thetan

Hi,

I'm British born and bred with Pakistani origins and although I have a Muslim name, I have no interest in following any religion at present.

I am due to go work in Riyadh as an IT Consultant for 3-6 months soon and I was wondering if anyone had any experience or thoughts on how the natives in Riyadh may react to me?

I'm curious as to whether they may see me as a lapsed Muslim and try to push me towards practising or refuse to deal with me professionally because of my personal decisions?

Am I being overly-cautious? Maybe religion does not enter into professional matters?

Any advice would also be most appreciated...

Thanks,
Thetan

benzonar

Well they may view you as an apostate, for which the penalty is death.

I don't mean this in jest, I'm quite serious. It will be easier for you to just say you are a Muslim and avoid any further questions.

I am an avowed atheist yet always put down CofE on my visa forms and entry cards. I have a lack of belief, but unlike some proponents of religion - I don't think it is worth dying over.

still.unsure

from all the things i've heard, it's not so much your religion that's going to make things easier/harder, but more the fact that you are, as you put it, of Pakistani origin. (saudi's pretty harsh on anyone who's not an emirati, heaven help you if you're from Pakistan/India)

see The Dean's thread about Saudi (very helpful) which is on here (search "Saudi") or look at the wiki. bl--dy brilliant answer to all the fundamental questions.

Beard Man

I delt with Soudis who work in the IT

Generally speaking.. they are educated and very humble and you will experience being with people who will be very professional with you and very kind .. I am sure of that

But my advice to you .. is …not to tell them that you used to be a muslim .. there are Pakistani people who are Christian ….. oops I forgot you have a muslim name !! hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

In that case it is better for you to tell them that you are muslim you will not stay there for a long time .. it is gona be less than 6 months..

But .. don’t lose the chance of knowing what real islam is as long you will be in soudia .. they are a lot better than the rest of the muslims else where .

lionheart

Having spent eight years working in a seven storey office block in KSA where I was the only westerner, my gut feeling is that they will continuously press you to adopt Islam (they tried with me) but it will be in a friendly, not forceful way. Having a Muslim name, you may find yourself getting a Muslim Iqama, which will entitle you to visit the Holy Cities of Mecca and Madinah, arguably the only reason to visit KSA in the first place. In summary, I would pretend you are Muslim and simply go with the flow.

Beard Man

were they really nice to you during the 8 years of your stay there??

Spugsy

jesus, I can't imagine why anyone would want to go there. It sounds awful.

lionheart

The Saudis were generally fine...cannot say the same for the Yemenis, Egyptians and Lebanese.

Desert Dweller

Errrr, no.
Maybe not the worst, but definitely in the bottom few.

seven seas

DON'T.
TELL.
ANYONE.

Beard Man

Maybe not the worst ... ok i got this one.. .

but what do you mean by (but definitely in the bottom few) ??

i didn't get it

LeicesterKid

I would not advertise that you are non practicing. Just go with the flow.

I guess it would not hurt to know Islam better, for your understanding. But the choice to follow it is yours.

Being a UK born Muslim myself, I started to practise Islam more during the past years and to be honest with you I feel more better and more at peace with myself than ever before.

Wish you all the best with you move.



LK

Desert Dweller

You intimated that the Saudi Muslims were better than the other Muslims of the area.
If I were to list them by country I would say that the Saudi Muslims would be near the bottom of the list as far as being 'better' in a broad context of perception by most.

Beard Man

It is my mistake then, maybe i was suppose to say things in a clearer way.

what i believe is .. in saudia Arabia you can find the best people among muslims and the worse at the same time.

and what i really wanted to say is that it is a chance for him to know how real muslims are and what islam is real about from the good people over there.. becauser seriously ... it is unlikely to find people like them anywhere else... with respect to religious knowledge or manners

arbroath_abroad

am i the only one who is imagining beardman at his CID station in Dubai recording the IP addresses of anyone who says anything controvertial....

hey only kidding beardman

i think......