I had a muslim neighbor, well she was from Iran anyway. And one day she was telling me that she was going back to Iran and I looked at her, and she said that she had to wear her costume when she went home. She didn’t wear her costume here in the US, in fact she didn’t cover up at all.
“Costume”?!
Oh come on! That was obviously your word, not hers, Lisa.
My daughter goes to grade school with a Muslim girl in her class and she & her Mom both cover their hair & neck with coverings, but Thier face isn’t covered. The head covering isn’t black, the girl wears colored, even patterned ones. They wear modest dresses that are actually quite lovely and they do not resemble the women in the pic you posted at all. They are happy & smiling & my daughter (who is very small for her age & quite shy) pointed her out on the way to school & said that girl was very nice & approached my daughter at recess asking to be friends & my daughter was super happy & accepted. They draw each other cards...cute little pictures in crayon of themselves swinging on swings, coloring, etc.
None of the pictures she has given my daughter show anything more than ordinary drawings by a happy, innocent little girl.
You should really stop believing everything you see on the news.
No, the neighbor said costume. She doesn’t wear her costume in the states but when she goes to visit family in Iran she wears it. What does that tell ya, Claire?
It tells me that at least she respects her family’s cultural expectations when she is in her homeland.
Being half Japanese, I know that there are certain traditional & cultural expectations that I must adhere to when I go to Japan to visit family on my mother’s side..,even though I was born here in the States.
For example, last time I visited was 8 years ago, for the funeral of my grandfather. He was VERY traditional, and old-fashioned & since he died at 96, he arranged his funeral well in advance.
He had already chosen his burial location near the top of a small mountain that he grew up on. He wanted traditional funeral.
This meant the men in the family would prepare the body for burial, & he had made his own modest wooden coffin many years prior. The ceremony requires the immediate family to dress in solid white linen garments—-pants & a long tunic for men, & an ankle length kimono for females. The garments must be handmade & starched & pressed by the wearer. The dead was carried up the mountain path by the sons & son in laws of the deceased.
Oh, and you’ll LOVE this, Lisa—-the men lead the way, and walking single file behind the men, according to age, the women must look at the ground as we walk.
It is a show of respect for the male position, as the Japanese are patriarchal in custom. Women are also to remain silent at all times until leaving the burial site. Flower petals are scattered by the youngest females while descending down the mountain.
Now, when I participated in my grandfather’s funeral, do you think I refused to follow custom & broke from tradition?
I DID NOT DARE.
I would have brought shame to our family name & it would have dishonored my grandfather’s last wishes.
Respect & honor are the bedrock of the Japanese, and the elders are treated with the utmost of respect.
So, at least your neighbor had the respect to follow the cultural expectations & customs while visiting her family, even though she doesn’t follow them here.
You are missing out Lisa I make the best tea.
