The follow are just some of the observations I’ve made over the years, and I think it’ll be a great preparation for those who have yet to visit Egypt :). I think you guys who come to Masr regularly will agree:
1. “Is this Halal or Haram?”
Anyone who asks a fiqh question will start off by saying “I heard so and so…” and then follow it up with “Is this halal or is it haram?”
It could be the most indepth question, but in the end “howa dah halal wala haram?”
2. Everyone is a “scholar” on T.V.
Believe it or not most Egyptians enjoy watching religious programming on T.V. Usually the people will call in the show, ask their “Is this halal or haram” question and you will have the sheiookh answer the question. The problem? The problem lies when there are TOO many of these shows on, and a VARIETY of different views and the people at home watching listen attentively for the rulings and make up their mind by the random sheikh or sheikha on T.V.
3. If you see graffiti you have to remember Allah.
The weirdest thing about graffiti on the walls in Egypt is that most of them are deen reminders. So you’ll see things spray painted on walls that say “Ithkur Allah- remember Allah” or you’ll see “La illaha il Allah” and anything else that if you read and repeat will give you good deeds. Someone should tell them that spray painting good things on other people’s property doesn’t make it right.
(Allahu Akbar spray-painted on thing construction site thingy in Alexandria)
4. There is always urine, stool, vomit or spit on any street or sidewalk.
It’s bad enough when you actually catch a hobo do it in public and you run away from disturbance. But when you’re randomly taking your walks on the beach (cournaish) and you can’t enjoy the scenery of the ocean because you have to look to where you are walking for fear of stepping on something disgusting… it’s a problem.
(Believe it or not i ACTUALLY had a picture for this, but decided to be kind to my readers and not post it up. Haha.)
5. There is always just this “one sheikh of al-Azhar”
Anytime you try to tell someone the evidence behind why something is wrong, they will always reply, “But the sheikh of al-Azhar said so and so.” If you ask them the name of that “one sheikh” they can never tell you.
6. You will always see sunflower seeds or any other type of seeds on the ground.
It doesn’t matter where you are. You know you’re in Egypt when there is “lib” all over the streets.
7. Every man in Egypt has the same B.O. smell.
One of the first signs you’re in Egypt is when you step off the plane and smell that wonderful Egyptian B.O.
I’m guessing because everyone pretty much eats “fool and taymiyyah” every day that’s why their sweat all smells the same. InshaAllah one of my goals is to raise national awareness of deodorant here in Masr… put my PR skills to work.
8. The masajid can be normal buildings but the minaret has to be absolutely beautiful.
MashaAllah one of the most amazing things to look at is the skyline. Because towering above all the buildings are the minarets of the masajid. But when you look at the masjid itself, most of the times it’s just a normal building. Pretty cool.
9. Some of the best Quran reciters are here.
There are too many amazing voices here to count. MashaAllah, if you want to pray in jamma3ah you can be assured that at least one of the masajid on your street has an amazing qari.
10. Honk if you feel like it.
Everyone who drives in Egypt honks for no reason. If you’re stuck in traffic, people will honk and hold for 10 seconds and think that that will actually make a difference in the cars moving.
Someone once told me that honking in Egypt in like a language, you can say “sabah el-khair (good morning)” and “Go to hell” all by honking. Haha.
11. One person per square inch.
Especially in summer time, Egypt is CROWDED. Whether you are in Cairo or Alexandria get ready to see oceans of people who apparently never go to sleep. My cousin’s friend’s mom, came to visit them in Alexandria during Eid (she happened to be Palestinian). Her reaction to the crowd of people in the streets was, “Yowm Al-Hashr… Egyptians are ready.”
12. Every taxi is unique.
Taxi drivers LOVE to decorate their taxis to be differentiated from all the rest. You will see everything from skulls, girly stuffed bears, to lights and stickers all over the place. But one thing in common, is that a taxi will ALWAYS have something funny written on it (mostly things you can make fun of.)
Yesterday, I saw a bumper sticker that stated: “Of course I don’t have cash, I’m MARRIED.”
13. They’re not trying to commit suicide, they are just crossing the street.
Sometime I wonder if some of the people crossing the crazy streets here are TRYING to commit suicide. My heart drops every time a person does a James Bond move and crosses in front of our car. Sad thing is, they are really ABOUT to get hit! It’s not some thing that you have to get used to… it’s just that they are really about to die.
I will post pictures and videos soon, inshaAllah.
Stumble it!
July 18th, 2008 at 8:22 am
14. Women are constantly sexually harassed with unwanted advances and cat calls. Unfortunately in this so-called Muslim country such is the sad truth. More on this here.
July 18th, 2008 at 8:31 am
here is that link:
Almost half of Egyptian women harassed DAILY
and the link on Islamify.com
SOO true, subhanallah. I can’t tell you the number of times a day a girl gets harassed here.
What’s scary is when they follow you. That’s happened several times with me.
One time i got sooo angry I started yelling at the guy in English cuz i wasn’t thinking.. i was just so mad lol. The guy starts to walk backwards and says something like “whoa, what do you want … ok khalas, khalas im going” haha. at least it worked.
It’s gotten a lot less once i wore abayah, since it’s still rare here for a girl my age to wear abayah here in egypt. They assume you’re married or something.
But i was just mentioning this to someone. They were saying how in the US girls hardly get harassed in the streets, but in Egypt, a MUSLIM country they get harassed all the time.
I was thinking about this… and it’s really true. And this of course isn’t an excuse or justification. but one thing i think contributes to that is the fact that in American society people fornicate freely.. marriage or without marriage.
in places like Egypt, where a it’s extremely difficult for them to get married because of finances, and also because usually they get married late there.. they take it out on the poor girls in the street.
it’s horrible and sickening. but that’s the problem when people dont follow the sunnah. Weddings over there are thousands of dollars. and the cultural stance is that you have to have an apartment fully furnished before you get married.
anyway, guys on the streets here are animals. if you want to protect yourself wear abayah/niqaab. wallahi they harass you soooooo much less.
That’s the protection from Allah.
wallahu alem.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
lol at egypt…this post was awesome…so true
Being Muslim just by name does just as much damage to the ummah than the nonMuslim try to do…
may Allah guide all of us
My cousin got married at like 35 in Egypt, and that’s like getting married early where hes from
I told him that like the average age in our area on NJ is like 21-22 and he freaked out
July 18th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
There is great wisdom behind the ruling “no woman that believes in Allah and the Last Day should travel without a mahram” [Bukhari]
These vultures won’t do much when she is with her Mahram.
Regardless of how bad a Muslim country might be, Alhamdulillah we don’t see women being raped every 90seconds!
July 18th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Br. Taufique,
no one said anything about traveling at all. we’re talking about every single woman in egypt gets harassed. you don’t need a mahram to go walking down the street.
July 18th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
sometimes we need to work extra hard to keep our women safe…if that means to walk down the street with her, then so be it. there is too much Fasad everywhere and we always have to be on our toes for our own good.
We seek Allah’s protection…but there cases like some woman going to the corner store and getting picked up by men. Yah it’s impossible to be with her all the time, but we need to do as much as we can…i hope it’s clear now…
July 18th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
If i went to down the street ‘back home’ i’d want a mahram with me! This is the main reason why i don’t go there for me that there is no benefit and the men put you off big time.
I have to say here where i live it’s not necessary as people just don’t look, and if they do they won’t do anything as you just ignore them. Usually they leave you alone if you don’t look at them.
‘but one thing i think contributes to that is the fact that in American society people fornicate freely.. marriage or without marriage. In places like Egypt, where a it’s extremely difficult for them to get married because of finances, and also because usually they get married late there.. they take it out on the poor girls in the street’
This is one of the main reasons behind their perversion, if they just followed the sunnah it wouldn’t me this way, both have gone to extremes and ended up harming society in some way or another. Kinda sad i have to admit, may Allah guide them. Ameen.
PS. shirien c’mon there has to be some other good points to Egypt???
July 18th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
salam alikom i think the whole harrasment thing is because parents in egypt make it so difficult for people to get married and u have over have 75% of the country is less than 25 the funny thing is guys are geting harrassed by women alot more than i know its somes funny but its very true because unfortunetly families are asking for too much when it comes to marriage so u have aproblem that men and women are not geting married and i think not geting married affect women alot more than men anyhow this problem is really affecting the morality of the country in a way i know this is meant to be a light hearted post so no need for serious talk
salam alikom
July 18th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
10. Honk if you feel like it.
Everyone who drives in Egypt honks for no reason. If you’re stuck in traffic, people will honk and hold for 10 seconds and think that that will actually make a difference in the cars moving.
Someone once told me that honking in Egypt in like a language, you can say “sabah el-khair (good morning)” and “Go to hell” all by honking. Haha.
Umm actually … they honk if they want to make a right or left turn … they don’t use traffic signals … they don’t have traffic lights … they don’t even use their headlights … if they do … people think that you’re cursing them off!
SubhanAllah … I love America!
July 18th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
I guess sister Alima understood the point. It is very sad that in many Muslim countries women can’t even cross the street without being hit on.
I remember in a conference back in Texas, brothers were hitting on married women just because they thought the sister must be single! It’s outrageous and this is in a conference where people apparently came to learn Deen. When such perverted people are there in places where reminders are given, then what about the streets?
This is the state of the whole world and Muslim women need to look at things from a wider angle than get defensive when we say “please be with a Mahram as much as you can no matter how short the distance”.
But the whole problem is as everyone pointed out here -
a corrupt society where music,TV, papers, etc all call to zina; not being able to get married due to family pressure;
more importantly when Shari’ah is abolished people loose the fear and become corrupt. If these men were given a few whips (as seen fit by a righteous Judge) publicly for harrassing women, I don’t think any man would dare to repeat their actions…
July 19th, 2008 at 2:09 am
Alima,
sure this post is obviously not inclusive of everything you’ll find in egypt. these are just some things that you are bound to see when you get here
Melody,
Ok here is what i get from the honking lol:
1. beep anytime you come up to an intersection to let cars know you’re coming.
2. beep anytime someone tries to come close to your car since they pay no attention to lanes
3. beep if people are walking in front of your car on a small street and you want them to move out your way.
4. beep when you want service to come to your car
5. beep when you want to wave at someone
6. beep when you’re stuck in traffic- and hold beep for a couple of seconds
7. beep if you’re ticked off at all the other people beeping because they are stuck in traffic. lol (it’s true, i’m serious)
8. then there is the beep because you feel like it beep. when i took my cousin’s car in Marina, I was waiting a long time to do this beep, because i wanted to fit in.. it worked just fine. lol
those are the types of honking in egypt.
wallahu alem.
July 19th, 2008 at 2:26 am
Taufique, you know…. even when i was younger and we’d go out as a family to like a mall or something- including some of my male cousins, we’d still get harassed.
They just wait for a time when the girl is walking a little bit behind her male relative, then they harass her. they’re perverts, sure having a mahram walk with you lessens the chances, but it still happens.
I remember I was with my mom and 2 aunts once shopping here. i didnt go away from them at all.. but some guy waited until their attention was away to say something to me.. anyway i did what i always do and just ignored the guy.. but little did i know that like 1 hour later when i was getting in the car, this little piece of folded paper flew in my face!
my reaction was “What in the world was that!” i look at the paper open it.. and the same guy that said something 1 hour ago wrote his number on the paper, threw it in my face (with my family in the car) as we were driving off. i threw it right back out the window and closed it.
it’s enough to make you think “the nerve of these guys!!! ” they’ll do whatever they want.. they dont care who is around you or anything.
July 19th, 2008 at 3:43 am
yo, bring some of that #7 PR skills to Pakiland…we’d be unstoppable.
July 19th, 2008 at 4:54 am
Gumby … I love you <3
When I went to masr last, I stayed in Ar-Rehab … soo quiet there. We enjoyed it very much. Then when we went to visit Alex … ya rabb, it was gorgeous. Not a lot of honking there
It was worst by far in Cairo, bas, khayr inshaAllah. Ya’ni I live in the suburbs of NJ and its pretty quiet … I would equate my NJ as to that of Alex … but Cairo = NY
You should come visit NJ sometime … I’ll show you around the hood =)
July 19th, 2008 at 5:20 am
HK, haha I’ll take you up on that offer.. you’re getting used to the PR feild and after my media writing class we’ll be fully prepared to launch our “anti-stink” campaign. call me, we’ll talk ;).
Melody,
Alex is crazy in the summer though. Everyone comes to Alex. I definitely like it a lot better than masr. I was in Cairo a couple of days ago, and the heat was unbearable, even the wind is hot. I started to feel like i was floating haha.
hmm me come to NJ?
i really would love to see you and all the other sisters i know there (HK you’re one of them!) Perhaps when I visit my sister later this year inshaAllah we can make a stop in NJ .. then i can see your “hood.” 
July 19th, 2008 at 7:54 am
The one about graffiti to remind people about Allah is very interesting..
I reckon the end doesn’t justify the means…
July 19th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I loved this - so spot on - subhanAllah!
And I find sunglasses work pretty well with the whole harrasment thing- and believe me, if you walk even a bit away from your mahram, they will pounce. My hubby will be like “step by step - beside me” and “put your face down!” And I’ll be like - I was just about to trip over that pile of “lib!”
July 19th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
“I was just about to trip over that pile of “lib!””
Haha, I think I laughed out loud for 10 minutes after reading this!
July 19th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
the grafiti on the wall isnt to remind people of god, its to remind unbelievers (not muslims-christians) of the islam god, get it straight here, dont lie or be fooled
July 19th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Egypt’s very much like Pakistan.
Nice article.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
“the grafiti on the wall isnt to remind people of god, its to remind unbelievers (not muslims-christians) of the islam god, get it straight here, dont lie or be fooled”
“Wa illahuna wa illahukum Wahid, wa nahnu lahu muslimoon.” -our Ilah (God) and your Ilah (God) is One (i.e. Allah), and to Him we have submitted (as Muslims).
(I believe this is in surat Al-Ankaboot)
p.s. I resent being called a liar :).
July 20th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
YAY
Can’t wait 
August 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
asalaamu alaikum wa rahmetullahi,
also the way people call other people. the kissing sounds, and the “psspssss”
alex is beautiful mashallah.