Help! present needed for Muslims moving in next door!

margaretclare

To loveandlight

I am bemused and amazed! I have not 'reacted in a hostile manner' to your post! I can't find a single 'hostile' word or phrase that I wrote. I said that what had happened to you was very sad, and it is. I simply said that what had happened to you was not the same as the experience of the OP, who has done his best to be welcoming to new neighbours only to have his welcome rejected. I have not criticised you in any shape or form. Don't allow what happened to you to make you over-sensitive or over-suspicious, imagining hostility where none exists.

There are still a few places where neighbourliness, in the best of our traditions, still exists and I am fortunate that it still exists where I live, and obviously, it still exists where emma_b lives.

When I said 'Asians are not all the same' I really meant that the many brown-skinned people who have come to live among us are from many different groups, and many of those are hostile to each other, although, in the minds of many British people, they may be all lumped together under the general title 'Asians'.

Margaret

moneyman4u

Other thread has been closed, but just a quick update.

A lad knocked on the door yesterday, he had come from the Muslim house ( as its become known in the street), he explained to me that the people who lived there did not speak very much English, and whilst they were not in anyway rude people, they liked to keep themselves very much to themselves and only mix with people from the local mosque, so all my efforts have gone to waste,

I have told him that I will explain to the local round table not to knock on his door with their bucket when they tow around santa next month collecting for disabled children , and I will inform the neighbours about the Xmas card situation, all I can say is this is VERY disapointing and I DO feel rather let down.

MM

Spendless

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I read your other thread only this morning, tears were streaming down my face. I especially liked the bit about the chinese neighbours who always send you a new years card with a panda on it

ts_aly2000

little India? right in your street. And if we complain, we're the ones that get labelled anti-social.

Don't worry about it MM, we barely know any of our neighbours round here, a couple of them we do but there's quite a few who are just isolated. It's their loss really since they don't get included in things that otherwise socialable people benefit from.

Socialable doesn't mean having to chat to your neighbours for an hour a day. It just means acknowledging them and treating them how you'd like to be treated yourself.

It's their loss. So have they applied for planning permission yet to put up their neighbourhood mosque? That seems to be the latest must have.

moneyman4u

Thankyou both,

I dont like being a quiter though and I was just having a little search around on the wikipedia, and apparently there is a festival called Eid ul-Adha that takes place on New Years eve this year, usually we all gather outside our houses at 11.30 on news years eve to let off some fireworks, have a singsong and a nice glass of wine, maybe this year we could combine New Years eve into Eid ul-Adha and knock the wine on the head, that way our new neighbours would be welcomed to come also?

I think I mentioned before that the people who lived in the "Muslim house" before had a bit of a thing about flashing santas and stuff, anyway one year I got into a bit of a competition with them, I couldnt beat them on numbers, but I did buy a huge 15 ft, roof top, rudolf the red nosed reindeer, it has a nose the size of a beach ball and flashes every other second, and on the remote control there is a button to make it sing the song about rudolf, anyway , stuff them, its going up next week

margaretclare

I am sorry about this, and you had gone to such lengths too, to find out what would be acceptable to them.

I wonder if the lad would be able to explain just why these people have come to live in an ordinary English street, why they haven't gone to live in Afghanistan or somewhere like that, so that they wouldn't have to mix with the rest of us?

This is the sort of thing that can lead to 'white flight'...

Margaret

moneyman4u

well......we had been wondering that ourselves Margaret, it seems that apparently (although not sure) they own a shopping rank not far away, there are 6 shops all with flats above, we think this because Terry who rents the fruit and veg shop (for very high rent!) knows one of the lads cars (its got black windows and a personal number plate) and I have seen the car parked outside the house, so we think that they have done well out of that property and probably could afford to move up the ladder so to speak.

Fritha_2

Just so you know Eid is the festival after Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of fasting and praying. Basically muslims won't eat during daylight hours, when it gets to Eid they have big feasts as celebrations!

My mum used to teach in a school that was predominately muslim, she'd get invited to the feasts sometimes and pretty much have to be rolled home!

It sounds like it would be a lovely idea to invite them to join in your New Years celebration, but don't be offended if they say no, Eid and Ramadam are very religious times.

I didn't see your last thread but I have a fairly good knowledge of Muslim traditions so if you want to know anything feel free to PM me :-)

cupid_s

ts_aly2000 wrote:

Socialable doesn't mean having to chat to your neighbours for an hour a day.

Tell that to my next door neighbour. He could talk for england!

Anyway I think it is such a shame that the people in the muslim house are not interested in mixing with their neighbours. And it's sweet you're still trying to find ways of including them. Everyone should have a neighbour like you!

larmy16

Moneyman I loved your post (the original) it was very funny - but at least the lad did come round to explain. That has to be a positive.

You never know what kind of experiences these people have had in the past with neighbours, not all are wishing to be friendly like yourself and they may well be trying to avoid any trouble.

I am not a Muslim, but I do keep myself to myself, purely because when I moved to my new home, I no longer wanted to be seen as the one you could dump your children on. Prior to that I seemed to be running a free chreche, and then the mums would turn up, take their kids leaving a pile of devastation in my house. Some would probably have left them with me indefinitely if I had been even more of a mug than I was.

I could not say no - just one of those really unassertive people - and I was keen not to get into the same situation. I am friendly, say hello, pass the time of day, and I would be the first to help if there was a emergency that demanded it.

As for people dropping round willy nilly, borrowing stuff and never returning it etc. is just not for me. Familiarity breeds contempt in my experience!!!

Well done you though for your efforts.:T