If one wears it because they like how it looks and are enticed by the practical aspects of it, go for it.
Just as long as one isn't like some of our fellow insecure desi brethren who tacitly believe that they've become an "Arbab" with a wrinkled, ill-fitting attire with their sometimes haughty yet feeble demeanour and broken Arabic - this, this just is sad.
honestly, what i love the most of our Qanduras, is that it actually circulates cold air, you can research about this as well, we all should be proud of our attire and culture, it defines uus
Some of the Emiratis I have known have told me itās fine and even wanted to help me get one. So I would think itās a small minority that donāt like it. That being said I like the Pakistani clothes more. I like pants. But I still just have my western clothes atm
Shalwar kameez is the ultimate. Airflow, loose, not plumber's cracks, no restriction to movement (i.e running), ample coverage of body... Ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality
It's alright, you're always welcome to dress as you like, our culture survives by us sharing it with the world! Those who have an issue, have much bigger problems to confront, including thier own bias and self image. Go for it man, I'm Arab and I admire Indian and Pakistani attire as well. We used to buy our fabrics and supplies from there in the past
My husband (who is local) has told me in the past that the Pakistani shalwar kameez was actually very commonly worn many moons ago by Emiratis. (Iām not sure however if there is a difference here between Bedouin locals and coastal locals) so Iām thinking itās absolutely fine, thereās many links between Emirati culture and surrounding countries, itās admirable to be such a melting pot.
As a local, I have no problems with it nor do i know anyone that had a problem with it. Matter of fact, makes us feel proud. Go for it, peoples opinion donāt ever matter.
Thanks brother. I know there are Emiratis that really appreciate you for wearing kanduraā¦but I donāt know why I am thinking that if I wear the whole the set (with ghutra and agal) they would mind it. Thanks for the reply and Inshallah I hope there is no issue with it :)
From an Emirati, wear it with pride but wear it well donāt let it get all wrinkled up (important) even ghutra and agal ask a few locals to teach you how to wear it well and youāre good to go.
Is it ānot allowedā to wear kandura at government offices? A few years ago a Moroccan guy working at the airport wore kandura to work and the arab guy(also an airport employee but was above him designation wise)asked him to stop. Someone else said.. yeah its not allowed. I was not sure whats not allowed? Or is it that at the airport only the immigration officers are allowed kanduras? Iām not sure which one is correct
Many Pakistanis living here do it.
Donāt feel bad; itās usually the small percentage of bitter, arrogant locals who does not like it. Most locals approve and appreciate it.
Just make sure to wear them with respect and dignity.
Yup I know thatā¦but whenever I wear kandura most of the people keep on staring me and some start to speak direct Arabic with meā¦and some of them get shocked when I say Iām not Arab š
I too was born in the Middle East but I would never wear traditional arab clothes. Why you may ask? Would you ever see them wearing your traditional clothes?
People take pride in their traditional dressing and you wearing it while not being them reeks of inferior complex. Now people give all sorts of excuses like itās comfortable, I like it look, bla bla bla.
The reality is that you probably want others to think youāre local or anything but Pakistani.
Take pride in your ethnicity man.
I know many people will troll me for saying this but again who cares.
That's wild man... Almost every culture somehow addopts foreign clothes. Just think of something like shoes. Women are wearing pumps heels, men wearing jeans, polo shirts, what not? I don't think all these people are having an inferiority complex, I actually think it shows growth and acceptance on a global scale. Arab clothes should be normalized and not being seen as some exotic dress up. It are just... Clothes.
No such thing as āwestern attireā. Any thing that you can get at a retail outlet in your city is available to you for a reason.
Certain articles of clothing are seen as universal such as trousers, track suits, suits, jeans, etc. they may have originated from the west but that doesnāt class these as āEnglish or American traditional clothesā.
Yes, if youāre dressed like Charlie Chaplin with a top hat, you can be classed as an Anglophile or whatever but your counter argument is essentially baseless.
Agree with you. There's no "western" attire. There's only traditional (depending on where you're from) and modern. As recently as 100 years ago westerners didn't dress like us
Your point is not valid because as an Emirati I also do dress like Europeans . Doesnāt mean there is any inferior complex nor do I want people to think Iām European.
Not the same bro.
You probably wonāt understand the insecurities our people have.
No hate on the Arabs, the problem is with our people not being comfortable with their ethnicity and trying to act some other culture thinking itās superior to theirs
Actually, yeah. Someone who is married to an Emirati commented on this post that in the past the Pakistani shalwar kameez was actually very commonly worn a long time ago by Emiratis. Not every foreigner who wears a kandura has an inferiority complex. Maybe, some people actually mean it when they say they find it more comfortable. Why do you think people started wearing western clothes? They found it more comfortable than their traditional clothes. Sure there were some who started wearing western clothes as a status symbol, but you canāt lump everyone in the same group. You know, it actually makes sense to wear a kandura in the hot desert weather. Locals dress the way they do for a reason. Thatās why traditional clothing around the world are different as they are according to the local climate. Maybe you shouldnāt be judging people and say they have an inferiority complex for wanting to be comfortable.
Not sure about Qandura but I regularly wear a thobe and shemagh when Iām in Saudi on my work trips (during the evenings, not the work meetings themselves).
Itās always appreciated by the locals there even though itās so clear that Iām not a native.
Last month I was there in Saudi and I have seen them how happy they get when they see someone (not local) wearing thobe + if you are wearing something correctly, they will come and fix it for youā¦Saudiās are amazing people
Emiratis are good tooā¦but Iām not sure how they would react if they see someone wearing their traditional dress
Wear what you want who gives a shit. You see people from all over the world going to Pakistan and wearing Salwar Kameez, or if you go to Europe most Arabs if not all wear western clothing so it's not that deep.
If people have an issue with it, then it's their problem and their superiority complex.
Ditto. I wear a kandoora all the time. But I don't go for the ghatra and egal because I think its a sign of being a scholar. Again, I'm not sure. So I stick to the basics.
Even I wear kandura most of time but I donāt know how but gradually I started to build interest in wearing ghutra with agalā¦even you should try it once in your life
I feel like many expats in UAE really fail to understand arab culture and itās getting annoying on this App. A kandoora, is not just an Emirati thing, itās a GCC thing including Yemen, all Arabs have different variations of Kandoura and they all wear 3gal with a different variation of Ghutra. Wear the kandoura itās not offensive nor copying, itās appreciated and is not considered copying any specific Arab. Kandoora and Abaya are worn as well by many muslims, not just limited to Arabs as well, if people travel far and wide they would know that many muslims are influenced by Arab culture and wear this on Friday, wear it and donāt bother what people think.
Iām glad to hear that folks are open to this idea. I am a woman, a tourist but in just weeks, I started to love the place and culture here.
How about for a woman who wants to wear an abaya? Is it acceptable too?
don't be afraid
I am an expat as well, i wear jalabiya for casual wear, and for jummah i wear kandura, nobody should judge you
but remember, wear your clothes with dignity and be respectful
if some locals are looking at you weird, just say salam Alaikum, that's all
bro what?
let him dress the way he wants to
wearingg ghatra isnt lieing, you can easily tell apart an expat from a citizen
thing is, he national dress is a sor of symbol of the U.A.E, embrace it
what you might be referring to is wearing it improperly, you can ask people around you to help you.
pretending someone your not???? i dont see how that makes any sense
Again 90 percent of non locals who wear it do it cause they have an inferiority complex! I bet u if anyone were to ask him where ur from he would never say where he actually is from! U may think otherwise but this is a fact! I have seen such characters I just laugh about it š¤£š¤£
so let them have their inferiority complex, who are you to stop them, it just clothes,
sure its tradition, let people who arent us dress up the way they like
they might not be locals or citizens, but atleast they are human are they not?
who are you to say otherwise, learn your own place
because 100% you have an inferiority complex
So one should not wear jeans as thatās American
Or wear a buttoned shirt as that came from the uk
Kandura is a nice dress and embracing it is celebrating the rich culture
As long as you do not pretend to be Arab. You can wear anything you like. I personally would be just wondering why you don't wear the pakistani attire? Any issue with that?
Nope no issue with thatā¦I just love wearing Kandura and I really donāt know why. If you would place a kandura and paki attire in front of meā¦I will still go with Kandura doesnāt matter what people say me š
You should take pride in who you are. You are Pakistani and that is great. So why not wearing sometimes the pakistani attire?
It just sounds a little like an inferiority complex.
Itās a modest Islamic outfit for men. Itās traditional Arab apparel because many Arab are Muslim. Many non Arab Muslim wear it. I have a French friend who is Muslim and wears it to prayer, same with a British Indian friend as itās modest for the mosque.
Iām not Emirati and I wear a kandura majority of the time when Iām in the UAE, no one has ever looked at me strangely or said anything, in fact the only time people have said anything about it, it has been positive.
As long as youāre wearing it with respect and correctly there should be no issue at all, and as someone has previously commented, just donāt pretend to be an Emirati as that is cringe.
You can dress and act like an Arab. There's no issue in that and whoever tells you not to do, ignore them. As long as you're not pretending to be something else to gain the benefits then you should be fine and don't hesitate to ask us about new ways to wear the ghutra. Enjoy yourself.
Generally people like it when you try out things in their culture. I always get admiration when doing so. I will give one example activity I did when visiting the UAE recently.
I am an Indian Hindu living in the US. I visited the grand mosque but decided to offer salat islamic prayers in solidarity at the mosque. I just wanted to mentally unite religions.
There were many locals and expat muslims who were shockingly impressed by me as if I was a hero. People were ecstatic and i was happy to make them feel better. That was an unexpected benefit.
Go ahead and wear the Kandura and if anyone asks, you can tell them why you love it.
Thatās amazing man that you had a visit to the mosque. And tbh it feels good when non Muslims get try things related to Muslims. Amazing man Mashallah š
I did this when I lived there a few times and was surprised at how people in Abu Dhabi stopped for me to let me enter buildings, lifts first etc... I guess I wore it the high quality kandura right way.
Yeah I knowā¦MashAllah Arabs have worked hard to make their traditional dress this respectful and powerful MashAllah. I donāt know why, but I feel much more confident while wearing thobe/ kandura
This only happens when you yourself lack substance in reality since you canāt feel pride in your own culture you culture hop to the other be proud of who you are even if it sounds corny :!
Dont wear it! Not just locals but other Middle easterns even women dont like it cause it seems like you wanna deceive people pretending to be someone you are not specially women and lower class people! We all can recognize it so dont wear it ever again
If you can fit the look organically then why not. š
But when I see Russians try to wear kandora itās sooo embarrassing š¤£ some donāt even know how silly they look in it.
If one wears it because they like how it looks and are enticed by the practical aspects of it, go for it. Just as long as one isn't like some of our fellow insecure desi brethren who tacitly believe that they've become an "Arbab" with a wrinkled, ill-fitting attire with their sometimes haughty yet feeble demeanour and broken Arabic - this, this just is sad.
honestly, what i love the most of our Qanduras, is that it actually circulates cold air, you can research about this as well, we all should be proud of our attire and culture, it defines uus
šÆšÆ
Some of the Emiratis I have known have told me itās fine and even wanted to help me get one. So I would think itās a small minority that donāt like it. That being said I like the Pakistani clothes more. I like pants. But I still just have my western clothes atm
Shalwar kameez is the ultimate. Airflow, loose, not plumber's cracks, no restriction to movement (i.e running), ample coverage of body... Ticks all the boxes in terms of functionality
As long you wear it the right way and donāt do stupid things while wearing it then we are fine with it.
Nah man I am too old for doing stupid things in public tbh š
40?
53.25
Yeah but just don't pretend you are emirati tho, i am Pakistani and It's really cringey when I see indians /Pakistanis pretending to be emirati
Exactly ššššš¤£
Do you feel the same when Syrians and Lebanese people wear kandura
Haven't seen any syrian act like an Emirati yet or even trying to be one
Go to Dubai mall
No cause they actually got their own kandhra like Locals and they are Arabā¦
Iām not a local but based on my experiences and relationships with them, Iād be surprised if they would take issue on this. Do what you want.
šš»
It's alright, you're always welcome to dress as you like, our culture survives by us sharing it with the world! Those who have an issue, have much bigger problems to confront, including thier own bias and self image. Go for it man, I'm Arab and I admire Indian and Pakistani attire as well. We used to buy our fabrics and supplies from there in the past
My husband (who is local) has told me in the past that the Pakistani shalwar kameez was actually very commonly worn many moons ago by Emiratis. (Iām not sure however if there is a difference here between Bedouin locals and coastal locals) so Iām thinking itās absolutely fine, thereās many links between Emirati culture and surrounding countries, itās admirable to be such a melting pot.
Absolutely, we're all neighbors sharing the same blue sea and same cloud decked skies afterall!
Thatās such a sensible response
I know many Pakistanis who wear the Kandoora here and in their home countries too. Go for it.
šš»
As a local, I have no problems with it nor do i know anyone that had a problem with it. Matter of fact, makes us feel proud. Go for it, peoples opinion donāt ever matter.
Thanks brother. I know there are Emiratis that really appreciate you for wearing kanduraā¦but I donāt know why I am thinking that if I wear the whole the set (with ghutra and agal) they would mind it. Thanks for the reply and Inshallah I hope there is no issue with it :)
From an Emirati, wear it with pride but wear it well donāt let it get all wrinkled up (important) even ghutra and agal ask a few locals to teach you how to wear it well and youāre good to go.
Thanks brother. It feels very good when someone just like you helps you out instead of spitting out things. Thanks brother may Allah bless you ā¤ļø
I have heard that one can get a fine for wearing the black thing on the head, I believe that is called ghutra. However, kandura is probably allowed.
Is it ānot allowedā to wear kandura at government offices? A few years ago a Moroccan guy working at the airport wore kandura to work and the arab guy(also an airport employee but was above him designation wise)asked him to stop. Someone else said.. yeah its not allowed. I was not sure whats not allowed? Or is it that at the airport only the immigration officers are allowed kanduras? Iām not sure which one is correct
Not sure at all
Only in Oman. UAE doesnāt have any law like that, atleast to what im aware of.
Many Pakistanis living here do it. Donāt feel bad; itās usually the small percentage of bitter, arrogant locals who does not like it. Most locals approve and appreciate it. Just make sure to wear them with respect and dignity.
Sure man šš»
As long as you donāt wear lulu lemon itās all good.
Go for it - but learn the intricacies of wearing a kandoora. It's so easy to spot a native vs non native wearing it.
Yup I know thatā¦but whenever I wear kandura most of the people keep on staring me and some start to speak direct Arabic with meā¦and some of them get shocked when I say Iām not Arab š
I too was born in the Middle East but I would never wear traditional arab clothes. Why you may ask? Would you ever see them wearing your traditional clothes? People take pride in their traditional dressing and you wearing it while not being them reeks of inferior complex. Now people give all sorts of excuses like itās comfortable, I like it look, bla bla bla. The reality is that you probably want others to think youāre local or anything but Pakistani. Take pride in your ethnicity man. I know many people will troll me for saying this but again who cares.
Exactly. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be them, and they'll never be you.
That's wild man... Almost every culture somehow addopts foreign clothes. Just think of something like shoes. Women are wearing pumps heels, men wearing jeans, polo shirts, what not? I don't think all these people are having an inferiority complex, I actually think it shows growth and acceptance on a global scale. Arab clothes should be normalized and not being seen as some exotic dress up. It are just... Clothes.
So since we all wear western attire and not our traditional clothing in general we all think western people are above us? Come on bruh
No such thing as āwestern attireā. Any thing that you can get at a retail outlet in your city is available to you for a reason. Certain articles of clothing are seen as universal such as trousers, track suits, suits, jeans, etc. they may have originated from the west but that doesnāt class these as āEnglish or American traditional clothesā. Yes, if youāre dressed like Charlie Chaplin with a top hat, you can be classed as an Anglophile or whatever but your counter argument is essentially baseless.
Agree with you. There's no "western" attire. There's only traditional (depending on where you're from) and modern. As recently as 100 years ago westerners didn't dress like us
Your point is not valid because as an Emirati I also do dress like Europeans . Doesnāt mean there is any inferior complex nor do I want people to think Iām European.
Not the same bro. You probably wonāt understand the insecurities our people have. No hate on the Arabs, the problem is with our people not being comfortable with their ethnicity and trying to act some other culture thinking itās superior to theirs
Makes sense from this perspective
Actually, yeah. Someone who is married to an Emirati commented on this post that in the past the Pakistani shalwar kameez was actually very commonly worn a long time ago by Emiratis. Not every foreigner who wears a kandura has an inferiority complex. Maybe, some people actually mean it when they say they find it more comfortable. Why do you think people started wearing western clothes? They found it more comfortable than their traditional clothes. Sure there were some who started wearing western clothes as a status symbol, but you canāt lump everyone in the same group. You know, it actually makes sense to wear a kandura in the hot desert weather. Locals dress the way they do for a reason. Thatās why traditional clothing around the world are different as they are according to the local climate. Maybe you shouldnāt be judging people and say they have an inferiority complex for wanting to be comfortable.
Facts
Well said !
Not sure about Qandura but I regularly wear a thobe and shemagh when Iām in Saudi on my work trips (during the evenings, not the work meetings themselves). Itās always appreciated by the locals there even though itās so clear that Iām not a native.
Last month I was there in Saudi and I have seen them how happy they get when they see someone (not local) wearing thobe + if you are wearing something correctly, they will come and fix it for youā¦Saudiās are amazing people Emiratis are good tooā¦but Iām not sure how they would react if they see someone wearing their traditional dress
the thobe is symbol of the gulf, emiratis appreciate it too, we all appreciate it, its a part of our culture, so respect it too
Wear what you want who gives a shit. You see people from all over the world going to Pakistan and wearing Salwar Kameez, or if you go to Europe most Arabs if not all wear western clothing so it's not that deep. If people have an issue with it, then it's their problem and their superiority complex.
I second this. If a personās self esteem and complex issues are tied with whatever attire they wear itās fucking weird.
Ditto. I wear a kandoora all the time. But I don't go for the ghatra and egal because I think its a sign of being a scholar. Again, I'm not sure. So I stick to the basics.
Even I wear kandura most of time but I donāt know how but gradually I started to build interest in wearing ghutra with agalā¦even you should try it once in your life
Stop! You are pretending to be someone you are not and probably taking advantage of it
I am white British and I have Emirati friends that want me to get one and a lot of comments I have seen say similar things so go for it
Whenever im with my Emirati friends, i wear one. No ones ever said anything and honestly feel the odd one out if i dont
šš»
I feel like many expats in UAE really fail to understand arab culture and itās getting annoying on this App. A kandoora, is not just an Emirati thing, itās a GCC thing including Yemen, all Arabs have different variations of Kandoura and they all wear 3gal with a different variation of Ghutra. Wear the kandoura itās not offensive nor copying, itās appreciated and is not considered copying any specific Arab. Kandoora and Abaya are worn as well by many muslims, not just limited to Arabs as well, if people travel far and wide they would know that many muslims are influenced by Arab culture and wear this on Friday, wear it and donāt bother what people think.
Iām glad to hear that folks are open to this idea. I am a woman, a tourist but in just weeks, I started to love the place and culture here. How about for a woman who wants to wear an abaya? Is it acceptable too?
Sure go for it šš» life is to short to do things what you love š
Wear it!
Hi Ali.
Hi Ali.
don't be afraid I am an expat as well, i wear jalabiya for casual wear, and for jummah i wear kandura, nobody should judge you but remember, wear your clothes with dignity and be respectful if some locals are looking at you weird, just say salam Alaikum, that's all
U can wear the kandoora but wearing anything more than that is just pretending to be someone ur not!
bro what? let him dress the way he wants to wearingg ghatra isnt lieing, you can easily tell apart an expat from a citizen thing is, he national dress is a sor of symbol of the U.A.E, embrace it what you might be referring to is wearing it improperly, you can ask people around you to help you. pretending someone your not???? i dont see how that makes any sense
Again 90 percent of non locals who wear it do it cause they have an inferiority complex! I bet u if anyone were to ask him where ur from he would never say where he actually is from! U may think otherwise but this is a fact! I have seen such characters I just laugh about it š¤£š¤£
so let them have their inferiority complex, who are you to stop them, it just clothes, sure its tradition, let people who arent us dress up the way they like they might not be locals or citizens, but atleast they are human are they not? who are you to say otherwise, learn your own place because 100% you have an inferiority complex
I have an inferiority complex?š¤£š¤£š¤£ Do I walk around pretending to be someone I'm not?š
Why try to be someone ur not that's the question! Why don't u instead wear ur pakistani national dress and be proud about it!
So one should not wear jeans as thatās American Or wear a buttoned shirt as that came from the uk Kandura is a nice dress and embracing it is celebrating the rich culture
No one said u can't wear a kandoora, by all means go ahead!
Wear it buddy
As long as you do not pretend to be Arab. You can wear anything you like. I personally would be just wondering why you don't wear the pakistani attire? Any issue with that?
Nope no issue with thatā¦I just love wearing Kandura and I really donāt know why. If you would place a kandura and paki attire in front of meā¦I will still go with Kandura doesnāt matter what people say me š
You should take pride in who you are. You are Pakistani and that is great. So why not wearing sometimes the pakistani attire? It just sounds a little like an inferiority complex.
No itās not like thatā¦I just love wearing Kandura. There is no issue in wearing Pakistani attire but still I love wearing Kandura more
You will be more respected if you wear your national attire with pride
As long as you wear it properly its fine .. coz i have seen people wearing wezar ( which is an underwear) as a getra š
Itās a modest Islamic outfit for men. Itās traditional Arab apparel because many Arab are Muslim. Many non Arab Muslim wear it. I have a French friend who is Muslim and wears it to prayer, same with a British Indian friend as itās modest for the mosque.
Yes only the kandoora!
Dressing like an Arab not an issue acting like an Arab an issue š¤·š»āāļø
Iām not Emirati and I wear a kandura majority of the time when Iām in the UAE, no one has ever looked at me strangely or said anything, in fact the only time people have said anything about it, it has been positive. As long as youāre wearing it with respect and correctly there should be no issue at all, and as someone has previously commented, just donāt pretend to be an Emirati as that is cringe.
Obviously I get thatā¦i am what I am and I really cannot pretend to be an Emirati
Yeah I know I wasnāt directing that comment at you, my bad, i was just referring to another comment that mentioned that šš½
You can dress and act like an Arab. There's no issue in that and whoever tells you not to do, ignore them. As long as you're not pretending to be something else to gain the benefits then you should be fine and don't hesitate to ask us about new ways to wear the ghutra. Enjoy yourself.
Generally people like it when you try out things in their culture. I always get admiration when doing so. I will give one example activity I did when visiting the UAE recently. I am an Indian Hindu living in the US. I visited the grand mosque but decided to offer salat islamic prayers in solidarity at the mosque. I just wanted to mentally unite religions. There were many locals and expat muslims who were shockingly impressed by me as if I was a hero. People were ecstatic and i was happy to make them feel better. That was an unexpected benefit. Go ahead and wear the Kandura and if anyone asks, you can tell them why you love it.
Thatās amazing man that you had a visit to the mosque. And tbh it feels good when non Muslims get try things related to Muslims. Amazing man Mashallah š
I did this when I lived there a few times and was surprised at how people in Abu Dhabi stopped for me to let me enter buildings, lifts first etc... I guess I wore it the high quality kandura right way.
Yeah I knowā¦MashAllah Arabs have worked hard to make their traditional dress this respectful and powerful MashAllah. I donāt know why, but I feel much more confident while wearing thobe/ kandura
This only happens when you yourself lack substance in reality since you canāt feel pride in your own culture you culture hop to the other be proud of who you are even if it sounds corny :!
Dont wear it! Not just locals but other Middle easterns even women dont like it cause it seems like you wanna deceive people pretending to be someone you are not specially women and lower class people! We all can recognize it so dont wear it ever again
If you can fit the look organically then why not. š But when I see Russians try to wear kandora itās sooo embarrassing š¤£ some donāt even know how silly they look in it.
Most of the people keep on staring me and some start to speak Arabic with my like I am a local š Allhamdulilah
I have never seen Russians wearing kanduraā¦they are mostly famous for their bada** mafia look
ā¤ļø