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Africa North
Tunisian Official Criticizes Muslim Attire
2005-12-30
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) - Tunisia's religious affairs minister has criticized Muslim women's practice of wearing head scarves, saying it does not fit with the North African country's cultural heritage. Aboubaker Akhzouri said the government of the moderate Muslim country also rejects Muslim tunics like those worn in Persian Gulf states and the practice of men wearing long beards.

"It's regrettable that we don't respect our specificity," he was quoted as saying in Assabah newspaper on Wednesday. He said the head scarf is "foreign" and "an intrusion," and recommended a traditional Tunisian Islamic tunic known as the jebbah.
So everyone has the freedom to dress ... they way they're told.
Under a 1981 government order, Muslim head scarves are banned in Tunisian government offices and public schools, though the rule is not always applied rigorously. Some non-governmental groups have criticized the rule as a violation of Tunisians' civil rights.

Akhzouri denied that increasingly more Muslim women are turning to the head scarf. "On the contrary, the phenomenon is in decline ... progressively fading away," he said.

Tunisia, a nation of 10 million people wedged between Libya and Algeria, is considered a stalwart ally of the West and has been cracking down on Islamic militants for years.
It's also a one-party dictatorship, lest we forget.
It also actively promotes gender equality. Tunisian women enjoy rights denied in many other Arab countries, and nearly 54 percent of its university students are female.
Posted by:Steve White

#9  1982, I had just walked out of the Sstate House in San Francisco, a 300+ lb man walked by wearing a pink tutu.

well, as long as they don't wear white after Labor Day
Posted by: Frank G   2005-12-30 20:28  

#8  1982, I had just walked out of the Sstate House in San Francisco, a 300+ lb man walked by wearing a pink tutu.
Posted by: Glomble Phineck7920   2005-12-30 18:18  

#7  Try walking around San Francisco for the true fruits & nuts scenes - even Oakland can occasionally be weird.

The first time I saw a hairy chested man wearing a summer dress I almost did something very politically incorrect.

Then there was the time a guy strolling across a parking lot just squatted down in the middle beside a car and took a nature break then got back up and continued walking like it was his god-given right.

I could tell you stories that would curl your hair...
Posted by: FOTSGreg   2005-12-30 17:01  

#6  I was standing out front, smoking my pipe and cursing, when what to my wondering eyes did appear but one of the locals out for a stroll in complete Moorish attire, complete with curly-toed slippers

I've had s**t like that too.

Posted by: Leon Clavin   2005-12-30 07:21  

#5  interesting.
when in Rome....
Posted by: Jan   2005-12-30 01:44  

#4  You're right about that. It was with an insurance company. With actuaries.

Accountants keep actuaries around to make them look interesting and witty.
Posted by: Fred   2005-12-30 00:40  

#3  I did a job in downtown Baltimore one time.That was a mistake. So was the last 7 years I spent in DC.
Posted by: Florida Gators (DragonFly)   2005-12-30 00:36  

#2  I did a job in downtown Baltimore one time. I always try to avoid that, because of the bums, but it was that or commute to someplace 42 miles south of Hell, and I wanted to save gas.

One of the sights you sometimes see in any major U.S. city is people who dress funny. I was standing out front, smoking my pipe and cursing, when what to my wondering eyes did appear but one of the locals out for a stroll in complete Moorish attire, complete with curly-toed slippers. He looked like he had his camel parked out back, and he was clearly looking for his scimitar. I went back inside then, because the other reason I try to avoid working downtown is the nuts, and this guy was rolling his eyes and having a conversation with himself.

But I can sympathize with the Tunisians criticizing people who dress funny. Sometimes there's something not quite right about them.
Posted by: Fred   2005-12-30 00:33  

#1  As an American, I was well received by everyday people. Spent my spare time smoking the hooka, drinking coffee with people who's first question was: "where are you from." When I answered, "America" I was treated like a king.

Then there was the dodgy guest house I stayed in where it seemed everyone I had never met knew I was from America. They did not seem so pleased.

Oh...what was I going to say? ...You cannot be critical of Islam. That will get you A) a trip to the big house or B) a ticket home. I always assumed it was option A.
Posted by: Florida Gators (DragonFly)   2005-12-30 00:15  

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