How does belly dancing fit in with conservative Muslim culture?

Question

I'm just curious about this. Belly dancing is Middle Eastern in origin, but how does it fit in with conservative Islam, like with women covering their head and everything?

Is bellydancing a pre-Islamic art? Is it just practiced among more liberal Muslims? Or it is practiced by mostly Christians in the Middle East and not Muslims?

Answer 1

"Belly" dancing is an art form mistakenly thought by many in the west to be blatantly sexual. It is not, and it takes a great deal of strength and skill to perform correctly.

There is less sex involved than in what western girls are allowed to wear to school.

Answer 2

The origins of bellydance are unknown although there are many theories floating around so it is not certain whether the dance form is pre-Islamic or not. However, most theories believe that it was at least pre-Islamic. Bellydancing in general has been stereotyped as something like stripping among the western world although it is no more like stripping than flamenco or ballroom. Up until the early 20th century bellydancing was not done in the ultra sexy bra and belt combos seen today in nighclubs around the world. Instead long loose dresses were worn and a siple scarf or belt may have been tied around the waist. The oficial Islamic stance on bellydancing in public is that it should not be done nor should any dance. The only acceptable dance situations are in your home with your blood related family and for some close friends of the same sex who are also believers, in front of your husband, and some times at a wedding(this is not really suposed to be allowed it's more just a time when you can get away with it). Traditionally a good Muslim would never dance in front of anyone who did not meet those above mentioned criteria. Bellydancing has generally been done for women by women and is not the sexual dance that many people mistakenly assume it is. Dancing of any kind was generally only performed in public by women of loose morals and by gypsies. Today in Islamic counrties this generally still holds true. Most of the top name bellydancers (such as Dina and Lucy are notorious for their other services which the render, they deny that they offer these services but everyone knows what really goes on). Although some countries are a little more lax on enforcing Islamic ideas and because each family is different in what they view as being acceptable or what they will ignore there are many younger arab women who are dancing in public at nightclubs (not professionally just club hopping) but among professional dancers they tend to be only nominally Muslim altough there are some who would argue that. The fact is that if a woman from a Muslim family decides to dance she does it in a different city far away under a fake name so that hopefuilly her family will never find out and be publicly shamed. Some dancers will take up hijab and perform hajj when their reputation becomes so bad that their saftey is threatened but they generally return to dancing after several months at most. Once they have children they also tend to stop dancing and take up hijab. Bellydancing can be very tempting especially among the poor because there is a potential to make a lot of money and in a place where jobs are few and money is tight some do what it takes to put bread on the table. It is actually interesting to note that in many places for example egypt there have been fewer and fewer Egyptians who dance and foreigners have been moving in to take their place. Almost anywhere you go you will find yourself watching a bellydancer from russia or europe. A few people in Egypt actively try to preserve the dances and strive to elevate them in the public's eye to an artform. Mahmoud Reda is a prime example. I would highly recommend reading a book called "A Trade Like Any Other: Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt" to really delve further into the subject. There was also a follow up done called "An Hour For God" which is available online to read. Both are by Karin VanNeukirk (not sure on spelling just guessing from memory). I know that that doesn't exactly answer your question but there really is no black and white response to this there are many facets, many aspects that contribute to this subject and much more than what can really be said here on Yahoo! Answers. If you are interested you may email me through my site http://www.middleeasterndance.net and I will be glad to talk more about it with you.

Answer 3

belly dancing is practiced all around the world by all different cultures and religions as far as the Conservative Muslim part belly dancing in most of the Conservative regions are only practiced among women as a right of passage and to celebrate and practice child birthing techniques it is the western civ utilization changed it a bit the less Conservative parts of turkey Lebanon and Egypt show their stomachs and preform in mixed audiences
i am a bellydancer by the way an american who fell in love with its power and liberating feminine movements .belly dancing in some cultures is a trance dance used as prayer every region has its reasons traditions and methods for the dance both Christians and Muslims dance just in different arenas hope this helps

Answer 4

It doesnt - It is strictly forbidden in any interpretation of Kuran and Islam that a woman dances in front of men. Belly dance is a cultural thing not a religious one, and in ancient times it was performed by men as an art and there are still men who perform this art. After some time, women started to perform this art and once women were involved, it is started to be used as a show where the woman wear very sexy clothing and it turned to a show similar to striptease. however, it has always been woman belly dancers who do it as an art and you have to see how different they dance! It has nothing to do with being liberal Muslims or not. I am an extremely liberal Muslim, I dont cover my hair etc. and I have very different and liberal interpretations of Kuran but it is the most obvious thing that belly dance in today's sense is forbidden in Islam.

Answer 5

Belly dancing is arabic, not all arabs are orthodox muslim. Dancing in public is against islamic religious codes. In arabian cultures belly dancing is a form of music and dance, it is a visual art, meant for the enjoyment of the person watching. It emphasizes the womans body and desireablility as well as her seductive powers.

Answer 6

it doesnt fit in with conservative muslims, or what i like to call it, extremist, the only time the ladies belly dance as an extreme is with only ladies in the room, but for muslims that dont wear hijabs, like my sister and l belly dance freely, in clubs, families houses, it seems to fit, nobody complains much

Answer 7

The dress is for less distraction and for protecting the thoughts from what one should be doing.
Muhammad saw the body as something of enjoyment that should be celebrated
Sex should be celebrated except inside of the marriage

I am not sure about your other questions sorry

Answer 8

there is no dance in islam, the people who do that are doing against islam.

Answer 9

maybe only muslim men used to do it...
and it was misinterpreted by the western ppl....
LOL...
am lovin this kwestion!!!!!
hey ppl....
why not type ur country name next to ur answers so tat v can exchange some culture stuff...
it'll be nice..
i'll go first...
INDIA

Answer 10

its only wrong to bellydance when your audience is not of the same gender as you... ie girls can only bellydance in front of a female audience... same goes to all other kinds of dances actually...