Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (Nagishkaw @ Jun 7 2008, 10:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Maybe you can hire a pet sitter? I can't even imagine how much that will cost. Remember, we're two unemployed ppl right now lol I wonder how me losing my job is gonna affect us removing the conditions if I don't get a new job? Does he have to be sponsored again?	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 21:39:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (Badrs Love @ Jun 7 2008, 10:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm home sick today. Oh I'm sorry ur sick! I hate being sick too! I hope u feel better soon! Suck on some lemon slices! It's horribly sour but I swear it will help your throat!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 21:33:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (charlesandnessa @ Jun 7 2008, 04:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Olivia* @ Jun 7 2008, 03:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> While it looks unique I've often wondered what petting a hairless cat felt like. no static electricity My cats don't electrocute me when they have hair.... Speaking of kitties.... I have to figure out what I'm gonna do with mine when I go to Houston! I can take them with me but the hotel wants $75 non refundable deposit (well $25 per week but not to exceed $75) and they only allow one... I have two I'm trying to find someone who can keep them here until we come back from our stuff after we get an apt or house but so far no luck	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 21:24:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (amal @ Jun 7 2008, 03:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Mr. Bob is gonna get shaved and Mrs. Ivory may possibly follow suit. Poor kitties.... I hope they don't go outside	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 14:42:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (palilover @ Jun 7 2008, 01:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The amount of people on the trains here is obnoxious:) Sounds like the buses here lately. Before I lost my job, a lot of ppl had bought bus passes and starting riding it to work instead of driving.... I bet there are more now too. My husband and I were going to sell the small car and just drive the van down to Houston but my mom was like "OH NO U DONT!!!" LOL so we reconsidered and thought it'd be better to just pull the car down there so we'll have it to run around town because it really is good on gas. I can fill it up and run around town for at least 2 weeks... another week or two if I only go where I need to. The van, on the other hand, I put a half a tank the other week and drove an hour to mom mom's house and it was almost on E again We have to pay $160 to have a hitch installed on the van and another $174 to rent a tow dolly to pull the car but in the long run it'll be worth it to have the small car down there. QUOTE (amal @ Jun 7 2008, 01:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm sure my cats have an idea that I have something up my sleeves What r u doing to the kitties?	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 12:59:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (ME~n~HIM @ Jun 7 2008, 01:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's 91 here, but feels like 98 and we have 51% humidity IT'S HOT!!! In other news, gas prices are outta control! Shopped around a little, did the gasbuddy.com thing, ended up what "appeared" to be cheapest w/o traveling 15 miles was 3.79 - got there, it was 3.89! Went across the street where it was 3.82, went in to pay and she said "it's jumping to 4.02 any second now. I left $60 cash and said "I'll be back for change". Before I turned on the pump, the sign changed to 4.02, but my pump button I had to push still registered 3.82... $60 to fill my Toyota Camry!!!!! Sheesh! This is really getting ridiculous. Um........ have a good Saturday.... yeah, ok. It's HOT and it cost way too much to go anywhere! Hole my garsh!!!!! $4.02? It's $3.94 near my house I remember when I used to be able to fill my toyota carolla with $12.... I haven't even filled it up in I can't remember how long. And I don't even drive the van! I'm not looking forward to the $400-$500 in gas it's going to take to drive to Houston either!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 12:40:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (tammy2688 @ Jun 7 2008, 01:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (aj1 @ Jun 7 2008, 05:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Goodmorning everyone. Its nice, and sunny outside its going to be 90 today. I am going to start doing some organizing in here today, then later i am going to my cousins graduation party so it will be a nice day. I am going to church tomorrow so i am going to be saying many prayers that this will be a good week for all of you that need to here some really good news. I wish everyone a blessed, and beautiful day! Enjoy AJ1 90 here too babe! Thanks for the prayers! It's 92 here but weather.com says it feels like 95.... it's HOT!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 12:23:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (amal @ Jun 7 2008, 10:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> 4 donuts and a real coke later Me hopes the walls are padded coz ur gonna be BOUNCING OFF THEM!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 10:00:00
Middle East and North Africa	Caturday!	QUOTE (charlesandnessa @ Jun 7 2008, 12:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> don't ya'll ever sleep? No. lol I stole this from another thread You can almost hear them at the end, in their best Cartman voice, saying "Screw you guys! I'm going home!!" Edited by Alhamdulillah, 07 June 2008 - 01:51 AM.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-07 01:49:00
Middle East and North Africa	And another Sunday has come	QUOTE (milo75 @ Jun 8 2008, 09:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Happy Sunday everyone... I have a question about the shaved cats from earlier this week - figured I wouldn't dig out the other topics thinking amal and jackie maybe around... Umm, I've never had my cats groomed/clipped for the summer. They are short-mid hair legnth cats. Never even contemplated it before. They seem ok, even in today's heat. What are the benefits of shaving the cats? Since they are older [10 and 7], I'm thinking even bringing it up at this point may be a little traumatic for them but if it makes them more comfy... I don't know - I'm just a little confused. I've teased Amal to death about this but now I'm starting to think about doing the same thing to mine. Both of mine are medium/long haired.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-08 20:30:00
Middle East and North Africa	Arabic satellite	QUOTE (AlHayatZween @ Jun 9 2008, 12:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> i don't even know what the Dish Network is, maybe it is a west coast thing? i am in New York. i am wondering if anyone on the east coast has the Arabic channels listed on the Direct TV program? they don't look very good to me... no Al Jazeera, which is the one we would want, along with the soaps. do most of you watch online? is that how you are getting Arabic tv? interested in knowing... thanks!! hz No, I'm on the east coast! NC.... I didn't know Direct TV even had Arabic channels... must be something new but after looking at their line up it doesn't seem very impressive. Dish Networks Arabic line up is much better but they moved all the channels this year and I don't have a clue where they are.... maybe they canceled them.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-09 12:00:00
Middle East and North Africa	Arabic satellite	No one knows where the new Arabic channels are on Dish network?	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-09 11:42:00
Middle East and North Africa	Arabic satellite	Anyone know which channels dish network moved the arabic stations to?	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-06 10:42:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY MONDAY	QUOTE (warriorprincess @ Jun 9 2008, 06:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's Monday. I hate Mondays. Hope yours was good though. I used to hate mondays too.... now that I'm not working they're not so bad	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-09 18:30:00
Middle East and North Africa	Welcome to the world Joshua-our newest MENA baby	Congratulations!!!! Enjoy your new blessing!!!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-04 12:02:00
Middle East and North Africa	So does it really suck when they get here or what?	I've asked to go to counselling but he's not interested. At this point I don't blame him for not wanting to talk or try to work it out. I didn't treat him really well since he got here. OH! One more piece of advise..... LEAVE RAPLEAF ALONE!!!!! And other such things.... Don't let suspicion drive you crazy and make you nuts.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-03 14:47:00
Middle East and North Africa	So does it really suck when they get here or what?	Well, I haven't read all 26 pages of this and I don't plan on it. I do hope that I'm not one of the ones who scared you. My husband and I have had problems and are separated now, probably will get divorced too but (and I hate admitting this) it really wasn't all his fault. my thoughts to you would be, when he gets here just show him you love him as often as you can and reassure him that you're there for him. This will be a difficult adjustment for him most likely. Remember that he left his family, friends and everything he knows behind him just to be with you here. Be patient..... that's probably the most important one right there. Also, try to remember that he's a man you've married and not a child you've adopted. I have seen some (s)mothering types on here and I am one of them. MENA men especially don't care for that from my experience. Also, if you've had bad experiences with men in the past, try not to punish him for it. Try to keep in mind that he can't help the position that he's in once he's here and waiting for his GC (or looking for a job after he gets it). Just try to support his decisions even if they seem a little whacky to you. Don't talk a lot when you're angry.... you will most likely regret anything you say out of anger... I do. I could go on and on giving you advice while looking back on my own mistakes but, again, the most important thing is just to be patient.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-03 14:02:00
Middle East and North Africa	some good news to share	Congrats!!!!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 22:33:00
Middle East and North Africa	MENA: Great download if you pray regularly and for new MENA husbands	I have this one on my main PC and this one on my blackberry.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 23:59:00
Middle East and North Africa	APPROVED!!!	Mabrookalations!!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-11 00:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (chaishai @ Jun 10 2008, 10:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Alhamdulillah @ Jun 10 2008, 09:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (julianna @ Jun 10 2008, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Did I tell you about how I went over there and they all sat around and quite casually discussed whether I was thinner (yes) or fatter (no) than when we first met? I was so appalled! It was like 30 minutes or an hour of this conversation, and about 30 of them were involved. QUOTE (julianna @ Jun 10 2008, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Any tips for entertaining family? Ummmmm with a glass full of laxative-laden tea! see my MIL and SILs would be happy with that, will make them lose more weight so they can win the thin thinner thinnest contest.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 21:29:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (julianna @ Jun 10 2008, 09:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Alhamdulillah @ Jun 10 2008, 08:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ummmmm with a glass full of laxative-laden tea! Well, I am pretty sure that would go over well It's normal (that conversation), I've seen them do it to eachother (in Arabic). Doesn't make it less rude. But I guess if it's your weight and you don't mind....	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 20:16:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (Nagishkaw @ Jun 10 2008, 09:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Alhamdulillah @ Jun 10 2008, 08:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (julianna @ Jun 10 2008, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Did I tell you about how I went over there and they all sat around and quite casually discussed whether I was thinner (yes) or fatter (no) than when we first met? I was so appalled! It was like 30 minutes or an hour of this conversation, and about 30 of them were involved. QUOTE (julianna @ Jun 10 2008, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Any tips for entertaining family? Ummmmm with a glass full of laxative-laden tea! well that's mean to sit and discuss her weight!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 20:14:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (julianna @ Jun 10 2008, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Did I tell you about how I went over there and they all sat around and quite casually discussed whether I was thinner (yes) or fatter (no) than when we first met? I was so appalled! It was like 30 minutes or an hour of this conversation, and about 30 of them were involved. QUOTE (julianna @ Jun 10 2008, 08:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Any tips for entertaining family? Ummmmm with a glass full of laxative-laden tea!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 20:11:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	OK, the Zohan was OK. I really like Adam Sandler too but that's all I can say for this one. There was too much sex in it for me. The kids asked if they can watch it and I told them I'd have to watch it first to see what it has in it..... the answer is a huge NO. I don't know if there was supposed to be a message or not but what I got was the Palestinians and Israelis would get along fine if greedy Americans weren't pitting them against one another	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 18:46:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (t and a @ Jun 10 2008, 07:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hey all, I hope you are doing well. My grandmother passed away last night so I have been a little torn today. We will miss her deeply but are so blessed that we had her in our lives as long as we did and that God took her before she suffered any more than she did. Take care everybody! I'm sorry to hear about your loss	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 18:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	http://www.watch-mov...with_the_zohan/ This looks really stupid so far! Edited by Alhamdulillah, 10 June 2008 - 04:47 PM.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 16:46:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (Nagishkaw @ Jun 10 2008, 04:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I got mentioned twice. Becasue ur twice as sweet as the rest of us	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 16:22:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (amal @ Jun 10 2008, 02:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Nagishkaw @ Jun 10 2008, 01:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Alhamdulillah @ Jun 10 2008, 01:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (amal @ Jun 10 2008, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> happy Tuesday! my last day of my 2 day vacation. I still have work to get done and I don't wanna leave the house. Gotta return some stuff to Office Depot that didn't work in the office. FINALLY got groceries coz we didn't have time yesterday. AND finally gave in and decided to try a swiffer.... Let me just say WOW!! I dunno how it doesn't streak the floor when the dirt gets piled in the pad..but it works beautifully! I'm absolutely amazed at how well it cleaned and shined my floors! It was almost effortless too...I wish I would have just tried one sooner and saved myself all the hassle I've been thru.. up in the 100's today and HUMID as heck. I hate the summer...I hate opening my door and feeling like I just walked into an oven. I added a new pic of my old pharmacy to my siggy. I miss it soooooooooooo much. Both the awnings belong to the pharmacy. I WANNA GO HOME Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii everybody. I hope everybody has a wonderful day!! amal OMG my mom gave me a swiffer but it was broken so I ended up buying one and now I don't know how I ever mopped before it!! but I'm too cheap to keep buying the cleaner to go in it so I just mix my own and spray it on the floor before getting it up with the swiffer Whatever is gonna get the job done. I'm all for saving a buck. If fact, I still scrub floors on my hands and knees and only use water with Dawn soap ( it's non toxic ) . How cheap is that?? that is how i was doing it.. I actually got on my hands and knees after it dried and went over a few areas with a clorox wipe and it came up clean so this swiffer did just as good as hands and knees washing and wasn't near as hard and only took me 5 minutes when it usually takes me 30 manually... I am soooooooooo happeh! If my hubby ever came home to find me on my hands and knees cleaning ANYTHING he would swear aliens had abducted me! He wouldn't complain! Just wouldn't believe it was me	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 13:40:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (amal @ Jun 10 2008, 01:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> happy Tuesday! my last day of my 2 day vacation. I still have work to get done and I don't wanna leave the house. Gotta return some stuff to Office Depot that didn't work in the office. FINALLY got groceries coz we didn't have time yesterday. AND finally gave in and decided to try a swiffer.... Let me just say WOW!! I dunno how it doesn't streak the floor when the dirt gets piled in the pad..but it works beautifully! I'm absolutely amazed at how well it cleaned and shined my floors! It was almost effortless too...I wish I would have just tried one sooner and saved myself all the hassle I've been thru.. up in the 100's today and HUMID as heck. I hate the summer...I hate opening my door and feeling like I just walked into an oven. I added a new pic of my old pharmacy to my siggy. I miss it soooooooooooo much. Both the awnings belong to the pharmacy. I WANNA GO HOME Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii everybody. I hope everybody has a wonderful day!! amal OMG my mom gave me a swiffer but it was broken so I ended up buying one and now I don't know how I ever mopped before it!! but I'm too cheap to keep buying the cleaner to go in it so I just mix my own and spray it on the floor before getting it up with the swiffer	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 13:07:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (tammy2688 @ Jun 10 2008, 01:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Alhamdulillah @ Jun 10 2008, 12:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just called uhaul to make an appt to have the hitch installed on my van that I need to be able to pull my car to Houston. When I made the reservation they said the tow dolly would be $174 for 6 days and the hitch would be $160 installed so I was like "cool!" but now when I called to make the appt the man at the local uhaul store said it would be over $300 to have the hitch installed! I told him that's not what they told me when I made the reservation!!! He just said they don't know what all parts he has to put on the make the lights and stuff work So I told him to cancel it for now bcoz I don't know what we're going to do my hubby's got his bus ticket to leave Houston on Monday and we're supposed to get everything moved into storage and be on our way to Houston by the next week Ouch...thats a lot of $$ I feel even more broke just thinking about it. My move cost $450 for movers yuck. I really hope you get things worked out I just talked to my hubby and we agreed that we don't need to take the car right now. We can just take what little we can fit in the van and leave the car at my moms house until we come back to get our stuff out of storage and use the uhaul to pull the car down there then. That will save us $300 to buy and have a hitch installed on our van that we don't need more than once, plus wear and tear on our van to pull the car and we won't have to have the money to rent the tow dolly before we can leave! So we'll just need gas money, food money and hotel money to go	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 13:04:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	I just called uhaul to make an appt to have the hitch installed on my van that I need to be able to pull my car to Houston. When I made the reservation they said the tow dolly would be $174 for 6 days and the hitch would be $160 installed so I was like "cool!" but now when I called to make the appt the man at the local uhaul store said it would be over $300 to have the hitch installed! I told him that's not what they told me when I made the reservation!!! He just said they don't know what all parts he has to put on the make the lights and stuff work So I told him to cancel it for now bcoz I don't know what we're going to do my hubby's got his bus ticket to leave Houston on Monday and we're supposed to get everything moved into storage and be on our way to Houston by the next week	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 12:37:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	QUOTE (Olivia* @ Jun 10 2008, 11:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Morning Alhamdulillah. Morning Olivia.... is it still morning? lol I watched Horton Hears a Who with my kids last night and I'm just gonna say EVERYONE MUST WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! It was so funny LOL I couldn't figure out how to copy part of the movie as a short clip so I just used my camera to record it When we got to this part I almost fell off the bed! I kept skipping it back and watching it again and again and laughing my butt off..... my kids were like "Ummi, you're weird!" It might not be available yet..... ENJOY! Edited by Alhamdulillah, 10 June 2008 - 11:14 AM.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 11:13:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY TUESDAY!!	AJ1 congratulations!!!!!!!!!!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-10 10:50:00
Middle East and North Africa	Broken MENA families	QUOTE (nu7015 @ Jun 9 2008, 09:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This very thing almost destroyed my family. My husband and I both had fears of our own. Please don't forget that the MENA spouses have just as many fears as the US citizen. We went through a very rough time and we now look back and are thankful that we went through it because we trust each other much more deeply for having gone through that time. Letting go of fears can cause miracles to happen. We are living proof. If you are going through this very thing right now, know that others have made it through. We've gone through this same thing! You really can't live in fear and you have to either let it go or go your separate ways!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-09 20:47:00
Middle East and North Africa	Broken MENA families	Ameen!	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-09 20:40:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!	Well, I didn't get much packed today :sigh: I stopped by my friends shop on the way to the storage place to see about getting her to make me some floor length khimars out of a thin polyester material and ended up staying there for a long time. She didn't have the material I was looking for to make them for me and I don't feel like running around to fabric stores looking for it now but she said if I buy the material she'll sew me whatever I want Of course, when I was there she just happened to have two really nice (and thin and soft) overhead abayas that I fell in love with. The three I have are all kind of heavy and the sleeves are short so when I stretch my arm out they come up over my wrist and get stuck there. Also, they only come to just under my ankle and I've been saying I want something longer forever so these two she had just happened to be down to the ground and the sleeves are nice and long! Then she ended up giving me a pretty good deal to take both of them so I couldn't resist the temptation! I'm not really supposed to be spending my money right now!! Oh well...... Edited by Alhamdulillah, 11 June 2008 - 10:54 PM.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-11 22:53:00
Middle East and North Africa	HAPPY WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!	UGH I'm still packing and moving our stuff into storage! I'm getting aggrivated with our van too.... we've had it for like two months now and STILL haven't gotten our tag and title. Today I went to pick it up from the dealer because he told me he got it (for the 50th time) and to have the AC fixed but when I got there he said the AC has freon so it must have a short somewhere since it still doesn't work and he STILL doesn't have the tag!!! He said he lost the title and he's been trying to get it replace... why would he sell it before he got that worked out???? So if he doesn't have it by next week he said he'll buy it back from us and we can buy another one.... sigh..... I don't want to go thru all that so I really hope he gets the tag and fixes the AC so we can just be done with it already. It's hot here! I wanna go swimming!! OK, I'm off to get back to packing! Oh yeah and my baby will be back on Tuesday inshallah I can't wait! I feel like we're back again to waiting on the visa!!! Edited by Alhamdulillah, 11 June 2008 - 02:06 PM.	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-11 14:05:00
Middle East and North Africa	For MUSLIMS only - hadith, Quran, living the Sunnah, Islamic lifestyle discussion, ask Q's, give advice, stick to the topic!	QUOTE (April and Mohamed @ Jun 11 2008, 11:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Alhamdulillah @ Jun 9 2008, 04:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> QUOTE (Henia @ Jun 9 2008, 06:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> A big difference here in Algeria, is that outside of Alger you will not find so many masjids with areas for women to pray in. You find that sometimes in the US too but I have never been turned away from a masjid because of no "ladies room" personally. I have, however, gotten my husband strange looks because I sneak into the back of the men's section when I'm the only woman in the "ladies room" because I want to be part of the actual prayer and not stuck behind a wall LOL. I've also gotten some stares when I lift the curtain so I can see the men from the women's section LOL (to follow the prayer not to stare at the men ) Yeah me too, one time for a Saturday prayer or something with not much traffic I was the only woman and probably like 20 men, and I was already at the masjid for a class they held for new Muslims, so when it was time to pray I was going to go upstairs to the women's area but my teacher (the cutest little Egyptian man I've ever known, I wanted to adopt him as my uncle or something) told me that I can pray behind them in the men's hall, and most of the people there are very conservative so I was like okay so I prayed in the corner behind the men and when everyone was done and they all saw me behind them I guess a bunch of men got upset and wanted to say something and my teacher Sarwat told me later when we went back into the classroom that they were grumbling about me praying behind them and he told them that it is halal and Islamic and that the Prophet saws didn't separate the women in another room and he basically told them to go take a hike! I was SO surprised and happy that he defended me like that! Plus the women's section is so far away I mean I could be assaulted or something, it's not the safest place. I HATED it when the women would all talk during the khotba because I wanted to hear what the imam was saying and they were all gossiping in Arabic or Urdu and I wanted to go complain to the mosque director that they let women sit behind the men for any women that choose to and the women that choose to stay in the balcony are free to do that too, but I sort of lost interest altogether and stopped going. I guess I'll take up that fight when we move back insha'Allah because I REALLY hate the separate rooms/balconies. And I seriously believe that if there weren't the balconies but if all the women were behind the men, that they wouldn't be talking because everyone else would hear them so they wouldn't dare. It's like they're treating us like children, so it's no surprise that we're behaving like children. Treat us like mature responsible pious women and we'll live up to that expectation. I myself am of the opinion that the whole separate room with speakers or TV is bid3a and should be avoided. I just don't understand why people need to constantly reinvent the wheel!!!!! I can kind of understand having a "women's section" separate from the men because of how the women hang out there after the prayer (the Sunnah is for the men to wait a few moments after the prayer and the women to get up immediately and leave) but I don't understand why the imams and shaykhs would rather just cut us off from the prayer than to take the time to explain to the women about the Sunnah and encourage us to act in the same way as the sahabiyyat. I won't pray by myself in the women's section because the hadith says that u should see the imam or someone who is following the imam and if I'm stuck behind the wall by myself, well, I can't see anything! Also, me being a non-Arabic speaking/understanding muslimah, I don't know if they're reciting a verse of prostration when the imam says "Allahu Akbr" and I could easily get away from the prayer with that misunderstanding, no? Also, what if I come in after the prayer has started and I can't see anyone who's praying.... how do I know which raka' they're in?? I used to just pray in the women's section and complain to my hubby about it at home but he agrees with me and asked me why don't I come in the room at the back where the men are praying. I told him because it's taboo here and I didn't want to embarass him.... he said I would never embarass him by doing the right thing and that I should only worry about my prayer and not about bothering him. I don't mind praying in the women's section if the men's section is full or as long as there are other women praying there with me, I just don't like to be in there alone. I also don't mind the fact that there is a women's section for lectures and classes etc but that's not how things were done in the prophet's (sal allahu alayhi wa salaam) time.... but there is a hadith from 'Aisha where she said if the prophet (sal allahu alayhi wa salaam) saw what the women were doing at the masjid after he died that he would have forbidden them to go to the masjid so I think we need to check ourselves and our own actions. Some older women will go into the men's section to pray (which is fine) but they will make a lot of noise and talk in high voices while on their way there and back and this is distracting to the men who are praying AND it's against the Sunnah so, because of this, I can kind of understand why they make us go in our own room lol. Also, at one of the masjids I go to, there is a separate room but there's only a curtain that divides the room. When I'm there by myself or the other women with me are like-minded, we lift that curtain so we can see the men praying to keep in accordance with the command to follow the imam or someone who's following the imam BUT there are women who come there from time to time who get mad if u lift that curtain up and they act like they've never seen a man before! So a lot of time it's not necessarily the MEN who got the idea to put those walls/curtains there but was actually thought up by women who want to hide behind them. Then on Fridays they sit behind that curtain talking and playing around instead of paying attn to the khutbah because the khateeb can't see them to tell them to stop I feel like this, we wear hijab when we go out and the prophet (sal allahu alayhi wa salaam) allowed us to go to the masajid but there are rules that we're supposed to be following when we're there as well. As long as I'm wearing my hijab then I'm properly screened and free to move about as I need.... even in the masjid Some women just need to be reminded that modesty includes outer hijab but doesn't stop there! (I've had to get on niqabis before because some of them also think just because they're covered up with extra clothes means they are modest but they're talking loudly and laughing out loud and the like... some of the loudest sisters at the eid prayer are the niqabis subhanallah)	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-11 13:54:00
Middle East and North Africa	For MUSLIMS only - hadith, Quran, living the Sunnah, Islamic lifestyle discussion, ask Q's, give advice, stick to the topic!	QUOTE (Henia @ Jun 9 2008, 06:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> A big difference here in Algeria, is that outside of Alger you will not find so many masjids with areas for women to pray in. You find that sometimes in the US too but I have never been turned away from a masjid because of no "ladies room" personally. I have, however, gotten my husband strange looks because I sneak into the back of the men's section when I'm the only woman in the "ladies room" because I want to be part of the actual prayer and not stuck behind a wall LOL. I've also gotten some stares when I lift the curtain so I can see the men from the women's section LOL (to follow the prayer not to stare at the men )	Alhamdulillah	Female	Libya	2008-06-09 11:54:00