My wife is a lawyer and was on her way to court, she just missed getting on the King's Cross train that had the bomb. When she found out what had happened she went to court as planned. Has it changed her attitude towards muslims, no why would it.
No more so than girls who leave home dressed as their parents want in the West and then change into something raunchier which would annoy them en route to wherever they are going. Or doesn't anyone say "You're not going out in that!" any more?
I'm not saying it isn't and I'm not saying what is right or wrong, other than in law, that's for an individual to decide. All I'm pointing out is how I find living in a Muslim country and some of the things that have been said on this thread are simply not true and display a ignorance of how things really are. The younger generation are exactly the same as Europeans. I fly with the young guys here, just as I did at my former employer, easyJet. They have the same hopes, aspirations, worries and relationship problems as guys in the west. They are no different apart from the way they dress and the odd cultural difference (right hand rule which means people on someone's right go through doors first, they eat with their right hand). Women have equal rights in law, believe it or not they have a decent judicial system here. The days of women walking five paces behind are long gone. Most men will tell you they are "hen-pecked" hate being dragged round shopping malls and dislike their mother-in-law. Sound familiar ? I have no religious beliefs, axe to grind or motivation to particularly defend Muslims. What I find regrettable are statements being made by people who have no experience of living in a Muslim country which denigrate a whole race of people. All Muslims countries are not alike. Only just over 10% of the population of the country I live in are of local origin, the rest are ex-pats. I've lost count of the amount of times I've asked locals what they think about their country being full or foreigners. I've never yet received a negative comment, they usually just say you are here trying to do your best for your family and we know that. You don't bother us and we don't bother you. We like to live and let live and make you feel as welcome as we can, that's what we are taught. Can you imagine that attitude in England ? Finally, I'm often asked if I could earn the same money in the UK would I return ? Definitely no. I live in a relaxed environment with great weather (apart from the summer heat) there's virtually no crime, drunks staggering around being abusive, no rudeness, no one talking loud, incessant bollocks on mobile phones on public transport, there's no pushing, swagger or fear of violent attack. Kids play out on the street until late evening without adult supervision, their parents safe in the knowledge their kids are safe. No, next stop for me - the Far East in a few years time. Are there things I miss about England -sure, the A272 on a weekend with my biking buddies, being able to find a decent camera shop to buy a battery for my beloved Leica camera, I miss my friends and family, the guys at P&H my local Ducati dealer, English air traffic controllers, Gatwick airport and British bookshops.
Grateful to Flyer for providing views and information based on personal experience - immensely valuable. Good news to hear that the problems I listed are minor, or non-existent, in some muslim countries like Abu Dhabi. I confess to being personally ignorant about what it is like to live in any muslim country. However East London, which I know well, has a huge muslim population and unfortunately they don't come from Oman or Bahrain, but from Pakistan mainly. Hence the problems which seem to be both real and widespread, and I fear that overcoming them may take a long time.
Remember that Pakistans problems are largely created by Britian, so there is probably some historical resentment in the Pakistani immigrants.
Yes, it is probably useful not to see the culture from different countries just in terms of religion. You'd probably find that Nigerians or Somalis have strange customs. Incidentally, prior to 9/11, I don't recall the Pakistanis creating any problems at all. They just seemed to run useful shops. Have things really changed, or were we just ignorant? I don't think that foreign intervention in Iraq was a great PR move, any more than extended intervention in Afghanistan. But then Tony & Friends were warned by all and sundry and did they listen? Did they f...
If that is so, perhaps you would enlighten us about the sentiments Bradfordians would agree with. Unless you prefer to leave us guessing.
