Sorry, you must see this ####ing headline: "How Muslims cope in touchy-feely Cuba"

[Judi Lynn]

How Muslims cope in touchy-feely Cuba
By Shasta Darlington, CNN
August 18, 2010 -- Updated 0946 GMT (1746 HKT)

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Every Friday, Pedro Lazo Torres, clears the furniture out of his second-storey apartment in a potholed Havana suburb and lines the floors and balcony with carpets.

For Havana's Muslims, he is Imam Yahya, and the home that he shares with his wife and two adult children, is their place of worship.

"You can be a Chinese, Cuban or Russian Muslim and the laws are the same for everyone," Yahya told CNN. "The cultures can be different, but someone who embraces Islam must accept what Allah orders, it's that simple."

There are about 1,500 Muslims in Cuba, but no mosques. That's why, at the end of each week, Yahya, dressed in an immaculate white cap and tunic, welcomes people for Friday prayer. Women head inside, sitting on the living room floor, while men tend to kneel on the shady balcony.

~snip~
Noalia Gladys Carmen Perez, who wears a headscarf, told CNN she and other adults have encountered some resistance to their faith.

"I've had good reactions, people who greet with you respect, and people who don't like it," she told CNN. "They'll say, 'It must be so hot,' comments like that as a form of criticism."

Headscarves have never been an issue in schools, in part because Islam is relatively new in the country. However, few can pray at work, either because their schedules or social norms won't allow it.

Many also find it hard to adopt certain Muslim customs here in the touchy-feely tropics. In Cuba, men and women usually greet each other with a kiss.

Ibrahim Kinsan, a physical therapist, says most of his co-workers are women. "Now I've converted to Islam, but I can't just turn into an alien," he told CNN. "Most of them greet me with a kiss and that tradition isn't going to disappear."

More:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/08/18/cuba.havana.muslim/index.html#fbid=q1U2OJnT7yd&wom=false

[Billy Burnett]

1. Muslims kissing in public?

The commies MUST be stopped!!111!!!

[flamingdem]

2. Another attempt at a feel good piece by Shasta Darlington

so ironic when it's about Cuba with all its complexities.

As I responded on the BN thread ... I find it funny and yes Cuba is amazing for the touchy feely. When some first time visiting American men see how the Cuban men hug and kiss they might have homophobia attacks! When was the last time US TV showed two heteros kissing and hugging when they greet?

[Billy Burnett]

3. I've always thought that interesting to contemplate.

There is homophobia (some of it, extreme) in the Latin Americas and Caribbean. As you point out, culturally, there's lots of hugging and some cheek kissing between same-gender greetings. I've always wondered how these two things (meaning: the openness of the greeting process, but the closed mindedness of the homophobia) are psychologically worked out.