(Untitled)

[somuchforhope]

"I just don't know what got into her head, to be completely honest with you," GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney said. "Her going to a state which is without question a sponsor of terror, and having her picture taken with (Bashar) Assad and being seen in a headscarf and so forth is sending the wrong signal to the people of Syria and to the people

Comments

[ndnize]

Romney is an idiot. There were a few video clips on NBC news where she was speaking with Assad inside state buildings where she wasn't wearing anything on her head -- and I thought that was disrespectful. What do Syrians think about her visit?

[optimussven]

It's not disrespectful. She only wore the headscarf when she was visiting the Umayyad Mosque, which is the thing to do. Assad's own wife doesn't wear one, as do a huge number of Syrian women so there is nothing disrespectful in Pelosi's actions, in-fact wearing one would have been disrespectful, especially for a secular regime like Syria.

[ndnize]

thanks for the clarification!

[somuchforhope]

yeah, as Nate pointed out, Assad's wife doesn't wear a headscarf nor do large segments of the population here. In addition to the Christian population, only the more traditional Alawi, Druze and Ismaeli women wear headscarves, and a significant amount of the urban Sunni population (particularly in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Lattakia) don't wear them either.

But wearing a headscarf is, of course, required to visit any mosque... and what I was dumbfounded by is how it is 'sending the wrong message' to show respect for that custom.

[somuchforhope]

oh, yeah, and to answer your question... Syrians are rather pleased by her visit. I've been telling them not to get their hopes up, however, as the Democrats having no interest in challenging Israel in anyway whatsoever.

Although it isn't much talked about, the only real conflict between Syria and the West has been, and remains, the Golan Heights.