the primary reason we went to england was for a wedding. it was held in derby, a few hours to the north near nottingham. unless the m25 is a mess on a friday afternoon, in which case it takes five hours. a very long five hours.
you see, what they call an eight seater passenger van in england is not exactly what we have in mind in north america. the vauxhall rental van gave tiny a whole new meaning. in north america consumer demand is all about power and size for safety. in england it's about fuel prices and space. the english system makes far more sense from an environmental perspective, although i wouldn't really want to see the results of an accident between a british and american automobile. this isn't such a concern in england as their transports are also pint sized.
outside the derby islamic centre was a lovely sign that warned us that we should mind our car speed due to the presence of elderly people. that's one of the cutest signs i've ever seen.
leading our wedding party to the hall were dhol players. those drums are impressively loud, as evinced by the earplugs the dhol players wore.
finally, i noticed in england that many muslims are very fashionable (yes, even outside of the gaudy spectacle that is harrod's). check out the christian dior hijab worn by the henna lady during the mendhi. i call this look 'fashionably conservative'.
while i'm not a fan of hijabs, i have even more dislike for the contradiction of displaying designer label modesty.
it's funny, though, that in some of the muslim communities the women take it upon themselves to wear hijabs. i've heard of innumerable instances of these 'fashionable fundies' (i can't take credit for that one, it's a term one of my muslim relatives came up with) looking down their noses at other women who don't wear the hijab. as an aside, another muslim slang i heard for women who wore the burka to the wedding is "ninja", as in "there's the fundies and ninjas standing outside on the hill looking down on everyone inside bhangra dancing." for anyone who thinks a muslim is a muslim is a muslim, clearly they have not been to a muslim social event. there is definitely some social divide based on degree of conservativism. everything from prayer five times daily to the occasional raising of the wrist.
but back to the hijab. there are two levels of hijab superiority: 1) women who wear the hijab (hijabis) over those who don't, and 2) the brand name of your hijab.
i can see the dior advert now: there is a breeze and a dark coloured backdrop. the camera follows the flowing tip of a scarf along until it reaches the top of someone's head. camera pans out, revealing the stunningly beautiful hibaji. a breathless voice queries "are you fashionably conservative? dior."
outside of my little rant there i had an excellent time. my muslim in-laws are terrific people, and superb hosts (anyone who caters to a pain in the ass vegan is a superb host, in my books). while i'm glad i don't live directly in a strong muslim community (or any close-knit social community, for that matter), i look forward to making it back to derby and the surrounding area some day.
{November 17, 2004 02:26 PM}