enitharmon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
enitharmon) wrote2006-01-19 05:46 pm
enitharmon) wrote2006-01-19 05:46 pm
Supporting Independence
I needed a tub of emulsifying ointment (it makes great moisturiser; it's what keeps me young-looking and a 500g tub costs £3.50 lasts a year!) So, mindful of my New Year resolution, instead of going to Boots I went instead to my local independent pharmacy, Saood on Oxford Road.
Saood is run by a Muslim man who dresses in full Muslim garb and goes to the mosque on a Friday. He's a very nice Muslim man. I often see him out on the street and he never fails to smile and say hello. There's also a woman I assume to be his wife. She is English and white, and has adopted the Muslim dress including headscarf. She is also very pleasant. I have never had any complaints about the shop, the service is always friendly and courteous.
I do get queasy about one thing though. One corner of the shop, by the door, is dedicated to a selection of Muslim literature. I had a browse through some of this, especially as it related to women. It is depressing and it is scary. One book is called "Why Most Women Will Go To Hell". Another tells how women like "English ways", which are of course immoral and corrupt. So they must be protected by being given a proper Muslim education and kept isolated from the depraved English.
In this country we recognise the right of all people to free association. We also recognise the right to believe what you want, not what you are told to. If some people don't like that, they don't have to stay here.
Saood is run by a Muslim man who dresses in full Muslim garb and goes to the mosque on a Friday. He's a very nice Muslim man. I often see him out on the street and he never fails to smile and say hello. There's also a woman I assume to be his wife. She is English and white, and has adopted the Muslim dress including headscarf. She is also very pleasant. I have never had any complaints about the shop, the service is always friendly and courteous.
I do get queasy about one thing though. One corner of the shop, by the door, is dedicated to a selection of Muslim literature. I had a browse through some of this, especially as it related to women. It is depressing and it is scary. One book is called "Why Most Women Will Go To Hell". Another tells how women like "English ways", which are of course immoral and corrupt. So they must be protected by being given a proper Muslim education and kept isolated from the depraved English.
In this country we recognise the right of all people to free association. We also recognise the right to believe what you want, not what you are told to. If some people don't like that, they don't have to stay here.