Do you judge/ pity converts to Islam?

[Candyapplesandhearts]

Firstly I’m a convert to Islam. White European, so more than likely if you saw me you’d assume I was a convert, plus my name would definitely give the game away.

i live in a metropolitan area where converts are yes rare but not too too share whereby it’s shocking.

well keeping this in mind, I bought a block of sessions for a beauty treatment, and the aesthetician was visibly taken back by me firstly, fine it happens because I wasn’t what she was expecting, with my name and I show up in a headscarf.

but the questions, not only were they pretty inappropriate but also steeped in judgment. I was shocked. I could tell that she wasn’t necessarily being malicious or even hateful, but she clearly had a very pre conceived notion about my motivations and my choices. Ie several questions about my husband and how he made me convert, or as she said ‘become Islamic’, lots on clothing and how she often feels sorry for a lot of Muslim women.

truthfully MN, is this a thing? Deep down are these thoughts people have but maybe don’t voice.

in general even at work I do have questions asked but they are more diplomatically phrased- so now I’m wondering am I actually being judged/ pitied?

Correct.

And that is a massive problem in our society and in other comparable countries. Particularly France. In a free, secular, democratic society which is governed by laws not religious edicts we should be able to criticise ALL religions. And the fact that we can’t raises profound questions about how Islam & secular democracy can co-exist in the long term.

How is Judaism part of our cultural heritage? Jews have been horrible persecuted and othered by Europeans for the vast majority of history. This notion of a judeochristian tradition obscures how terrible Christians have been to Jews throughout history

100% this.

This thread is something else… Don’t people ever go to Turkey, where 90% of population is Muslim?.. Islam is not all about polygyny and honor killings, ffs.

Ahh the blood purity thing again.

Dailymail said the same about jewish people in the 1920s BTW. Hence they didn't let more jewish people into uk when the nazis were putting them into concentration camps! Many people in my synagogue were the children who were allowed into the uk and their parents died cos they couldn't come over.

No, because I can't see how one religion is essentially much different from the others.

The women in Iran are fighting for the freedom to choose what they wear. They wouldn’t want to take away another woman’s autonomy to express her religion however she chooses.

Don't try and dress up your Islamophobia as feminism.

A Muslim man can marry a woman of the book.
If a Muslim woman wants to marry a Christian man he would have to convert to Islam.
I'm curious as to why this might be. I don't suppose you happen to know?

This^

Yep been once, horrible place felt very unsafe around men. Literally every Muslim country I have ever visited I have felt unsafe as a western woman.

I'd assume you were doing it to please some man, but I wouldn't ask intrusive questions about it. Your beautician was very rude.

I'm an equal opportunities judger of women-hating religions. I have opinions about how Catholicism treats women too, but somehow Catholiphobia isn't a thing. Funny that.

What a load of shite! It’s literally one of the most popular holiday destinations

@Eastie77Returns

"The Islamaphobia on this thread is wild. It would not be acceptable to make these kinds of comments about any other religion."

That's not true though is it. Christianity gets a proper bashing in our country and is the subject of great irreverence. Christianity is also the most persecuted religion in the world, not least in Islamic countries. For clarity, I belong to no religion. They are all without fail a patriarchal construct which serve the best interests of men.

Yes

I do yes because it's a deeply misogynistic religion which treats a woman's word as half that of a man and encourages women to cover their bodies to extreme lengths to hide their bodies.

I have Muslim born friends and all wish they had been born into another religion yet feel they cannot convert or even drop their outward symbolism of faith because they would be shunned by family and friends, so sad.

You do know that is all religions though, right? They were all created by men so they all inherently subjugate women.

Yeah, going to Turkey 30 years ago filled me with revulsion for how the rural Turks treated women - literally no better than animals - and made me very critical of both Islam and Turkish men.

I wouldn't even give it a second thought. I'm an atheist and don't really understand how anyone can believe in any type of religion but I wouldn't give it any headspace at all.

You do know there's a major difference in law between Islam and all other major religions, right?

@UnfriendMe hence the popularity of atheism.

I'm an atheist and I really don't understand how someone can take on a new set of beliefs as and adult and decide that they'll believe in it. I especially don't understand women who convert to any religion which treats women as lesser than men, and Islam is very clear that women are not equal to men.

When I went there, which admittedly was over 20 years ago, it was very noticeable to me that I was the only woman walking about, or out anywhere, at night in the village where we briefly stayed.

Religions change with time too.

My rabbi is a woman and my denomination supported gay marriage when there was a bull for equal marriage in the uk so not sure why you would assume that of all religious people..

Islam hasn't undergone the same progressive revolution as Christianity and judaism on the same wide scale (reform Judaism is the majority in the usa and 30% in the UK, plus most british jews are traditonal rather than orthodox) but there is no reason to think that it couldn't happen in future and it probably does exist in some small pockets.

As a Muslim woman I find some of the comments on this thread so highly offensive. Mumsnet feminists really do only serve the white middle class.
OP you have your answer from this thread. And like me you might be saying goodbye to this judgemental, prejudiced, ignorant forum. Disappointed.