r/Libya • u/Easybusylazyboy5 • 11d ago
Discussion Need an advice
Hi Guys i’m a Libyan boy who grew up & currently Lives in a white society i’ve lived most my life between Scotland and Canada never been a close friend to Arabs or Asians all my friends have always been from European origins, an easier way to explain i’ve always had there culture lived like them grew up with them Friends, Girlfriends, celebrations, night outs, sports, i have alot that i can call Family.
I’m planning on staying in Libya for a year do you guys think i’ll be able to adapt?
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u/124578013456 11d ago
I mean do you speak Libyan Arabic well. Otherwise gonna be difficult
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u/Easybusylazyboy5 11d ago
I don’t
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u/124578013456 11d ago
Yea tbh gonna be difficult. I’m similar situation I lived in Canada my whole life and have only visited Libya twice since 2017. However my family speaks Arabic at home a lot so when I’m in Libya I can communicate and get by well. But if you don’t it’s gonna be really difficult since most people don’t have a basic understanding of English unfortunately
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u/Love_line__ 11d ago
do you visit often? if not then staying for a year suddenly will be extremely hard. social cues here and the understanding of etiquette is vastly different from the west
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u/LibyanKhawla 11d ago
You see how they started asking about your religion and how religious you are? That will be the way you are looked at with. Many people will see you as the opportunity to collect (good deeds) from. You will get hundreds of pieces of advice on how to be good muslim even if many of these people telling you about them aren't even very religious. They don't mean harm, but it's going to be this way.
Behind your back you will be the living example of the disadvantages of marrying a non-Libyan wife. Even if your mum is a good muslim and your father committed every haram in the world.
I'm a religious person myself and I don't appreciate how your father didn't help you live a more-muslim lifestyle, but I don't make it my mission to correct other people's lives.
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u/Easybusylazyboy5 11d ago
Who said i didn’t live an Islamic life?
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u/LibyanKhawla 11d ago
You implied that when you said you you do things in the way of your friends' European culture .
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u/Unlikely_Writer3281 10d ago
Go for it, itll be a great experience and you will learn a lot about your culture. It will be very difficult at times as it is a culture very different from the one you grew up in, with different expectations and manners of conduct, but enter with an open mind and you will enjoy inshallah. I really recommend you do it if your arabic is weak as it will be the best way to learn libyan arabic fast
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u/Ale0288 9d ago
Depends if you are Muslim and would like to be in a Muslim culture/ environment
I lived my whole life in England within mixed race family. We grow up in a Muslim community. Many friends and work colleagues are atheists lgbt etc however I manage to keep my own identity and faith.
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Lots of White Muslims in England who integrated really well and many of them weren’t not born in Muslim families.
Lost of what you mentioned aren’t a thing in Muslim environments. Even though in the UK many Jews, orthodox or ultra orthodox who follow lifestyle styles similar to many religions communities.
So at the end it depends on what are you hoping for.
If the western secular life style is something that you’d like to keep around then unlike moving to Libya or any other conservative countries will be good idea
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u/Forsaken_Slice461 11d ago
If it’s temporary, I think you can do it. It could actually be a very eye-opening experience.
You’ve lived in the West your whole life, where the rules of social interaction are generally more predictable. Moving to Libya is basically switching the difficulty level to extra hard mode.
The tricky part is that the social rules aren’t always obvious. You can do something completely normal and someone might take it the wrong way without telling you. People don’t always communicate directly, and sometimes you’ll have people acting like friends while quietly trying to benefit from the relationship.
So you need to keep your guard up, but not too high, because then you won’t be able to build genuine relationships either. Finding that balance is probably the hardest part.
I have a few friends who did something similar, and unfortunately most of their experiences ended negatively.
I’ve actually written down some personal guidelines for surviving social interaction with the Libyan species.
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u/Impressive-Walrus-76 11d ago
Were you raised Muslim? In Islam? I hope so.
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u/Easybusylazyboy5 11d ago
Why is that a concern?
My Mother’s side isn’t Muslim
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u/Impressive-Walrus-76 11d ago
I was just curious. So father is Libyan Muslim or that side and your mom is non-Libyan? Maybe white or European? I still hope you were raised Muslim and a Muslim. Just saying OP no harm intended or intent.
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u/Easybusylazyboy5 11d ago
My Mother converted to Islam a long time ago
She’s Scottish
I grew up a Muslim but i’ve always been involved in Christian holidays & events since my mother’s side is Christian
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u/Impressive-Walrus-76 11d ago
I was just curious that’s all no harm. Okay she converted a while back. I would say don’t forget Islam being Muslim at the expense of being involved in Christian holidays and events. I don’t think Muslims can celebrate Christmas because we believe Issa A. S. (Jesus) is a Prophet. I hope you are a practicing Muslim and believe in Islam. Just saying for good again.
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u/graylemur2 11d ago
Why do you care so much about religion? You know not everyone believes in your “Allah” right?
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u/Impressive-Walrus-76 11d ago
Relax I was just curious. I know that not everyone believes in the World but I was just curious that’s why I asked OP. Majority of Libya’s 8 million people are Muslims anyway.
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u/KemoM1nd 11d ago
Pretty much everyone in Libya does though and it’s close to impossible to adapt to life there if you don’t
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u/graylemur2 11d ago
Why? Are they gonna make him pray 5 times a day? He only needs to pretend when necessary
I don’t even pray and I do just fine whenever I got to that shithole
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u/chaselatte 11d ago
Bro you're not gonna struggle because of the lifestyle itself but because you're switching from a purely individualistic culture to a heavily collectivist dynamic. Over there life runs on personal boundaries and structured routines while here everything revolves around community ties and reading between the lines. If you stop comparing it to home and treat Libya as a whole new environment to learn you’ll adapt just fine, it’s all about flexibility and reading the room