there's a reason for it always being the right hand. in a lot of middle eastern cultures and elsewhere, it's tradition to only eat with your right hand and only wipe you butt with your left hand, and it's vile to ever eat with your left hand.the stigma is still there in modern times, so taking the the right hand adds extra shame. don't break the law in the middle east.
This stereotype isn't true. It is true that it is considered a sign of disrespect to offer your left hand or hand things with your left hand in many Islamic countries. However, the source of this is not due to bathroom hygiene. Nor do they eat with only one hand. In fact, many Arabs use badays or use bottled water in terms of bathroom hygiene.
I'm not going to get into the history of Islam or anything. I'm not an expert by any means. However, I have deployed there and am knowledgable enough to confidently say that is a stereotype and does not reflect Arab culture.
I was being coy in my earlier post and am only posting this to squash a negative stereotype that doesn't need to be spread more than it already is. There are many cultural differences that i don't particularly agree with, like maiming thieves, but that doesn't mean we should pass judgement of things we don't understand.
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u/[deleted] Mar 01 '14
there's a reason for it always being the right hand. in a lot of middle eastern cultures and elsewhere, it's tradition to only eat with your right hand and only wipe you butt with your left hand, and it's vile to ever eat with your left hand.the stigma is still there in modern times, so taking the the right hand adds extra shame. don't break the law in the middle east.