As a Christian, is it OK for me to greet known Moslems with 'Salaam', Jews with 'Shalom' and Hindus with 'Namaste'? I'm concerned about the propriety of such greetings, as I don't want to appear more knowledgable about their faith or culture than I really am. Also, would you say my greeting total strangers in this way is just as appropriate or inappropriate as greeting friends or aquaintances this way? Thank you all for your insight!
2006-11-24 12:10:06 · 14 answers · asked by Blooming Sufi 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Thanks, all! Azra, you (and anyone else) can greet me with any or all of the above, and then some! :~)
2006-11-24 12:28:37 · update #1
Since i'm a muslim, i'll answer for myself then. The full construction of that greeting is Assalamo Alaikom (peace and God's salvation upon you), but even saying Selaam is sufficient :)
No, it's not inappropriate of you to greet me (for example) with selam .... as u can see from its translation - it really has a beautiful meaning.
Thanks for being one of the rare tolerant persons in this forum .... that's the type of people that keep me coming back.
How should i greet you? Thanks in advance :)
2006-11-24 12:16:42 · answer #1 · answered by Regina 5 · 4⤊ 3⤋
Namaste is just fine. Its not a religious greeting either.Hello or simple Hi will be OK too.
In Sanskrit "Namas" means, "bow or salutation."
It comes from the root Nam, which carries meanings
of bending, "Te" means "to you." Thus "namaste" means "I bow to you."
The act of greeting is called "Namaskaram," "Namaskara" and "Namaskar" in the varied languages of the subcontinent.
2006-11-24 17:40:57 · answer #2 · answered by Karma 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i greet my friends with namaste and we are not Hindu ... but it is such a beautiful greeting it could not offend even those of that religion if you were to use it respectfully ...
i feel the same could be said of the others ....
it is about respect
i am sure they would respect you for respecting them
2006-11-24 12:15:56 · answer #3 · answered by Peace 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
If you say it with respect then I think thats all that counts. I have exchanged all of those greetings with my friends and the end result has always been a smile!
2006-11-24 12:13:37 · answer #4 · answered by A fan 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The tendency to look flighty. to alter with out following by way of. i discover this not in basic terms interior of myself on occasion, yet additionally interior of many human beings I meet in the community. each faith has stable and undesirable aspects. i think of Christians probably carry on with one concept too long, to the element the place in case you come across that to be demonstrably incorrect, you save doing it besides out of a feeling of loyalty. (look at Bush, or the whole loose-commerce concept) We pagans tend to be the choice, and fly in the direction of the subsequent concept with the wind. The Goddess cult survived eu Christiandom... ok... It did not it extremely is a revival.... ok... not something survived in any respect, and it particularly is all in basic terms stimulated via Thelema, Spiritualism, and Theosophy... ok... There are some aspects that survived as Mesopaganism, besides the undeniable fact that it grew to become into distinctive than paleopaganism, and the recent neopaganism... ok...
2016-12-29 10:26:03 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm a Muslim, and it's fine for you to say Salam when you meet a Muslim as it means 'peace'. It's not inappropriate or offensive. In fact, it is a nice gesture :)
2006-11-24 12:19:26 · answer #6 · answered by Mawarda 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Go ahead, greet me with Shalom, but a simple "hey, hows it going?" will suffice too!
2006-11-24 12:18:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
we say salaam alaykum. Which means 'peace be with you' I am a Muslim. I am not sure about hindus or jewish sayings.
I'm sure they mean the same thing.
2006-11-24 12:12:45 · answer #8 · answered by TRuth Hurts 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
salam simply means peace, we say it to our best friends and we say it to people we just met
say a 2 people meet, the first person says "asalamalikum" (may peace be upon you)
the proper reply would be "walaikumasalam"(and may peace be upon you)
2006-11-24 12:12:43 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Assalamu Alykum -- peace be upon you.
appropriate
2006-11-24 12:15:16 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋