I was recently compiling some notes about a story that focused on religious differences for international travelers. Specifically, I planned a story about the stigma and fear sometimes associated with visiting Islamic countries.

In my personal history, I have visited several Islamic countries: Malaysia, the Philippines (in the south), and Thailand. I also have a slew of Islamic countries on my to do list: Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Syria to name a few.

While I have read the Qur’an (Koran) and a couple of books about the life of Muhammad, I felt it necessary to get a deeper insight about what a traveler should know before buying a plane ticket to the Middle East, Africa or Southeast Asia. After all, my experiences with Muslim people in their own back yard is limited.

However, after sitting in a number of coffee shops and chatting with Muslims certain truths come out. People, regardless of religion, have far more in common than not.

This had become abundantly clear to me when I was chatting with several men in a Muslim village in Thailand. We all have kids and our conversation drifted toward what we want for our families. Here is the short list: we want health and happiness for our children, reasonable shelter, food on the table, and a few bucks in our pocket, but I still needed some help to write my story.

I called my friend from grad school, Ghada, who is a native of Egypt and a practicing Muslim woman for some advice about how to approach the subject of religion and travel. We talked about fear, culture, and being different. We also talked about a lack of religious awareness beyond the scary headlines and the need to get better information out to travelers.

Funny thing, after I spoke with Ghada about fear, Islam and our common plight of being human, she wrote me an article, which included her personal experience and 12 helpful hints aimed toward travelers considering a Middle Eastern adventure. Something that makes me drool just thinking about.

Since I will likely not be able to do it better, I offer Ghada’s story as inspiration to visit a place completely different, 12 Tips to Travel Muslim Countries.

For more about Ghada Bedair

Photo by Robert Romano, public domain

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