Quote:
Originally Posted by abaya
Well, I picked "Christian" in the thread title because I figured it was the question that most people had been asked at some point (in North America)--but as I said in the OP, the original question to my husband was, "Are you Muslim?"--because he "looked" like one, I guess.
So when you get asked, "Are you Jewish?" are you surprised? Or is it pretty normal?
Ktsp and I just returned from another trip to the gym with our married friends (who are ethnically Pakistani, and ethno-religiously Muslim--but born and raised in Norway and NYC, respectively)--and it turns out that the same guy had asked them the same questions recently, and that he works at the gym and cleans there. I don't know if he just singles out all of us brown people to ask this question, or what... but we were all chuckling a bit about it. (Our friends are semi-practicing Muslims, but still not terribly serious about their religion--they don't eat pork, but we get drunk together regularly.  ) So now we know to watch out for this guy, I guess. My Pakistani-Norwegian friend says that it happens in Norway all the time, even though he grew up there and considers himself to be Norwegian--he gets asked "Where are you from?" all over the place, sometimes followed by the "Are you Muslim?" bit. I guess he's more used to it than us, coming from the US and Lebanon. |
Hmm..maybe that guy finds comfort in shared similarities. So for this guy, he has nothing else to go on but "looks" so he takes guesses and stabs in the dark to find/meet people he can identify with. Ask him where he's from the next time you guys see him, especially since you are watching out for him which is a lovely thing to do. Ask him if he's Muslim and if he attends a local mosque (if there's one nearby) or maybe even recommend one to him.
It's like when I run into Americans abroad and they're like, "Oh my God, you speak English!" and the look on their faces is priceless. The relief of meeting another person from home in a strange land is comforting for some.
It is not uncommon for people to ask "Where are you from?", especially in homogeneous societies. So a Pakistani guy will stick out like a sore thumb in Morway I would imagine. I get that ALL THE TIME *chuckle*, even here in the US. Usually followed by "Wow, you speak good English". However, I am a very patient and understanding person so I try to use it as an opportunity to educate people regardless of how annoying it can be. The Middle East was very interesting because they refused to believe I was American even when I showed them my passport. It was very frustrating but I held my temper and tried my best to educate these poor people.