“Open-mindedness”
craving: the "close-minded" days
With Globalization, development & living in a world-class modern city.. we get exposed to all sorts of different cultures, ideas, people & even life-styles.. Ofcourse we need to be tolerant to some extent to all of that, & learn to embrace the good that comes with it BUT no one ever said to completely take that over & erase yourself..
The modernity, the development, the globalization.. must NEVER EVER be at the expense of who we are, what we believe in, what we were raised on, our values, our religion & most importantly, the self RESPECT & that of others.
NO it is NOT ok, & YES, it is very my business when I see people (& even worse ones that I know) from respectful families, dressed in the full traditional Emarati attire, men AND women, laughing with each other, KISSING in public & clicking their champagne glasses in a very public restaurant & in a very public table, infront of everyone’s eyes..
What happened to respect (of ourselves, of others & the 3abba that you are wearing & the 3gal on your head)?!
When I brought this up with a ‘friend’, all I got to was: “Come on.. don’t be so close-minded.. we believe in freedom of choice & in fact, good on them that they are not being hypocrites hiding what they do and acting differently infront of others!”
I am speechless, bitter & I don’t know what to do about it..
& NO, I am never going to be ok about people drinking – especially Emarati muslims & acting so obscenely in public proud of their ‘open-mindedness’..
& I REFUSE to be “open-minded” even it took an axe to crack open my head!
Allah yr7amk ya abona Zayed..
I think open-mindedness is misinterpreted in our society. Being open-minded is by the way you think and not act. The thing is people here have lost their respect and dignity, and they’ve thrown their culture and values out the window. The problem is, no one ever stopped them so they’ll keep on doing it.. and getting worse! Allah yehdeehum..
No one’s immune to sin, and I’m not saying this because I’m a better person (no one can guarantee themselves). But one has to express disgust at the act itself.
Allah yhadeena w yahdeehom
I had a similar conversation with a colleague – & at the end of it, I was tagged as “rigid & backward”.
Honestly, I’d rather be ‘that’ than lose my self-respect and dignity.
Open-mindedness is so taken in the wrong way in our society from teenagers to adults – & the scary part? It’s moving & expanding fast, way too fast.
OMG Kits :S I soooo badly wanted this gossip when u brought it up.. yet now reading what’s above am utterly shocked :S
I can’t believe this,,, (ONE should be careful of what he/she wish for)
This is such a horrible indication of how our values are being misrespected and it’s unfair if such people were refelecting on us by which everybody think LOCALS are the same
…
el7amdlillah w elshekeeer we were raised with values and were raised to adhere to them… those values define us as unqiue,,
but as they say ان لم تستحي فافعل ما تشاء
i got used to see-ing careless local guyz drinking in public, bs girlsssssssss ?!!!! with abbayas ba3ad!!!! are you sure they are locals?!!!! tbain el 9idg,, 3adi atwaq3 o they are from well known families ba3ad =/
qimat el waqa7aa… this is absolutely not OPEN-MINDNESS wutsoever, hatha ta5luf,,, they think that they are coool but unfortunately they SUCK. o wts even worse,, eyjahroon bl ma39ya !!!
allah yahdee el jmee3
I totally agree with every single word you mentioned. RESPECT to what you wrote. Thanks for pointing it out but the question is what can we do about it?
Respect and my hats off to you. You stand up for what you believe in. Good!
Assalamu alaikum, dear Sis. Sadly enough, more and more of our Muslim brothers and sisters, regardless of race and nationality, are losing touch with their values and beliefs. Once I gently tried to stop a cousin-sister from wearing a tank top, and the reaction I got was: “Oh come on! You’re such an extremist!”
قال النبي : { كل أمتي معافى إلا المجاهرين، وإن من الإجهار أن يعمل العبد بالليل عملا، ثم يصبح قد ستره ربه، فيقول: يا فلان! قد عملت البارحة كذا وكذا، وقد بات يستره ربه، ويصبح يكشف ستر الله عنه } [متفق عليه].
thumbs up for your post, let the world know that ITS NOT OK!…
Allah yhdee el jmee3 wythabtna ya rab…
So true, its sad because they really believe that it makes them look “advanced” or “modern” but truth is, they just look cheap, especially the females. What they dont realize is that those so called male friends of theirs in reality just look down on them, and are just using them for a good time…
Its so disgusting to see that…
But guys …when you see situations like that.. locals drinking and kissing in public…(whether locals or any nationalities) you have to report them to the police directly and on the spot.. don’t just watch and ignore..
Pls call Al AMEEN on 8004888 …. don’t say they will do nothing… they do act and we have tried them b4 .. they will come and catch these ppl who don’t show respect! when u call your name or contacts wont be required just report the incident to them!
having an open mind is good but to a limit that dont scratch on what we have been raised and what our religion taught us.
I’m with 100% to what u have said, its very annoying and disturbing when you see such a thing!
Allahuma er7amnaaa eb ra7matk ya rab
10000000000000000% agree with u
EXAMPLE : a7na albnat ili fe aljam3aa ili yflon sha3rhum ygolon 7ag albnaat almt7jbat laish 7a6a alshela mithil al3yayeZ O_o
ao yshofonch mb FASHION =S
i prefer to be close minded & 3yoZ than to be fa95aa al7yaa
ashkersh Kitten,,,,, o Allllla yahdee aljamee3
stop whining and act! why dont u call police when u c such things… instead of just blogging about it!
talk and act on it… not just talk talk
its sooooo true & I’m with you 100%
wo 9edg 9edg alah yer7mk ya zayed al5eir wo ye’3md ro7k aljanah
to me… I believe that open-mindness is what islam has taught us. to accept people with different religions & backgrounds without them changing who we ARE & if having an open mind means to them to act like THAT then I think being close-minded a7sn bwayed wo ashraf lhoum
the problem is the abaya & the khaleeji traditional attire in general is becoming a fashion trend .. to us Qtris&Emaratis alike its our identity .. & thats why we hold on to it so very tightly, but to many its a fashion statement … & many of those girls wearing that abaya are wearing it one day & another day wearing a bikini & tanning in a public
its really really sad,… alah yahdee aljmee3 in sha allah
Hi UAE Kitten
I’ve been an avid reader of your blog for years, and this is my first time commenting on an update of yours. Your blog is great, and I love reading it.
While I agree with you – Muslims should practice Islam as fully as possible – what interests me about your update is the fact that you believe conservativeness is exclusive to Emirati-attire wearers? So is it that if I don’t wear my Abaya I am allowed to exhibit such behavior? Or does it make it more “okay” to do it if I’m wearing jeans and a t-shirt or whatever?
I commend you on your post, and wish you had been more general with your comments rather than direct them exclusively to Emiratis. Furthermore, when it comes to drinking, etc, I believe that people should behave the way they please as long as they aren’t hurting anyone else and are doing it in designated areas in private – not flaunting it in public. That’s why expats have private clubs where they can engage in behavior that’s deemed normal in their hometown. That is fine. I’m not a prude, and am fine with seeing people hold hands in the street as a couple – but not engage in a group kissing frenzy in family places with children around.
Anyway, like I said, the fact that they’re wearing “3bi” and “3gaals” shouldn’t be the reason they have respect towards the country. Even if they weren’t Emirati nationals, they should be expected to behave with certain decorum in public areas. What you wear is not an indicator of how you should behave – that, I do not agree with. Good manners is universal.
I love you Kitten & I love all your updates!
صراحة انا ما اعتبر هذا تفتح بالعكس هالاشكال مادل إلى انهم مرضى نفسيين و يبون يعرضون نفسهم و اونهم كول و هم اهناك فالاصل متعقدين في حياتهم و مايعرفون لاربهم و لادينهم و لا حتى يراعون غيرهم .. انا اظن هالنوع من الناس يعبرون عن تفكيرهم المنحط و بس ولايشرفون لا البلاد و لا حتى اللبس الوطني ….
اللي يقهر في الموضوع ان هالنوعية بدت تأثر فالبعض اللي يقول كيفهم و عادي و حرية شخصية .. واحنا يحكمنا دينا و عاداتنا و حمد الله على نعمة الإسلام إللي نهنا عن الجهر بالمعصية و هذا مب نفاق انهم يسون الغلط و يسترون على عمارهم على الاقل في قلبهم يعرفون ان غلط على عكس الشخص اللي يسوي كل شي باللعلن و إذا كل حد سوى الغلط يدام العالم فالنهاية بيأثر فينا سواءا اللحين و لا عقب.. اليوم بتكلم و بنزعل و بتحرطم و باجر بنقول اشو نسوي و بتكثر هالاشكال و بنشوف وجودهم في مجتمعنا عادي ..
الله يهدي الجميع و ان شاءالله يكون في قانون اشد لمنع اي تهاون .. و الله يحفظنا و يحفظ عيالنا …
احس وايد طولت :X
wow, seriously? i remember the days when alcohol wouldn’t be served to those in traditional clothing.
i find this hard to believe only because i dont want to believe it…
allah yer7amna bra7meteh.
Solution: is to lower the gear a bit ! slow down the development. Due to the speed things are going out of control. There is enough damage already, new habbits appearing every now and then. People just became greedy thinking of money and themselves, they dont care about the country anymore.
JUST SLOW THINGS DOWN …… & STOP DEPENDING ON FORIGENERS, WE ALREADY HAVE THE RESOURCES HERE
JUST UTILIZE THEM ! <– someone is really mad here
It’s people like you that make me think there is hope in this world. At least some people can think of themselves and not follow the latest fashion/fad (i.e. blackberries
)