Tamara Gray – Healthy Gender Interactions Shaykha

			Why aren't boys and girls allowed
to interact in social places? For
		

			example, if they go out in groups,
the relationship between males and
		

			females in Islam is a relationship
of respect, and the word I like to
		

			use is professionalism. Boys and
girls socializing all over the
		

			place is an open door for
temptation and an open door for
		

			all sorts of relationships that
can hurt you, can hurt others, can
		

			hurt eventual children in the
future. And while our cultures and
		

			our societies are really
emphasizing not only mixing but
		

			trading off of relationships from
one after the other. We are asked
		

			to be a special, unique group of
people, a group of people who
		

			enjoins what is right and good and
wholesome and healthy, and pushes
		

			away and stands away from all that
which is ugly and immoral and
		

			unhealthy, both for us
individually, for our societies
		

			and for our progeny. So while it
may seem like this is a silly
		

			thing, I'm just out with my
friends and I'm just goofing
		

			around, and you may feel like that
doesn't affect the rest of the
		

			society, we need to recognize that
each individual makes up the
		

			society. So if each individual can
work together and build a healthy
		

			society through healthy and
professional interactions between
		

			boys and girls, men and women,
male and female, healthy
		

			interactions that include respect,
then we will have a better
		

			society, and that's what Muslims
have been called on to build.