Hi, I am a white British woman of 36 and am friendly with a neighbour who is a Muslim Pakistani lady in her 60s. We walk to the shops together and chat about husbands etc and hers sounds like a real sweetie. However when I see him I call out hallo and something about the weather or ask about his wife and he mumbles 'hello' and looks at the floor. I had thought he might be shy because his wife describes him as quite sensitive so had kept greeting him. Then when my daughter who is 6 was playing in the street with his granddaughter who lives with them he was completely different and playing and laughing with them.
I recently saw someone on here say that it is impolite for a Muslim man to look directly at a woman and that men will often look at the floor when talking to a woman they are not related to. Could this be the reason? Should I stop greeting him? I would feel rude but not if this is the reason. We have lived near each other for 5 years. His wife dresses like me - usually in jeans and T-shirts?
I recently saw someone on here say that it is impolite for a Muslim man to look directly at a woman and that men will often look at the floor when talking to a woman they are not related to. Could this be the reason? Should I stop greeting him? I would feel rude but not if this is the reason. We have lived near each other for 5 years. His wife dresses like me - usually in jeans and T-shirts?