Ball- jointed Dolls in Arabic Countries

I am glad to see that I am not the only Muslim here since in a lot of my hobbies I feel I am the only one even if I am not. I might have been born and grew up in America and look like a "normal American" but that doesn't change that I am a Muslim.

On the idea of having dogs as pets that Lisadragon brought up it really depends. I myself was always under the impression that having a dog was okay but that the dog should not lick you or eat from the same dishes or sleep in the same bed. I don't have a dog but that is just because I prefer cats so I have my cat instead. The Saluki is a very popular dog amongst the royal family of Saudi Arabia and my husband grew up in Uzbekistan and his family had a dog.

 

Hello everyone
its nice to see many arab ppl who got same hobby and actually owned some dolls too =p

i'm from Bahrain (Arabic country)
and well, almost no one here knows about these dolls

i showed my friends some pics and they like them
but after i told them the price they were like "omg too expensive but still cute xD"
when i told my mother that i want to get a doll she got mad and told me "i wont let you bring such a doll here this doll is too realistic and looks like human + you are not a kid " and yea about that these dolls are too expensive
i told her these dolls are not for kids and that these dolls like barbies -which my sis got a lot of them- but still she didnt change her mind
then i started to cry -like a kid lol- saying "this is the only thing that i want why you dont let me get it"
my mom: *sigh* ok do whatever you want.. but i wont allow you to bring that creepy doll out of your room
soo
i will get my doll soon
and yeah.. i lied to her about the price xD i told her the doll costs $318 USD when its price is actually 720

& one of my friends who lives in Qatar told me she may get a doll too

 

cool xD
if anyone wanna think we are kids then we are kids who cares =p
and thanks i cant w8 till i get her im so excited
btw =o where are you from?

 

Just found this thread. I am an American Muslim. I have been collecting bjds for about five years. When first became interested I did some research and found that Aiesha (alayhe salaam) (She was one of the wives of the prophet (PBUH)) played with dolls. I figured if she did, I could. Many people think I am insane, an adult "playing" with dolls but it doesn't have anything to do with my religion only that people don't understand the satisfaction I find in creating personalities and looks for each of my dolls.
On another note, dogs are considered nagis (dirty) and are not generally kept inside the house of Muslims but can be kept outside.
I am happy to see that bjds have formed a bond between religions, continents, and age. Thanks to all for your wonderful comments.

 

Reviving an old thread, but I find this fascinating...I've been away from the forum for a long while and on a whim I decided to log in and see if there's anything new regarding people from 'my neck of the woods' basically.

I am from Amman, Jordan, born and raised... I own three dolls right now. The only disapproval I got was passive disapproval from my mother who thought I should spend my money on something else, (but that changed after the first one arrived; she named him, and now she points out every mini thing we see asking if it's to scale with the boys!)

I've never met anyone who's heard of BJD, and the people I introduced the concept to are either amusingly indulgent of my hobby, fans, or just don't understand why I would want to spend my time doing this. So far no one has mentioned anything about religion or culture to me, and I have been seen taking pics of the boys outdoors, the only response I got was odd or amused looks of someone watching a random adult taking pictures of dolls.

I would also like to say that toy shops are very prosperous and rife with dolls of all kinds and makes (those breathing ones kind of scare me!) I've actually had traditional clothes done for my boy, by a seamstress who only specialises in traditional clothes for dolls and did a photoshoot with it.

As for what has been discussed here, Arab countires, and Muslems, like all cultures/religions/countries fall into an entire spectrum of how they live, practice their religion, etc... There are places where I can freely walk and wear my sleeveless tops, and there are places where it would be smarter to wear a longer sleeved top.

As for customs and shipping, I use a service called Aramex to avoid custom taxes which could go up to 60% at times, I didn't have any trouble having any of the boys come through, though I did have some panic attacks the first time I ordered one, wondering if my package was going to be flagged as 'indecent'. The next two I was much more relaxed knowing that my packages were seen just as they are, dolls.

I'm so happy to see there's a group from various countries around me, it was a bit lonely thinking I was the only one in the region who was into this!

 

I guess it would really depend on each country. I have some friends in Egypt, and some of them are very open minded (I'm sure my one friend would make intimate jokes about my bjd too but he hasn't been on much recently) but I'm sure his gf would simultaneously smack him for them, lol.

My brother's boyfriend is from Brunei, and they are quite closed minded there in many ways (he was nearly beaten to death for being gay and he had to leave the country to not be legally prosecuted for it)

I'd say some countries like Egypt are a bit more accepting (in the general population) than others such as Saudi Arabia... but I don't live there, so I'm saying this out of personal experience with people I have met and government set up and general laws that I am aware of. I love seeing people from all sorts of countries on here though, so I'd love to see more people from there as well

It's so nice to share this hobby with people from all walks of life n.n

 

I think doll ownership doesn't have as many things to do with a certain culture or religion as it does with personal belief and what EACH person considers right or wrong. I have many Arab (AND Muslim) friends since I'm studying Arabic language and culture, but none of them knows about dolls -you know, I don't tell people I know IRL about them.

I always think it's the same thing with dolls than with the hijab -or the abaya or whatever thing related to religion: some think it's right, some think it's wrong. Some wear it, some don't. As long as you don't feel/think you're doing something bad, do what you want with your money, dress your dolls whichever way you want them to and make them pose. It's you who has to be comfortable with them.

 

Hello, I am from Qatar, a Muslim, and all Arabic , woohoo, I have almost 11 dolls and 3 DD's ^^ and I been into the bjd hobby since 09, and I got to say, Now Muslim/Arabic countries are WAY WAY opened minded from before, seeing this post that sadly turned int a noun needed debate, My religion dose not mind the dolls nor my family and nor my culture, they think its a very respected and peaceful hobby~ not like the other hobbies that I know off (hunting and so on DX)

But seriously dose it matter? what religion, nor country your coming from~? hummm~? of course not! I just smile knowing Ill be coming home after a hard day at work to see and play with my dolls, my dolls are a part of me , because I worked so hard on saving for them and building up their OC's, we all have that in common, the love and respect of this wonderful giving hobby.


It dose not matter where your from ,or where you are, or what religion you follow, what matters is enjoy yourself, and grow, yes my own religion is a mystery so are others. but we learn about then and we grow with knowledge.

 

Ok, I was reading down this thread, duly thoughtful, until I came to the women/man debate??????

Then I was duly offended. Just don't go there, please. Let's agree that I think you're totally misinformed and making up problems in your own head if you think women and men are 'suited' to different positions you patronizing 'evolutionary bs'- I mean, Let's agree to disagree.

And as for dolls in arabic countries, the only detriment I can think of is cultural values, and a lot of people willingly step over that line. I'm sure they can get it if they want it enough (financial issues notwithstanding as with everyone)

 

Two girls who sit in front of me is class (They are both Muslims) were really interested in this hobby when I brought a How-To restring BJDs instruction manual to school. One of them told me that she wanted to own one but couldn't afford it.

This is really off topic but their reactions to this hobby might differ.It actually depends on their point of view. For some people, they might find it okay to have a nude doll arrive at their doorstep while others might not like them as much.

 

I also read for a while until it got to the gender lines sort of thing. Makes me a bit.. ehh.

The only note I want to add that may be of some interest to people on here....

I had a coworker a long time ago for a little while who was raised in a relatively strict Muslim household, but not as strict as some. The thing that surprised me was when she told me about the issues with their toys growing up. Their father was extremely strict when it came to putting toys away securely at night, not having them displayed or sleeping with stuffed animals and so on. This was even more true for anything human-shaped. He told them that spirits (I think she used the term Djinn come to think of it) could go into the toys at night and harm them. She said this was a Muslim custom and he was and still is quite serious about it. I have not heard of this before and found it both relatable and interesting (having a superstious Russian father and all!).
I would imagine that anyone who agreed with her father's customs would not like BJDs much. Many people get spooky feelings from them and first hand I have met some strict Christians and/or general Spiritualists who have the same sort of mistrust of BJDs.

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Are there any BJD collectors in Lebanon??

 

I'm from Qatar and I been collecting BJD's for 7 years and a Muslim too, the amount of read Recluelessness I'm reading is sad yet funny at the same time, people should look up middle Easter collectors before they start judging the religion and it's people srsly.