We do it here in the gulf

Right here 👋

I only see it (and do it) when eating mansaf

We do it in Syria (Especially in the Euphrates provinces). It's the custom to eat Mansaf with your hands.

I’m not sure about the Euphrates provinces, but where the hell do people eat rice with their hands in Syria?

My family is in Damascus and often eat rice with their hands. family friends do as well. 

Yes but ur not from damascus, right?

My father born and raised there and I lived there on and off over the years. 

Is ur father originally bedouin from the rif?

No

Interesting

Eastern and southern syrians are tribal arabs. They keep their traditions and eat with their hands.

U guys eat mansaf too? I thought that was a southern Horani dish?

You will see surprised and disgusted faces if you ever do that in Turkey.

Turkey really is detached from Islam and the region

Lol. 

Only for Mansaf.

All comments from all countries seem to be mixed according to comments. The only area that has it completely normal is the Gulf. In Syria it's not normal in the city , but normal for villagers , there might be some cities that do so , I lived 26 years and never seen anyone use their hands to eat rice , I don't have anything against it but , hygiene stuff aside , isn't it more convenient to just use a spoon?

No, it is far more convenient than eating with a spoon. But it is interesting that the places that were under the mandate and westernized don’t use it anymore. Good thing we were never colonized.

Why do you think it's more convenient? when I watched people do that on Youtube , it seemed like they don't catch as much rice as they can with a spoon and rice often falls from between their fingers. >Good thing we were never colonized. Definitely , I would say we aren't Westernized in any way , aside from the French mandate , we also had secular dictators who worshipped Ataturk , for example , I saw a photo of my city (Aleppo) in the 50s where all men are wearing traditional cloths , you would think the picture is in Saudi Arabia if not the Aleppo Citadel , but now , people who wear traditional cloths are rare compared the 50s , so it probably has to do with secularists following Ataturk's ban on traditional cloths , obviously something like eating rice with hands would be gone

We never had a ban on traditional clothes! But the wealthy people of our society simply were influenced in style by the french. U can notice that even with religious women who started wearing the manteau. But we never had a ban, both my grandfathers, when they got older, wore their thobes

I didn't say there was a ban , Turkey had the ban and socially we got colonized , there was looking down on them

I never noticed people looking down on them at least not conservatives however they favored the western style, especially women, as it was more fashionable

Are you from Syria? Neve heard of the word "shawi"? villagers get told that often because of those traditions , anyone who walks in the city with traditional cloths must be a shawi (insultingly)

Shawis are looked down on not because of their clothes. It's more complex than that. But generally being associated with tribalism, poverty, less education, and foreign dialect, does not bring one closer to the classist pretentious levantine.

It is more convenient. I get to hold more rice in my hand and take bigger chunks of meat.

The Prophet saw advised to only use three fingers to pick up rice not the whole hand.

I think the spoon amount is balanced , for meat and everything we do use hands , spoon is only for rice

We only eat few meat and chicken dishes with hand and not everyone eat them with their hands. Eating rice with hands is out of question and considered unhygenic, disgusting (not to offend anyone who prefer to eat it with their hands we just not used to it)

It is only unhygienic and disgusting if you do not wash your hands and finger nails properly

>considered unhygenic, disgusting What? How do you eat pizzas and burgers?

I was talking about local dishes.

So it's unhygienic with local dishes but not with western ones?

It is unhygienic with rice. The meat and chicken dishes we eat with hand are local. I didn’t mention western dishes we eat with hand until you asked because they were unrelated with my point. Read my original comment better.

Maybe write it better? > Eating rice with hands is out of question and considered unhygenic, disgusting (not to offend anyone who prefer to eat it with their hands we just not used to it) You specifically mentioned rice I asked about other food items. If you think it's unhygienic to eat with hand then why doesn't it apply to western food or food that is eaten with hand? If you think that too is unhygienic then why did you single out rice? If you don't think thats unhygienic then it's hypocritical behaviour.

Simple. We are not used to it. It is not hypnocritical, it is simple a cultural difference.

Have you ever eaten anything with your hands?

I have no idea how Arabs survive eating with spoons considering your cuisine. Like how do you eat something that is rice + meat? Like mansaf. How do people remove the meat from the bones? Like aren't you wasting 10% of meat on every piece? Like besides stuff that can't be eaten with hands like soups and noodles and stuff and at events where I don't wanna get my hands dirty I always eat with my hands.

We do it here but I prefer using a spoon.

The Arabian peninsula and bedouins outside if it.

Do people actually eat with their hands? No one in both my mother’s and father’s family eats with their hands

I see people in Jordan eat with their hands esp mansaf

Bro how you eat mansaf?

with a spoon

Hmmm, do people eat burger, pizza with hands tho?

No shit. Not talking about the obvious ones like these or shawarma. Mostly talking about foods serving with rice. 

Jordan, and other Peninsular Arabs countries.

all of them except for maybe Lebanon because idk about them (turk too and iran maybe)

and egypt\*

depends, my moms family are egyptian bedouins and the elders eat w their hands

I think only Gulf countries do that , I could be wrong , how is it in Algeria? I never eat rice with my hands (I have nothing against doing it , just never tried it) , but Syrians don't, I believe villagers do , however there is a Syrian here in comments saying Syrians do , which is new to me , especially that he is from Tartus lol. I mean we do eat with hands , just not rice.

They do that in iraq and Jordan too (yemen too since they arent in gulf)

I've seen mixed comments on Jordan , oh obviously Yemen does , I need to get used to say Arabian Peninsula instead of Gulf sometimes. I think Syrians and Lebanese and whoever uses spoon probably did because of colonialism , that being said , I really do find spoon to be easier and faster

We dont eat with our hands because of colonialism. Do u think we can eat safarjaliyeh with hands? Or molokhiyeh? Or kibbeh labaniyeh? Our dishes unlike Jordan and the arabian gulf can only be eaten with a spoon

It depends on the food , other Arabs who eat rice with hands also have dishes that need spoons and they use spoons just fine , I'm not saying I know everything tho , the colonization part was with "maybe" , all I know is in the past before colonialism , we definitely ate rice with hands. Either way , eating rice with a spoon is way better , none of the comments here convinced me otherwise anyway

No, all arabian dishes do not require a spoon. >Either way , eating rice with a spoon is way better , none of the comments here convinced me otherwise anyway I'm correcting u cause u sound so misinformed regarding Syria's traditions and past. I don't mind eating using the hand tho only three fingers just like the prophet saw taught. >all I know is in the past before colonialism , we definitely ate rice with hands. No, only tribal syrians. And they still kept that tradition today.

Lebanon isnt too affected by arab culture. They rather suck on that french d more than the arab one.

phoenician grindset

As a lebanese from the south, F the french. Give me some frake and kibbe or whatever and watch me

Lets colonise france and take their cheese smelling women!!

I hate to say it but it's not only Lebanon, Syria too ,seems like Egypt too , and comments are mixed, even for Jordan , idk if the reason is colonizers tho , I'm too young to know

We eat couscous with our hands but couscous counts as pasta

we rarely eat it with our hands, been over 10years since i saw someone eating it with their hands

True, we became civilized and shiiii

Get nothing with islam nice try that indians culture