'll be on an airconditioned bus for the next few hours.

After that we'll sleep during the day and go out at night...if at all.

[ya falaha! 0]

I've been to Cairo in Dec/Jan. It's warm during the day (low 70s) and cool at night (40s-50s).

[deadbird 2]

My fiance's family is Catholic, so his mother & sister do not cover and I didn't either; I just made sure I dressed conservatively.

I went in March--it was mid 70's-80's during the day and 50's-60's at night.

[allousa 1]

I'm not a muslim, but I have covered a couple of times when my husband took me to some places where it was more appropriate. I'm part American Indian so I've got olive skin and dark hair, but I have really blue eyes. I don't get too many stares, but if I do, my husband said it's probably because of my eye color.

At this point, right now, it's not something I would do everyday. I feel that is more of a religious practice and I would have to be committed to not just the covering, but to all of Islam to make it an everyday part of my life.

But I don't mind covering out of respect when I am visiting my husband.

[~Jess~ 0]

well, i suppose ill answer. no i have never physically 'covered' my husbands sister and neices lives in Saudi for years and they have had to cover, they arent Muslim either....so i have been around it in some sense, to me covering is not a life style change and im not 'dreading' it persay, covering for me means blending, respecting and stayin my ####### outa trouble with the religious calvery. to me wearing an Abaya and head scarf isnt a big deal really. they have light weight materials that are breathable and i dont need to load tons of clothes on underneath, no reason to think i will bake in the sun. When i do go out of the house i will cover without question, and i will get used to it. When we are visiting his brother in law and sister we will be in the compound so no need to cover. when we have people over at our house i will not cover, but if they are Saudi or something of course i will wear convervative clothes, more so then if it was his family or whatever that ive lived with and come to know. Geo works a great job and makes great money, otherwise he wouldnt be in Saudi, he doesnt like it much there because of the heat, but he deals with it. He told me there is air conditioning every where you go, not many homes are without, not many cars are without and not many shops are without. most of life things happen after the sun sets when it cools down a bit anyway and that is perfect for us because geo and i are night people, and he works until 10pm anyway.

[a1angied 0]

I am not muslim and when I went to Jordan I asked my husband if he would prefer if I cover my hair since it is down to my azz. He told me no I am not muslim and it is not something I am used to doing and he likes my long hair and wanted everyone to see it. At first before I went I was very strong willed and said I would never but just beofre I went I bought a few scarfs so that if it was want he would want me to do out of respect I would. Well I have a few very nice scarfs that I dress up my dresses with now. Not sure that I would of covered anything but my hair though.

[MelindaandTarek 0]

Some good thoughts and experiences here. I am not Muslim and I only visited Egypt on one occasion. I did not cover and dressed conservatively and respectfully. I talked with my SO about my choices of clothes and talked to my SO about my dress. They are all accepting of me and are okay with my dress without covering. For me I wanted to be sure that I was being respectful of the culture and for the most part I didnt get any stares...especially in Alexandria..On a few occasions I was stared out quite intensely in some of the smaller villages it was uncomfortable however I dealt with it. These were quite limited occaisions, for the most part people treated me with nothing but respect.

[aya*abouelnasr 0]

My husband also said it was entirely up to me if I covered my hair or not. He said he was afraid that if I did my friends and family would think it was something that he "required" me to do. I do know there is a possibility that he will change his mind in the future, and I don't have a problem with that. I don't see any problem with covering my hair, and outside of the house I already dress pretty sedately, so I guess covering completly wouldn't really pose much of a problem for me either.

[Aymerlu 3]

I'm not muslim and the first time I went to Egypt was in July and it was hotter than snot! Khallid nor his family expected me to cover when I was there. When I was at the home, I would wear longer capris and and nice top. When we could go out, I'd wear a long skirt, long slacks and 3/4 sleeve tops. When I went back in February it was jeans and long sleeves. I've told Khallid I will never, ever, ever go back to Egypt again in the summer. That was miserable.