Hey there,

I totally sympathise with u , and i understand completely what u mean by double standards..

I find it very sickening as well..

You made a gr8 point about no nationality being superior to the other ( and therfore all claims of cultural/religious/moral superiority are void and null as well)...

I would like to draw your attention however that such customes are not a reflection of Islam ( as a religion ) per say, but are a reflection of the local customes which are throughout the arab/muslim world conservative...

Having said that, conservatisim is not limited to the arab/muslim world, most of asia for example is as conservative as the arab/muslim world while being non muslims

The freedom to wear a bikini in privacy is nothing i object to personally, and i m sure there are other places in Qatar where u can wear it other than the diplomatic club... if that is the real issue..

i have a feeling however that this was sort of the last straw for u in a series of other things ...which wouldnt surprise me...

There is a lot to get used to when in a country like qatar ( let alone saudi arabia ):)

Judging by western standards, is a bit unfair in my view point..

There is no denying that some of the conditions here are very questionalble, and seriouslly flawed,but do try and rember that this country is less than 50 years old (established in 1974)

With the oil boom and everything, they have a need to find their spot under the light, they want to be known in the world, and they wont to develop...much like a teenager if u will...

Teenagers have lots of enthusiasm, lots of energy, lots of drive, but a non complete sense of morality and their ability to distinguish right from wrong is still not fully developed...

i mean not to sound condecending either, Qatari people ( as well as the peoples of the arabian gulf in general) are very wise and deep in many areas in life, more so than other peoples of the world, by virtue of their unique life experience and living in the desert and all...

All i m saying is, when a country and nation is trying 2 build itself from zero , to reach what we now see in qatar withing less than 50 years, its only normal to see a lot of contradictions, a lot of double standards, and a lot of wrong things, it is merely the flip side of the coin of all the development and improvment happening...

the real shame is these double standards being present in countries like urs and mine ( egypt) , with loads of history to draw from...

i will be the 1st to admit that in terms of empolyment rights and legal rights etc..the west has developed so much so that there is little discrimination..

I do believe however that the west ( as a culture) is to date still apprehensive, weary, judgmental, intolerant , unrespectfull even of the " other " cultures, especially the arab/muslim one, and that reflects in the way westerners ( not all but most), view their experiences in arab/muslim countries or with arab/muslim people..

I could be totally wrong in believing that, but thats how i see it...

any how,

i hope u r feeling better now, and i m sorry u feel robbed out of ur money ( its a damn shame)

if i were u , i d ask the club to gimme back the rest of my money for the time left in ur subscription with them

after all, they did change the conditions of memebership , and thats a breach of contract anywhere in the world...

best of luck and thank u for ur post, it was very passionate and heart felt

cheers
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