49
votes
Accepted
Is it impolite to ask for halal food when traveling to and in Thailand?
Thailand actually has a significant Muslim minority (around 5% of the population), so the idea of halal food -- locally known as ahaan Muslim (อาหารมุสลิม), literally "Muslim food" -- is well ...
46
votes
Accepted
Is there a prayer room in Frankfurt airport?
Yes.
The Frankfurt Airport website page on Muslim prayer rooms says:
Friday prayers are held in the Muslim prayer room in
Terminal 1 every Friday at the time stated in the prayer calendar.
Prayer ...
40
votes
Can I perform Umrah while on a Saudi Arabian visit e-visa?
Yes, you can perform Umrah while on a visit eVisa.
From the official eVisa website:
8.7 An eVisa is granted solely for tourist purposes or for the purpose of performing a umrah and it is not ...
40
votes
Can I, until now a non-Muslim, visit Mecca by declaring that Allah is one in front of 2 people?
Muslims do not get some kind of documentation when they become muslim, though some countries' passports might state religion.
So, in general, when encountering a 'Muslims only' sign, stating you are a ...
37
votes
Is there a prayer room in Frankfurt airport?
Yes there is near gate B26. There are rooms for multiple faiths
It provides wudu area both for brothers and sisters
30
votes
Is it impolite to ask for halal food when traveling to and in Thailand?
I have a very simple rule:
If you have to ask, it is not halal. If it was halal you would clearly know it by virtue of signage in any non Muslim country.
Halal food in non Muslim countries is a ...
29
votes
Accepted
Are non-Muslims allowed to enter mosques in Malaysia?
TL; DR: Yes.
I grew up in Malaysia and I am a non-Muslim. I have been inside Putra Mosque, in the capital city of Putrajaya. It was part of a class field trip I had when I was in school.
However, ...
24
votes
Accepted
Are there any areas in Mecca that non-Muslims are allowed to enter under Saudi Arabian law?
Mecca (or Makkah as pronounced in Arabic) is a region in Saudi Arabia, one of its cities is Mecca (clearly, the same name as the region's name). Other cities include Jeddah and Taif, which anyone can ...
23
votes
Accepted
Traveling to London as a nominal Muslim
Keep two basic facts in mind:
Nobody in London will care what the Iranian government declares your religion to be. Most people you encounter won't even have a way to know -- and those (if any) who ...
22
votes
Can I, until now a non-Muslim, visit Mecca by declaring that Allah is one in front of 2 people?
The sign is not about what you believe but what you do.
Islam is not just about saying you're a Muslim. There are various rules that govern your behavior, as well as a body of Islamic culture that is ...
20
votes
Accepted
Lots of Muslim headscarfs on a Sunday in Hong Kong
While Hong Kong attracts visitors from all sorts of origin, and hence I cannot be certain who you saw, chances are that you bumped into a large group of Foreign Domestic Helpers.
Summary: Some of them ...
15
votes
Accepted
Are there any laws in Italy about head coverings I should be aware of?
In short: you have nothing to worry about.
The only Italian law which is somehow related to your case is for public security, it prohibits wearing or doing things that make a face difficult to be ...
15
votes
Are non-Muslims allowed to enter mosques in Malaysia?
Yes, non-Muslims are allowed to enter (at least some) mosques in Malaysia.
See user casvaart's answer for a local's perspective.
13
votes
Accepted
Can Mosques in the UAE be Visited by Non-Muslims?
According to the Dubai authorities, the Jumeirah Mosque is "the only mosque in Dubai which is open to the public and dedicated to receiving non-Muslim guests." (At least insofar as going inside is ...
13
votes
Can I perform Umrah while on a Saudi Arabian visit e-visa?
Yes, you can perform Umrah on a Saudi Arabian e-visa.
From this news article:
Among the most important features of the Saudi tourist visa, is the visa holder can benefit from it in performing Umrah, ...
12
votes
Are non-Muslims allowed to enter mosques in Malaysia?
Having been in Malaysia, I can attest that visiting a mosque is possible for non-Muslims. There were no restrictions as far I could tell and I have entered at least a dozen mosques principally around ...
12
votes
Male visiting Iran with younger female companion
I spent some time in Iran back in 2016 with my girlfriend. My answer is based off that experience, but shouldn't necessarily be considered an exhaustive answer.
As we were a couple we were advised to ...
10
votes
Accepted
Are non-Muslims allowed to visit the Prophet's Mosque in Medina?
Non-muslims are allowed to enter Saudi Arabia freely.
However, they are prohibited from entering two areas:
The entire city of Makkah.
The city of Medina, except for the outskirts (most notably, the ...
9
votes
Accepted
Islamic art museums / Galleries in Dubai
According to the staff at my hotel, the answer is "technically no, practically yes"
Specifically, within the Dubai metropolitan area, but just over the border. In the Sharjah "Heart of Sharjah" / ...
8
votes
When travelling to China, does the Hijab have to be removed?
I've traveled through Beijing Capital Airport multiple times wearing hijab without major problems. I have not been required to remove my headscarf. Sometimes they scan it (with the wand) somewhat ...
8
votes
When travelling to China, does the Hijab have to be removed?
This is an impossible question to answer definitely as it depends on multiple factors. It looks like the ban is mostly centered in the Uighur parts of western China and the ban itself is mostly ...
8
votes
Is it impolite to ask for halal food when traveling to and in Thailand?
For long distance flights, ordering a special diet meal is a well established procedure. When you have bought your flight tickets, just contact the airline customer service and ask for a halal meal (...
8
votes
Accepted
Are women allowed to have dreadlocks in the Maghreb region?
Uhm, actually depending on the country, now as Chris mentioned, Middle East and Maghreb region are very different culturally.
If you really meant Maghreb (which is the western area of north Africa, ...
7
votes
What are the necessary contents of an "Islamic certificate" required for a convert to perform Hajj pilgrimage?
There are simple requirements to convert to Islam; you simply have to say the Shahada (the below is the Sunni version, which is the one usually quoted):
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا ٱلله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱلله
...
6
votes
Are non-Muslims allowed to enter mosques in Malaysia?
Generally yes, but you might be asked to wear appropriate clothing (e.g. no exposed skin). But even then you might be given a gown to cover yourself with during your visit. At least that was the case ...
6
votes
Can I, until now a non-Muslim, visit Mecca by declaring that Allah is one in front of 2 people?
"recite this, with total sincerity, in front of two witnesses"
Emphasis mine. That's the core of the issue here. And the idea of sincerity is not the modern one of "in this, and only ...
5
votes
Accepted
What are the consequences of Trump's election for Muslims visiting the US?
It's not possible to predict that at this point. Trump has been extremely vague on how this would be implemented in practice. He won't even be in in office for another two months. We don't even know ...
4
votes
Will they serve alcohol to a Muslim in the Maldives?
Legally, if you are a Muslim who is 18 years old or older, you can technically buy alcohol, but it is banned for the local population, though alcohol is served at most resorts and liveaboard boats. So,...
4
votes
Observing Cultural Norms on 'Local' Islands in the Maldives
Wikivoyage is a great usually-up to date reference for this, and in this case:
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Ukulhas - Nudism is prohibited. Swimming in bikinis is allowed only on the 1 main tourist ...
4
votes
How to find a restaurant serving Halal food in Munich
Halal food is fairly easy to get in Germany both in restaurants and in grocery stores. There are a lot of take out places that have halal options, some of which may be too small to have a website or ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
Related Tags
islam × 43religion × 10
legal × 8
saudi-arabia × 7
cultural-awareness × 7
mosques × 6
safety × 4
food-and-drink × 3
dubai × 3
iran × 3
pilgrimages × 3
ramadan × 3
mecca × 3
visas × 2
uk × 2
local-customs × 2
israel × 2
uae × 2
indonesia × 2
clothing × 2
alcohol × 2
architecture × 2
female-travellers × 2
discrimination × 2
maldives × 2