Cloack? Scarf? What happened?

29 October 2006

BENJAMIN MOSHATAMA

DESIGNER clothes, flashy cars and pumped-up sound systems were on show at Zoo Lake on Tuesday as Muslim youngsters gathered there to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr.

Eid marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadaan and the Muslim community arrived at the lake in large numbers and decked out in their finest.

Mohammed Suffla, 20, made his appearance in a "specially designed" stone-washed denim outfit with yellow shoes, watch and T-shirt.

"I wanted a specific design and to look funky, outgoing and trendy," said Suffla.

Fazlin Ismail, 19, said going to Zoo Lake was about "relaxing" and "meeting people after spending a whole month indoors".

Many of Joburg�s Muslims buy new clothes in advance of Eid, which they wear on the day.

And for Vinesh Sookdar, who spent Eid with his friends at the lake, it is a day to show off brand-new threads.

"We spend one month being religious; this is time to cool down and be ourselves and also show off our new clothes," he said.

But for Shafiek Alexander, 23, the Zoo Lake trip was about more than flashy clothes.

"We are here to meet our future wives," he joked, adding that he and his friends used the opportunity to check out the girls.

Wendel Chinsamy, 19, who was there with his friends, had other priorities.

"We are also here to check out the grandest cars, so we know what we should come with next year," he joked.

But not everybody approved of the young people�s priorities.

Judica Quarsingh, who did not want to reveal her age, spoke of the generation gap.

"There seems to be a lot of fashion and clothing and the latest music. Maybe we should be actually asking ourselves whether we are understanding the fundamental importance of Eid," she said.

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The above is n email that i received a day after eid.

I'm not sure if i'm the only one to notice this, but our muslim girls and boys are starting to look less like muslims, focusing more on the girls.   The western world has taken them over completely.

The skirts are getting shorter, the tops are becoming more and more see through, and i see the new fashion is now a type of "top" that looks like a bra, what is that?

I wasn't born into a muslim home, no, it was christian.  But when i see how the muslim girls dress when we go to town or for a family function and i look at myself, my husband and some of the older people, then i wonder what will become of the youth?  Why is it only a certain hand full of people that still wear cloack and scarf? 

Even when the girls do wear the so called long tops, it sits so tight that you can see there whole figure and its got no sleeves.  And to top it off the mother and father dont see anything wrong with what there daughter is wearing!  O ya, and the scarf is used as a "jacket" for incase they feel cold....

Is this right?  In my opinion no, but i'm just one person.  Maybe there is more that think the same, maybe not?