(no subject)

[figment]

All of those years of living in the Muslim world, and today is the first time I've ever had someone refuse to shake my hand on religious grounds. It was as politely phrased as it could be, but it still kind of threw me.

Comments

[birdfigment.livejournal.com]

Although I am not unfamiliar with this concept, I've never had to use it before; I got used to the professional-woman-shakes-hands thing instead (different culture, hmm?). I don't know. Maybe family friends are exempt from this? Or maybe the gender-touch-restriction is only found among certain sects of Islam, whose members I never interacted with? It's a mystery.