Asalaamu alaikum folks, and Eid Mubarak - sorry I've been away.
During Ramadan & the following Eid I sent out a string of emails to friends in other countries and to those who were Muslim I ended with "Eid Mubarak, akhi!". Two of those friends replied and asked me to NOT call them that again. One went so far as to lecture me that that was an American custom, not a true "Islamic" one (this guy has been a trial to me since he first found out I was Muslim too) and said that "nobody says that here or says 'brother', you call by first name or by Abo with their son's name".
My question for any brothers living in an Arabic speaking Muslim country: is there something wrong with addressing another Muslim brother as brother or akhi? Most of the men in my masjid are from the Arabian Penninsula and when they speak to each other they say "akhi" so why is it wrong for me to do so?
Appreciate any feed back!
JazakAllah Khairn
D.
During Ramadan & the following Eid I sent out a string of emails to friends in other countries and to those who were Muslim I ended with "Eid Mubarak, akhi!". Two of those friends replied and asked me to NOT call them that again. One went so far as to lecture me that that was an American custom, not a true "Islamic" one (this guy has been a trial to me since he first found out I was Muslim too) and said that "nobody says that here or says 'brother', you call by first name or by Abo with their son's name".
My question for any brothers living in an Arabic speaking Muslim country: is there something wrong with addressing another Muslim brother as brother or akhi? Most of the men in my masjid are from the Arabian Penninsula and when they speak to each other they say "akhi" so why is it wrong for me to do so?
Appreciate any feed back!
JazakAllah Khairn
D.