opinions please

[mc'celts'fitz]

had a bit of an ordeal at lunchtime today..well ordeal is a bit of a strong word but im still fuming with anger at the whole situation...il start at the beginning

went to meet my friend for lunch today..she works in the local job and benefits centre..so as usual went up to reception was told that my friend was running a lil late but to take a seat and just wait....beside me was a woman wearing the muslim veil dressed in the whole muslim attire and she was giving of about the time she had to wait...to be honest this was the first time ever i had seen a muslim woman wearing the full works in this town/city. anyway i sat down next to a guy i knew i just talking to him about general things he noticed i was wearing my celtic tracksuit and asked what i thought our chances were tonight, i laughted and said im a hoops supporter so of course i see a win on the cards, he laughted and said spoken like a true celt.

he commented on the crucifix saying that his girlfriend had been looking one for ages but could never find one she likes, he asked were i got mine and i told him my mum got me it for my 18th birthday but wasnt sure were but i would find out and let him know...my mate finally arrived and i got up to leave with her....next thingout of nowhere the muslim woman who had been sitting a few seats down said ' you should be ashamed of yourself young lady' in all honesty i didnt think she was talking to me until i heard the guy i was talking to tell her to leave me be....i turned round to see what she was on about...i asked her to explain herself she went into a rant which went like this

' walking around town offending every other religion and culture and you not caring, first of all your tracksuit bottoms making sure everyone knows what religious orgin you are its a disgrace and second of all wearing that necklace offends cultures like mine and you should be ashamed'

i saw red to say the least i could see my friend nodding towards the exit but it was too late i had heard enough so i defended myself...i told the woman that my tracksuit bottoms had nothing to do with religion but had everything to do with the football team i support and it was narrowminded people like her that asscociate sectarism with football and then informed her that this city is 95% catholic so i really didnt need to label my religion as most people know what i am....i then told her that my crucifix had nothing to do with her and if it offended her thats her problem....thats like me going to the far east to a city full of muslim women and telling them to take of their veils as they were offending my religion...i would be killed right on the spot...if your guna come to this town/city/country then get use to seeing religious symbols such as this coz this is our culture it doesnt mean were trying to offend you.....i knew i had to walk away before i really said something out of turn but i did remember something that i thought she should know i told her that the crucifix shouldnt offend her coz even her religion believed jesus died on the cross...they dont believe he was the son of man but they believed he was one of the prophets and he died on the cross because of that and they celebrate that aswel!

i got outside and i could feel the anger boil in my blood my mate said i should have just walked away but i felt it was my right as a citizen of this city for 23 years my whole life that i could speak up i aint afraid of my religion are letting people know what i am.

do yous think i went too far? or was i right in what i did?

[hoopycutie88]

if you commented on her, it would be a criminal offence.

This kinda thing really annoys me!!! x

[Paul67]

You were right to do what you did in my opinion.

Basically what she was telling you was, that unless you were of her religion, you were offending everyone else.

You should have booted her in the fud.

[Daver]

Originally Posted by Paul67

You were right to do what you did in my opinion.

Basically what she was telling you was, that unless you were of her religion, you were offending everyone else.

You should have booted her in the fud.

A nice technical term that!

Agreed entirely, however.

[DuncanDisordrly]

you werent out of order...she was out of order. your reaction was logical and justified. im not "religious" myself but I respect peoples choice of belief which this woman obviously wasn't doing.

[jeannie960]

You were absolutely right........how dare she. If she had started that on me she would have got the surprise of her life as I'm obviously in the minority being as I was actually brought up a proddy This women showed that she was ignorant and narrow minded and it's quite frightening to think that there are fanatics like that around us.

you were right but i dont think she was getting at celtic tracksuit bottoms offending her i think she was maybe saying basically you shouldnt be wearing track suite you should be more woman like but thats those nut jobs for you eh

[Mizuno]

Oh! Lucky I wasn't there

You did exactly the right thing, well done.

[jeannie960]

Originally Posted by MickBhoy1888

you were right but i dont think she was getting at celtic tracksuit bottoms offending her i think she was maybe saying basically you shouldnt be wearing track suite you should be more woman like but thats those nut jobs for you eh

I don't really get that........don't they cover their legs?

[celticdaftdan]

You were quite right to do so, i would have told her where to go right there and then lol.

[antokerr1888]

fair play to you for walking away,i would have said something to her.you handled the situation very well

[zmcfc]

She was out of order..

tbh, she was just looking for a reason to argue, because Jesus Christ and Mary are two of the highest regarded prophets in Islam..

stupid hypocrite, she doesn't know what she's talking about..

[DuncanDisordrly]

Originally Posted by zmcfczm

tbh, she was just looking for a reason to argue, because Jesus Christ and Mary are two of the highest regarded prophets in Islam..

yep...jesus is the most quoted prophet in the qur'an.

[chanbhoy67]

I would have done the same Fitz. At the end of the day, I think its quite hypocritical of her having a go at you for wearing that, when she is in head to toe in clothing associated with islamic tradition

[celtickieran89]

Some people can be very precious about religion and can often go over the top, this situation just proves it really.

I think you handled it great by the sounds of it, you didnt say anything out of turn at all.
Actually, i bet this women will have felt very silly after you showed you knew a wee bit about her religion. Well done