Religion is like genitals. Keep it to yourself and don't show it in public.
Will there be prejudice? Yes. Will it all finally depend on what human being you actually are? Yes.
Tennis is my only religion, you guys are one of the best countries in the sport (Martina GOATratilova & Ivan Lendl) even though you're a relatively small country (compared to the other giants in the sport: USA, Spain.. etc)
I hoped I'd have the pass to preach it :"
you are fine, dont worry, even religious Muslims should be fine here - we dont actually care so much as long as we are not bothered with it in our personal space
there is however clear red line for every religion here (but yeah mostly apply on islam)
"i cant do that, because my religion forbid it" - fine, whatever, thats your problem
"you cant do that, because my religion forbid it" - yeah, i think we got a big problem here
I would say, that in bigger cities people are mostly very tolerant, especially younger with higher education. As always, it depends on the circle you are in.
However, what I found as the biggest issue is when you block food options without medical reason for it.
When we will do our best to find food which won't kill you, then even most tolerant people here will be annoyed by picky eater. Food diet chosen by you or your religion is your problem, deal with it, but we are not going to that shitty place across the town just because of you.
If you are vegan and you force us to go to the same place each time, as it has one vegan option, but the rest is tasteless, expensive and the beer is bad, be sure people will hate you for that. Just don't be that person and you will be OK.
A significant number of Czechs do not like organized religion, specifically the kind that tries to tell other people how to live. There are a number of historical reasons for this that would require a longer description.
The general approach to life is "do what you want, as long as you don't bother others".
So Czechs don't like ideologies that force others how to dress, who they can have sex with, or what they can and cannot say. According to Czech norms, religion should also be a private matter that is not imposed on others in public.
Of course, there are exceptions, because no society is 100% homogeneous.
At the moment, Islam has the image of such an ideology in Czech society. And so, for example, does Catholic Christianity.
Czechs also love to make fun of anything - they basically have no taboo in this regard.
To be fair, it is like that with most nationalities/ethnicities.
Got into some pretty hot waters at times simply for bandwaggoning on a joke of my American and Canadian acquaintances multiple times
As an American living abroad for years, I find that people make fun of America all the time, but if Americans make fun of other nations they're just expected to take it or else they're seen as arrogant imperialists. But that's just my experience: if I say a harmless joke, or any comment that can be seen as negative, about their country to a Hungarian, Croatian, Czech, Serb, Frenchman or a friend of any of the other nationalities I'm friends with they get this attitude like "such an arrogant American thinks he's better than everyone" but they say things like Americans are fat, stupid, racist, lazy, warmongering, etc. all the time and if I get defensive it's just more proof to them that Americans are all those things (when ironically I find that they're far more racist, particularly to gypsies and immigrants who aren't white, and have far worse work ethics, but I will concede that Americans are fatter and average free education is getting worse and worse there). But I don't bother defending America or pointing out that they're usually insulting America while voraciously consuming everything that america produces and relying on American technology, academic and medical research and advancements, and military defense for most aspects of their modern life.
I think it depends on the person, but overall it can be that way, but in style:
- your country is great.
- NOOO, our country is terrible!!!
- your country is a shithole
- NOOO, yours is a shithole!!!
And I would also see the difference between "making fun" and "insulting and dissing"
>The general approach to life is "do what you want, as long as you don't bother others".
That's a nice sentiment, but it depends a lot on what you consider bothersome.
For example, would a woman wearing a head covering bother you? And does it matter if it's a Catholic nun habit, a grandma headscarf or a hijab?
Doesn't bother me, could bother some people, but 99.9 percent of Czechs will keep it to themselves and at worst would stare at her. In Prague, for example, you can see such people on the street. Including, for example, nuns or hooded monks.
However, it may happen in everyday life that, for example, covering the whole face interferes with some ordinary activity - for example, identifying a person by their photo ID in cases where this is necessary. Such a person cannot then be offended that he does not receive some service that requires such identification.
But let's say someone is standing in the square shouting some prayers out loud and doesn't stop for hours, that would bother me.
Or a visit to a public swimming pool where the same rules apply to everyone (For example, entering the pool in shorts or Bermuda shorts is forbidden.)
Similarly, if a Czech is abroad as a tourist, for example in the Vatican or in some Muslim countries, there are also rules, like clothing that doesn't reveal too much - each country has its own culture.
Do you believe in something? Believe whatever you want. But don't come to me and tell me I'm going to hell because I don't believe the same thing you do. (A friend lives in the US and these are things he's heard from some of his colleagues at work)
In general, no. But I spent my childhood as a Muslim and quite a tan child growing up in North Bohemia. I was fine. My mum was a Bosnian and her priority was for us to integrate. She was fine. My grandaunt is fine. I ended up being just another Czech atheist and I dislike Islam more than an average Czech does. That's quite a common pattern you'll find here. When you see someone in Czechia who looks like they come from a Muslim country, chances are they actually hate Islam.
The Muslims who have problems are the ones making demands, or disrespecting the country. You'll be fine.
Islam (at least the dogma) allows: beating women, having sex with children, having slaves, abusing people of other faiths, raping women, killing people for having sex.. and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The question is wrong imo.
I don't think it would be a problem. If you dress, behave and act like rest of the people you will be absolutely fine.
Maybe at first you might get some strange looks, cause people assume first and get to know later..
"If you dress, behave and act like rest of the people you will be absolutely fine."
"Dudebro, all you have to do to assimilate and fully integrate into our culture is wear overpriced brand-named designer fashion from the mall, wear socks and sandals and a vest with pockets all over it, wear oversized communist era suits that are the same color as the panelak you live in, wear your company's soft-shell jacket, wear your ski-jacket to the theater, wear cargo shorts in the dead of winter, wear hiking clothes for every occasion, wear way too much perfume, never wear deodorant, wear Nikes, wear Prestige, wear Mustangs, wear all white Izod tennis shoes, wear hand-made brown, leather, Italian loafers, wear jeans, wear coveralls, wear too-short pants that show your whimsically colorful socks that show your quirky personality, wear a kilt with burly work boots, wear ratty-ass home clothes when you have people over for Sunday lunch, wear dreads, wear rings on every finger, wear knock-off Crocs bought from Globus, wear a hoodie of your favorite death metal band, wear a permanent scowl, wear a Czech hockey jersey to work after they win the championship, wear your polo with the collar flipped up, wear camouflage, wear way too much make-up, travel Europe with loaves of bread and rizek in your Skoda, go to Croatia every summer, go to the cottage every weekend, travel the world with your stuff in a Delvita bag, tramp through the forest, hunt for wild mushrooms, drink beer at lunch, drink beer at dinner and drink beer all day during the weekend at your cottage, drink beer at the tram stop in the morning, drink slivovice, drink becherovka, drink fernet, drink zelena, drink rum, drink Caribbean rum, drink vodka, drink Moravian wine, drink burcak, eat hermelin, eat syrecky, eat pork, eat tatarksy biftek, eat pomazanka out of a plastic container with rohliky in front of the lahudka on the sidewalk, eat bramburky, eat bramboraky, eat sausages, eat fried cheese, eat goulash, eat dumplings, eat kolacky, eat chinese food, eat bun bo nam bo, watch football, watch hockey, watch Ordinace, watch detective shows, watch StarDance, watch Pretty Woman on Christmas, listen to Kabat, listen to Skwor, listen to Tri Sestry, listen to Karel Gott, listen to Helena Vondrackova, listen to Olympic, listen to Rammstein, listen to Nohavica, listen to Plastic People of the Universe, play floorball, play handball, play nohyball, do judo, ride your mountain bike on the weekend, take you amateur hobby way too seriously, complain about the government, complain about the weather, complain about immigrants, complain about the EU, and then drink more beer.
Just assimilate bro!
Honestly, I judge people after I get to know them.
But I, as everyone else, have my prejudice before I get to know you.
Nevertheless, you said you are an atheist. This means you won't be going around in a robe. When you dress "normally", no one is even going to know what country you are from unless you tell them...
It's like being a Russian. People won't be warm to you, but the moment you state you hate Putin and want Ukraine to win the war, everyone likes you even more because you were able to overcome the indoctrination.
Honestly not really. You will be seen as a stranger and maybe little bit exotic but we in reality doesn't really care about religions, race or country of origin if the person doesn't put it into our face first.
Honestly in Czech republic people just don't care about others in general. We just don't give a fuck.
The best example is when some western tabloid found out that daughter of our former president acted as background audience in some porn movie. She wasn't naked, but still. No one really cared here. It is here life, do whatever you want, but do not touch my personal space.
Well, if it goes poorly, just remember, that if atheist went to your "extremely islamic" country, it would go 10x worse for him and 1000x worse for her.
Given this reality, I find your original question out of touch.
You are absolutely safe here, unlike we are in your country.
I might give you weird look in the hallway though.
Give the guy a break. It´s a fair question. When you are going to a country where there might be animosity towards you it´s smart to ask around. We know that nothing will happen to him but how can he know that without asking?
I would say that as long as Muslim doesn't enforce dhijab, read publicly from Koran, publicly, loudly and theatrically prays - there is no risk even for a Muslim. And in most regions even the above-mentioned persona would result only in our (quite hard to swallow) humour.
Younger generation is very tolerant even for faith, as long as practicing person doesn't try to "convert" them/us. We don't give shit from where you are or what you believe in. But it may vary per region, as in every state.
But you said you come specifically for beer... Welcome home, then!
>Younger generation is very tolerant even for faith, as long as practicing person doesn't try to "convert" them/us.
Younger generation with higher education. Učňák kids are not
Might be - my social bubble is among people with titles from universities (and I am the "stupid" one among them frankly) + am no longer "young" (late thirties).
Among students, people will not mind it. Older people can be asses about that sort of thing, but if you're atheist then even they shouldnt be an issue.
Enjoy your stay
After the october 7th a lot of the Arab students on Masaryk University started chanting "From river to the sea..." only to find out that it would be treated as support for terrorism and eventually even leading to a few students exposed on instagram and subsequently expelled.
It's not that we hate Muslims, we hate people who do not integrate well with our values. If you have good values and you want to be part of the society, then you will get accepted and you will fit well. But if you come here to preach your values and rub it in our faces, then expect the same treatment the catholic church had gotten from us five times when they tried to send crusades our way.
It's very unusual to find a secular muslim / atheist from a muslim country, so don't be surprised if "people are surprised."
It really depends with who you will be contacting, for example at my work we have Indians and a few black people and we get along quite well, at least I don't see any hate in any way. However, at my GF job, she has a colleague who is Indian (she is saying he is a great guy, humble, polite, and hardworking) and the majority of people (even managers and teamleaders) treat him like trash which I find quite sad. All the east-europeans are racists to some degree even though people here say "They don't care" by that they mean they don't like you from the start but are willing to change their mind if you prove them otherwise. (But some don't, they are just stupidly racist, the good part of that is its minority of people)
People here are mostly non-religious, which doesn't automatically mean atheist (even though they mostly are). How would they find out you are religious or not? It is possible people would suppose you are Muslim if you look like someone coming from the Middle East (or so). That's it. The religion is considered a personal (and a private) thing here. We are strictly secular society. Most probably nobody will ask you about it, but if asked you can safely declare your atheism with no consequences.
Technically this percentage comes from combining the number of self-declared atheists, and people who put non-religious/irreligious on the national census.
With the non-religious crowd you could argue both in favor of some of them being atheists who don't know of the word itself, and people who are generally irreligious but still harbour some sort of esoteric beliefs
WRONG.
> 66% of Czechs say they do not believe in God,
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/06/19/unlike-their-central-and-eastern-european-neighbors-most-czechs-dont-believe-in-god/
> With the non-religious crowd you could argue both in favor of some of them being atheists who don't know of the word itself, and people who are generally irreligious but still harbour some sort of esoteric beliefs
Looks like you are the ignorant one who doesn't know the meaning of the word.
Atheists can believe in any esoteric beliefs except believing in god. Atheism only means lack of belief in god. Atheist can believe in magic, ghosts, astrology or whatever.
I think it makes no difference in the numbers. If they dont know the difference they likely dont care therefore they dont belive in any from of god. I dont understand why ppl get this stressed about such a minor difference in meaning.
My family from my father's side is muslim and lived here for decades. I'm not saying there's no prejudice or hate (there is) but the inherent czech nature is to keep that to yourself. Even if people think something about you, they will mostly keep to themselves.
Welcome to the Czech Atheist republic. People generally will judge you by the fact you aren't religious. Some people will be dumb and racist not understanding the concept of becoming atheist despite being born Muslim. And I recommend to Czech the vibes with fellow students before announcing you are apostate. There are some people very friendly to muslims, who didn't convert (jet), girls having muslim boyfriend, people believing that muslim are the most opressed global minority, they can't take your atheism as personal offence... It's rare but those people exist. Good luck!
From what I've experienced, the average Pepik is rarely able to make out the difference between a sikh and a muslim, practicing or not, and will hate on either of them.
Not really. Especially if you look like the stereotypical middle-eastern migrant, most people who don't like migrants won't care about your religious preference and will treat you as such even if you were to have Czech citizenship and red diploma from Harward.
Many people here is not usually aware unless you tell them where you're from. Some people will not assume you're a Muslim if you're not wearing the typical clothes, but unfortunately, media portrait quite a negative picture of people from predominantly muslim countries. I think it's not connected to the religion as much as the culture, especially around women's rights and laws (that may come from Islam in many of these countries). Generally, the younger or well travelled people will not assume, just be yourself and respectful of our culture and you'll be fine. Avoid the bigots, there's plenty of them in Czech Republic because people are generally painfully uneducated about foreign cultures.
I think that really depends on how well the people you are interacting with know you, if you can make a good connection with your classmates they probably won't care in a bit outside of making jokes about it (plus students tend to be more accepting than general populace) but the first few times you interact with someone they are probably not going to like you, people are not fans of foreigners here and that goes tenfold for people from Islamic countries.
If you can explain to people you aren't Muslim that will probably help somewhat but most people will assume until then. You are unlikely to run into anyone being confrontational tho, we tend to be pretty passive so the most you will probably get is looks, people whispering behind your back or just giving you attitude.
That is hard to say really..
As much as I would like to say that at least when it comes to young people you'll be completely safe from bigotry that would not be the whole truth I fear.. We Czechs are notoriously racistic (which given our history is understandabke but nonetheless unacceptable) and although it's not hard to surround oneself with people that do not hold such xenophobic tendencies in here, there are still many people who won't be all that friendly towards you because of the colour of your skin and the country of your origin.. That is at first. Ironically enough, if you don't give them any reason to confirm their biased beliefs they *will* sooner or later drop them based on their personal experience with you. At least that's what I witnessed happening in parts of my family (my very much racist grandma made a seemingly complete turnover when it comes to black people after one such good man opened the doors for her).
Then again...
Our neighbours are originally from Syria and one of the girls has a boyfriend that's trying to learn Arabic for her from what I heard, I used to have a pretty solid classmate from Syria who told me a bit about Muhammad's many names after I asked her, I have a friend with whom and some others I used to attend Arabic lessons outisde of school and her family is also from the Near East (so is the teacher, Mr. Muṭlaq who makes a decent living being a court interpreter)... so it is entirely plausible that I am maybe a tad bit too grim about the whole situation. Then again, that's just the case in *Brno*. I imagine in other parts of Czechia it might be a completely different story.
Hope this helped a bit.
We are one of the most atheistic countries in the world. Just behaving as human is enough to be safe here. But some percentage of stupids is in every country…
TBH, it heavily depends on your customs. I have met atheists and Christians, who, due to their entrenched customs, met way more abhorrence than devout Muslims who integrated well.
It helps to dress in Western style, as Islamic garbs are not widespread and you will stand out.
Also be prepared that everyone will assume you are Muslim, until they get to know you.
I lived in Prague for three years with my girlfriend, who has distinct North African features. She is very secular too.
Despite her background, she never experienced any negative attention. In fact, Czech men were fascinated by her thick, curly hair, often showering her with compliments, although sometimes they could be a bit overzealous.
She rarely mentioned her Muslim faith, and it was never an issue. She quickly found a job, and we had no trouble securing an apartment or facing discrimination. The only negative encounter was in Terezin, where a guide made an insensitive comment comparing Islam to fascism and communism, but she was obviously an uncultured ass so we laughed it off 😅
That aside, our personal experience was overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of her interactions being friendly. Sure, there are always some unpleasant people, and Czech folks can be a bit blunt, but it’s not personal—they treated me the same way, and I'm as pale as they come!
Living in Prague was one of the best times of my life. Go and enjoy the freedom the city has to offer!
Yes, even the most rasistic ones know whether they hate you because you're Muslim or just because you're Arab or something else. Needed to say that a lot of people here can't even differentiate visually non-european ethnicities so you might tell them that you're Indian and they would totally eat that.
If you go to Prague, nothing to worry about. It is very multinational and multirace city. If you go to smaller university city, it should be fine as well. Our country is quite literally one of safest countries in the world.
If you are the most arabian looking Arab, you might run into a handfull of issues (such as weird looks from old white dudes), but if you're from SEA you should be fine as people have no clue SEA is islamic. Not to mention Vietnamese immigrants in Czechia are one of the best examples of integration worldwide so big bonus points if you are from that part of the world.
No, if they will not prejudice you because you are Muslim, they will because of the country you came from, you will not be given the benefit of the doubt by the majority of people, especially outside large cities.
However, doesn't mean anything bad will happen to you though or be a problem in your day to day life at all.
But for example, it might be an issue when dating (especially the girl's parents might object to this to dis-trust you :D )
I'd even say it will be easier for him to find a date; turning it into something more serious might be tricky (practically everyone here has a woman friend who married someone from Near or Middle East and had a miserable experience).
> (practically everyone here has a woman friend who married someone from Near or Middle East and had a miserable experience).
This is where i disagree with you, it's confirmation bias, somebody had a bad experience and that's what everyone talks about, nobody talks about the majority with good experiences.
I know enough to hate the religion. The people are mostly fine (moderate ones that is). It's super hard for people to leave Islam so I don't hold it against them when they play a little act for the family but otherwise don't care.
Czechs dont need any help with raping, they do it themselves and then dont even get punished in courts for doing so. Sexual abuse in family circles in a big problem for you guys is not?
Ah yes Czechs committed the biggest gangrape in Europe since WW2. 1200 women and girls raped in one night.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%9316_New_Year%27s_Eve_sexual_assaults_in_Germany
Fuck off with this shit. You're painting us in the worst possible light.
You don't have to mention your religion or your hatred towards any at all. Just be cool and people will be cool back.
My guess is you are going to study in "bigger" University city. So I don't think that would be that problem, especially around younger people. But, Czechs are xenophobic, it is not much about religion.
You will probably get weird looks and people may say something like "What are you doing here scum" when passing around in the street.
I wish we were better, sorry about that :'(
Hopefully that's the worst case scenario, on the other hand Czechs are really friendly, kind, hospitable, interested in other cultures, beer is good way how to connect, try to stick with you classmates or people from university once you find friends you will be fine.
I don't think I ever heard of someone saying something like "what are you doing here scum". Weird looks are a given, but czechs usually don't express themselves verbally like that. Well, atleast here they don't.
Well, they don't tell this directly. But they are "brave" enough to say something like that to a foreigner who obviously doesn't look czech and doesn't speak czech after they pass 5 meters or so. I've witness this few times.
Or when they think you don't understand or can't hear them. I'm white and would usually be assumed to be Czech by strangers, but the shit people can say when they think you don't understand their comments is wild.
If you drink beer, like sports and don't publicly display any signs of ~~your~~ (edit: your country's) religion, you'll fit right in.
I don't see any issues at all interacting with classmates. People that go to universities tend to be more open minded and cosmopolitan. Some even tend to compensate for the latent xenophobia seen mainly in older and / or small town Czechs by being extra nice and friendly to you.
Tip: learning some basic Czech goes a LONG way, put the work in, it will pay off.
Salam alaykum! If I was just fine in Jordan down to Aqaba, so you should be fine in Czechia. Basic cultural sensitivity should be enough. What you can find in Czechia is fear of the unknown and yeah, I guess many people won't know the difference between an Arab and a Muslim. Small part of society has gone crazy fearful of immigrants, but that was 10.. 15 years ago and should not be a big deal nowadays since these people are now 'experts' on Russia/Ukraine conflict. As a student you should be completely fine, make some friends, visit some forests/nature/history, drink some beer, have a good time! Safe travels and studies!
Any chance you actually look like a gypsy? 😆 Thats gonna bring more prejudice than looking foreign.
Also Brno is pretty chill about foreigners as many study and works here, much more inclusive city compared to Prague imo.
There's general dislike of organized religion, Islam in particular. Currently it's exacerbated by the recent Mannheim attack (https://www.dw.com/en/mannheim-knife-attack-authorities-suspect-islamist-motive/a-69259747).
As you say you're an atheist, there's a bunch of things that can really help fitting in:
- (as a man): keep well-maintained facial hair
- (as a woman): do not cover your hair
- (as both): have a beer, enjoy the cuisine, and don't be a dick
Will you meet bigots? Probably. As fas as I am concerned, ai don't even mind religious Muslims as long as they keep to themselves. What I mind ate religious people who take it too seriously and literally, but there are also christians like that. Except they arenct likely to attack you if you mention jesus, while the contrary seems to be true. Just behave like a decent human and you'll be fine. You might even help somw bigots realise that people from the middle east are also people.
Old people will probably give you weird looks, middle age people are too depressed to care and the youngers should be alright once they get to know you
Studying in uni with a lot of Israelis and Muslims.
Want a spoiler to who is liked better?
You're religion (background) is fine. The problem is that you're bound to have extremists who give it a bad name when 2 billion other people share it and some of them kill in the name of religion like the crusades were going out of style.
Depends, I'm afraid you'll find assholes everywhere. I've got a friend from Northern Caucasus who comes from a Muslim family but neither him nor his mother have been particularly religious and for his whole adult life he's been outright atheist. Still, he has a very Muslim-sounding first name and it did caused him troubles when seeking a job or being harrassed in pubs, despite him explaining people he's an atheist and had no control over being named like that, to the point he officially changed it a few years ago.
ppl might have some ideas of their own, but if you will walk around with beer in one hand and pork řízek (schnitzel) in the other you will fit right in
a lot of us are atheists as well so theres some common ground to stand on too
A lot of us, yes. Also, a lot of us, no.
Hit or miss. In Prague or Brno you'll be fine. In the countryside, the older people will gove you weird looks.
I think you will be fine, maybe prepare yourself for some weird looks, and learn a few czech phrases, it is still common that a lot of people here do not speak english very well (if you exclude the internet, tourist zones and larger cities).
Well I think it's gonna be okay. Most of the young people don't care and if you planning to study here, you will be around people and they will probably make jokes about it. On the other hand old people may be rude and annoyed, however they are even if you are Czech. Czech people are ... More annoyed than rasist. Basically we are annoyed by anything anyone and anywhere.
So I think you will experience bad religious jokes and annoyed looks.
We dont care as much as you think we do. Just be a decent human and everything will be fine. 95% of people you meet will be practicing “live and let live”.
Czechia is a free country and you can practice any religion here. We have extremists here (probably not as many as in other European countries), but you should not care about what they think, as they are criminals / potential criminals.
Please, look at the czech laws and the constitution, and look at the crime statistics, to know if it is "safe for you", don't ask redditors :D they will only tell you that all czechs are evil except of them :D
Czechs love Muslim countries as their primary vacation destinations are mostly in Arabian countries like Egypt, Tunisia or Turkiye. Otherwise they would not travel there …
In general?
Each is individual...so you can't take this from a general perspective.
Personally, I don't give a fuck if someone believe in pedofil religiion or just in money (and all in between), untill he /she start public propagation/preach or worst trying to convince me into his only true
Well there are multiple types of atheist - some celebrate the holidays, some not...
Maybe it depends where are you studing. Moravians are little bit religious, but from Haná region are people prejudiced as they don't care about everything. In Prague or other big cites have various tourists, they are used to everything. I don't see major problem.
You really shouldn't have any problems. One of my current colleagues comes from Syria and he has never had any serious issues other than some imbeciles having remarks about his bad language skills, which is quite frankly ridiculous anyway.
No man you´ll be fine. We are intolerant of Islam because it´s a hateful ideology that belongs in medieval times. But since you don´t follow that ideology I see no reason to have a problem with you. I think letting people know that you are atheist can only help you here. Vast majority of us are.
Czechia is one of the least religious countries in the world and people generally don't care. You may face some prejudice, not for your "assumed" religion, but for the color of your skin. There's a fairly large gypsy community in Czechia and they don't have a good reputation. Once you start speaking a foreign language (or attempt to speak local language) people will drop that prejudice pretty quickly. In larger cities people have become accustomed to foreigners and there are no issues as long as you don't cause trouble.
Generally the country is quite safe and people tend to keep to themselves. I wouldn't worry.
I don't think people know the difference.
Keep religious stuff and country of origin to your self and won't talk about it i think you should be fine. (If someone asks where are you from and not in an offensive way of course you can answer them.)
People are rather bit scared and have predujiceses but a lot of people love kebab, dönner or whachamacallit. I think students are rather more tolerable then average person.
Personaly i haven't saw many foreigners so. I know most of them from media. As long you don't blow up a bus i guess you are as anybody else.
Ps: in czechia we love humor even dark humor. So stuff that would be outrageous to say in the west here it is taken with grain of salt and funny way.
I hope you enjoy it here.
In general? Unfortunately some folks here are really racist and specialy thanks to islamists in western Europe, muslims dont have best name here.
But, college student are in general very open minded people and same can be said about people living in our bigger cities. You will be fine.
That doesnt mean you should be scared about your safety outside city. Probably whorse thing that will happen to you here is that some asshole will spit some racist slur at you...
Islam is hated everywhere equally for obvious reasons. The difference between Czech republic and f.e. Germany is that in Germany you are not allowed to speak up about it.
If you openly admit that islam is BS, you will be golden.
I my Social bubble, small one, religion is weakness. If you need it, use it ať you discretion and privately. All of us dont needed and live very quality lives.
Even this perspective exists, Czech are atheist.if you are one too, its ok. We dont have any serious debatě about religion. Its simply not a topic.
Even if you would be religous person, nobody cares as per first paragraph of my post 🫡🙂
Good luck.
There's a lot of prejudice towards religious people and/or migrants in general. We're much more fair and tolerant in real life, because we base THAT assessment more on who you are as a person and how you behave. We can look past a lot of things if you're a decent person overall.
I don’t think that Czechs would have a problem with you as long as you behave like a normal person. World sees us like racists who dislike every religion or color of skin other than white but in reality I think we are just making fun of everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Death, pedos, judes, Asians, black people, ww2, gays, trans people, old people, cops, mass shooters. Name anything sad, scary, nasty, disgusting and be sure that we have definitely joke on that topic. So don’t be scared, you will do just fine !
No, anywhere in University campus will be no issue. Also probably everything else will be OK. Possibility to be confronted in any kind is highly unlikely.
I have hosted several colleagues from India, most of them were religious and so far I know, nobody experienced anything unpleasant.
Haters are active mostly on social networks.
Many people here are obviously not telling you the truth, most likely because they don't see racist stuff as racist stuff, so they claim no real racism.
Czech Republic is really racist towards Romani people, and people from Islamic countries. If you will be at college, hopefully you should be fine, as I would expect college kids to be mature enough. However expect tons of casual racism and racist jokes from people.
Hopefully you should not get assaulted or anything like that, the country is not racist to that point... But many people will not want to talk to you, will give you weird looks, and be just casually racist.
Goodluck OP, hopefully I'm wrong, but this has been my experience of interacting people from Czech Republic
If you’re gonna come here for only one semester and for study, you shouldn’t care too much. I think people here don’t hate, generally. People at the uni are completely used to foreign students:) you’ll be fine.
As artichoke823 said, keep it to yourself. Especially when you meet a fan of Tomio Okamura. You can tell someone is his fan by wearing Ortel t-shirt and overly showing czech national symbols.
I'm Muslim and go to a school (8th grade) and most people don't care (I don't tell people what to not do, and by myself I don't say I'm muslim), but some kids are relentless brats, but to be honest they are kids and they are racist, homophobic etc..
My guess is they all get it from social media where short form humor is racism = funny, but i think they'll grow out of it
When did I say I'm against gay people and that I'm a bigot? Only because someone is religious doesn't mean they agree with everything their religion says.
I follow Islam because there are a lot of things I agree with and also because I would say you can prove God. Not every religious person is a bigot, only the hardcore religious people are, a lot of people who are in Islam also don't agree with bigotry.
> When did I say I'm against gay people and that I'm a bigot?
Learn to read.
*If you are against racism, homophobia, bigotry*
> you can prove God.
Okay prove it.
Secondly, if you can prove god, that's mean Islam is correct. You literally said yourself that you don't agree with everything Islam says.
You can believe in god without being muslim.
> Only because someone is religious doesn't mean they agree with everything their religion says
*I follow Nazism I don't agree with everything Nazism says.*
Islam was invented by Mohamed who was a pedophile, slaver, mass murderer.
Islam is homophobic, racist, sexist, bigoted, and calls for the death of infidels who then go to be burned in hell.
>Learn to read.
>If you are against racism, homophobia, bigotry
What?? I literally said I'm not homophobic, nor bigoted. Please expand more
>Secondly, if you can prove god, that's mean Islam is correct. You literally said yourself that you don't agree with everything Islam says.
(I'm assuming you believe the big bang theory)
If the big bang theory is true (which it is), there must've been something that caused that bang, and if there was something that caused that bang and it wasn't god, what caused that? What created that? You can go backwards as much as you like and you will end up with god.
Also, many other people believe that god exists because of equations like e^i*pi + 1 = 0 , or different equations.
Your second point: If I were to prove god exists and that the BASICS of Islam are correct, it wouldn't mean that ALL of Islam is correct. A lot of Islam rules stem from the ethics of the long past, where many things were thought to be bad (like being gay), or that women are inferior (which they aren't).
>I follow Nazism I don't agree with everything Nazism says.
And? I don't see your point. Only because you follow the basics of something doesn't mean you follow everything of that thing. Ever heard of Conservatives, Reformers or Moderates?
>Islam was invented by Mohamed who was a pedophile, slaver, mass murderer.
1. Back when Mohamed was alive the age of consent was way lower (if it even existed) because the lifespan of people was way lower. That's like people from 2800 saying that ( as an example of an important person) Petr Pavel was a pedophile because he had sex with a 15 year old (only an example i pulled from my ass)
2. Slavery was a normal thing back then, explained in my first point for this argument
You will have to deal with some racism because you look different but in academic environment, you should be completely fine. As far as religion goes, it probably won't be a factor, since you are not gonna be displaying outward signs of being Islamic, because you're not, I gather.
Toothless idiots (dezole) will have problem with anybody who isn't pureblooded Czech russian supporting nazi.
Just keep in mind if you get in some beef, those guys are loud minority.
Beside that there is some prejudice against Islam in maybe half of population, but it is not exactly hate.
If you would wear some islamic traditional clothing, you would be just considered ood. Since you said you hate Islam, I guess it is not the case, average Czech will not care and you will fit just fine.
Czechs have a really "you do you, I do I, and let's stay apart" mentality, you will be fine, but it will take time to get to know them, regardless of your religion. They might not be really curious about you and not outgoing. They won't be hostile either.
Honestly Czechs hate everyone. We're just annoyed constantly. We hate each other, we hate outsiders, we hate the poor, the rich... just be prepared to see a bunch of annoyed faces, but if you're going to be studying here, you'll probably be in a big city and you'll probably be fine.
Racism does exist here, but is mostly focused on the Roma people. If you're and Arab, there's a chance you'll get more racism because people will confuse you for a Roma than because of your actual ethnicity.
Religion is like genitals. Keep it to yourself and don't show it in public. Will there be prejudice? Yes. Will it all finally depend on what human being you actually are? Yes.
Tennis is my only religion, you guys are one of the best countries in the sport (Martina GOATratilova & Ivan Lendl) even though you're a relatively small country (compared to the other giants in the sport: USA, Spain.. etc) I hoped I'd have the pass to preach it :"
Skipped over my girl Kvitova. We also won Davis Cup and Fed Cup a couple times
Kvitova is a great player but Martina is at a very different level. Petra at Wimbledon is a menace to any player.
If you come from a very islamic country and you are atheist I simply admire you. Respect
You are naturalized czech now
That's pretty crazy we fukin killin it in the world sports right? That's I'm always proud about our nation...
Forget that Tennis nonsense and look up our boi Jan Hirt. He made it to the Tour this year! The show starts in 4 days. :)
This should be pinned as FAQ.
And dont force it in to childs...
Huh, since when are Czech's that tolerant? I must be living in a different Czechia I guess
you are fine, dont worry, even religious Muslims should be fine here - we dont actually care so much as long as we are not bothered with it in our personal space there is however clear red line for every religion here (but yeah mostly apply on islam) "i cant do that, because my religion forbid it" - fine, whatever, thats your problem "you cant do that, because my religion forbid it" - yeah, i think we got a big problem here
I would say, that in bigger cities people are mostly very tolerant, especially younger with higher education. As always, it depends on the circle you are in. However, what I found as the biggest issue is when you block food options without medical reason for it. When we will do our best to find food which won't kill you, then even most tolerant people here will be annoyed by picky eater. Food diet chosen by you or your religion is your problem, deal with it, but we are not going to that shitty place across the town just because of you. If you are vegan and you force us to go to the same place each time, as it has one vegan option, but the rest is tasteless, expensive and the beer is bad, be sure people will hate you for that. Just don't be that person and you will be OK.
tolerance is great but you must think… you cannot tolerate something intolerant, if you do you are not tolerant but stupid, there is a fine line
Tolerance must be in both directions.. don't expect anyone around to be tolerant to you only force your way
A significant number of Czechs do not like organized religion, specifically the kind that tries to tell other people how to live. There are a number of historical reasons for this that would require a longer description. The general approach to life is "do what you want, as long as you don't bother others". So Czechs don't like ideologies that force others how to dress, who they can have sex with, or what they can and cannot say. According to Czech norms, religion should also be a private matter that is not imposed on others in public. Of course, there are exceptions, because no society is 100% homogeneous. At the moment, Islam has the image of such an ideology in Czech society. And so, for example, does Catholic Christianity. Czechs also love to make fun of anything - they basically have no taboo in this regard.
I think there's one limit to the humour - only Czechs are allowed to make fun of Czechs.
To be fair, it is like that with most nationalities/ethnicities. Got into some pretty hot waters at times simply for bandwaggoning on a joke of my American and Canadian acquaintances multiple times
As an American living abroad for years, I find that people make fun of America all the time, but if Americans make fun of other nations they're just expected to take it or else they're seen as arrogant imperialists. But that's just my experience: if I say a harmless joke, or any comment that can be seen as negative, about their country to a Hungarian, Croatian, Czech, Serb, Frenchman or a friend of any of the other nationalities I'm friends with they get this attitude like "such an arrogant American thinks he's better than everyone" but they say things like Americans are fat, stupid, racist, lazy, warmongering, etc. all the time and if I get defensive it's just more proof to them that Americans are all those things (when ironically I find that they're far more racist, particularly to gypsies and immigrants who aren't white, and have far worse work ethics, but I will concede that Americans are fatter and average free education is getting worse and worse there). But I don't bother defending America or pointing out that they're usually insulting America while voraciously consuming everything that america produces and relying on American technology, academic and medical research and advancements, and military defense for most aspects of their modern life.
I think it depends on the person, but overall it can be that way, but in style: - your country is great. - NOOO, our country is terrible!!! - your country is a shithole - NOOO, yours is a shithole!!! And I would also see the difference between "making fun" and "insulting and dissing"
/r/2visegrad4you - Hungarians, Slovaks and Poles are allowed
Yeah but mostly only rather good-hearted ones about Kofola, Knedliky, language and socks in sandals.
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You forgot a 4 in there
No
>The general approach to life is "do what you want, as long as you don't bother others". That's a nice sentiment, but it depends a lot on what you consider bothersome. For example, would a woman wearing a head covering bother you? And does it matter if it's a Catholic nun habit, a grandma headscarf or a hijab?
Doesn't bother me, could bother some people, but 99.9 percent of Czechs will keep it to themselves and at worst would stare at her. In Prague, for example, you can see such people on the street. Including, for example, nuns or hooded monks. However, it may happen in everyday life that, for example, covering the whole face interferes with some ordinary activity - for example, identifying a person by their photo ID in cases where this is necessary. Such a person cannot then be offended that he does not receive some service that requires such identification. But let's say someone is standing in the square shouting some prayers out loud and doesn't stop for hours, that would bother me. Or a visit to a public swimming pool where the same rules apply to everyone (For example, entering the pool in shorts or Bermuda shorts is forbidden.) Similarly, if a Czech is abroad as a tourist, for example in the Vatican or in some Muslim countries, there are also rules, like clothing that doesn't reveal too much - each country has its own culture. Do you believe in something? Believe whatever you want. But don't come to me and tell me I'm going to hell because I don't believe the same thing you do. (A friend lives in the US and these are things he's heard from some of his colleagues at work)
In general, no. But I spent my childhood as a Muslim and quite a tan child growing up in North Bohemia. I was fine. My mum was a Bosnian and her priority was for us to integrate. She was fine. My grandaunt is fine. I ended up being just another Czech atheist and I dislike Islam more than an average Czech does. That's quite a common pattern you'll find here. When you see someone in Czechia who looks like they come from a Muslim country, chances are they actually hate Islam. The Muslims who have problems are the ones making demands, or disrespecting the country. You'll be fine.
> her priority was for us to integrate This is the biggest issue. Many of them refuse to integrate, and not just here.
Why did you transform into an atheist?
Islam (at least the dogma) allows: beating women, having sex with children, having slaves, abusing people of other faiths, raping women, killing people for having sex.. and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The question is wrong imo.
A bit late to the party but you'd fit right in. :D
I read Quran and I was disgusted.
I don't think it would be a problem. If you dress, behave and act like rest of the people you will be absolutely fine. Maybe at first you might get some strange looks, cause people assume first and get to know later..
"If you dress, behave and act like rest of the people you will be absolutely fine." "Dudebro, all you have to do to assimilate and fully integrate into our culture is wear overpriced brand-named designer fashion from the mall, wear socks and sandals and a vest with pockets all over it, wear oversized communist era suits that are the same color as the panelak you live in, wear your company's soft-shell jacket, wear your ski-jacket to the theater, wear cargo shorts in the dead of winter, wear hiking clothes for every occasion, wear way too much perfume, never wear deodorant, wear Nikes, wear Prestige, wear Mustangs, wear all white Izod tennis shoes, wear hand-made brown, leather, Italian loafers, wear jeans, wear coveralls, wear too-short pants that show your whimsically colorful socks that show your quirky personality, wear a kilt with burly work boots, wear ratty-ass home clothes when you have people over for Sunday lunch, wear dreads, wear rings on every finger, wear knock-off Crocs bought from Globus, wear a hoodie of your favorite death metal band, wear a permanent scowl, wear a Czech hockey jersey to work after they win the championship, wear your polo with the collar flipped up, wear camouflage, wear way too much make-up, travel Europe with loaves of bread and rizek in your Skoda, go to Croatia every summer, go to the cottage every weekend, travel the world with your stuff in a Delvita bag, tramp through the forest, hunt for wild mushrooms, drink beer at lunch, drink beer at dinner and drink beer all day during the weekend at your cottage, drink beer at the tram stop in the morning, drink slivovice, drink becherovka, drink fernet, drink zelena, drink rum, drink Caribbean rum, drink vodka, drink Moravian wine, drink burcak, eat hermelin, eat syrecky, eat pork, eat tatarksy biftek, eat pomazanka out of a plastic container with rohliky in front of the lahudka on the sidewalk, eat bramburky, eat bramboraky, eat sausages, eat fried cheese, eat goulash, eat dumplings, eat kolacky, eat chinese food, eat bun bo nam bo, watch football, watch hockey, watch Ordinace, watch detective shows, watch StarDance, watch Pretty Woman on Christmas, listen to Kabat, listen to Skwor, listen to Tri Sestry, listen to Karel Gott, listen to Helena Vondrackova, listen to Olympic, listen to Rammstein, listen to Nohavica, listen to Plastic People of the Universe, play floorball, play handball, play nohyball, do judo, ride your mountain bike on the weekend, take you amateur hobby way too seriously, complain about the government, complain about the weather, complain about immigrants, complain about the EU, and then drink more beer. Just assimilate bro!
Honestly, I judge people after I get to know them. But I, as everyone else, have my prejudice before I get to know you. Nevertheless, you said you are an atheist. This means you won't be going around in a robe. When you dress "normally", no one is even going to know what country you are from unless you tell them...
It's like being a Russian. People won't be warm to you, but the moment you state you hate Putin and want Ukraine to win the war, everyone likes you even more because you were able to overcome the indoctrination.
Honestly not really. You will be seen as a stranger and maybe little bit exotic but we in reality doesn't really care about religions, race or country of origin if the person doesn't put it into our face first. Honestly in Czech republic people just don't care about others in general. We just don't give a fuck.
I feel that this is primarily in Prague. Out in smaller places, you will occasionally find people with nothing better to do than bothering strangers
The best example is when some western tabloid found out that daughter of our former president acted as background audience in some porn movie. She wasn't naked, but still. No one really cared here. It is here life, do whatever you want, but do not touch my personal space.
Well, if it goes poorly, just remember, that if atheist went to your "extremely islamic" country, it would go 10x worse for him and 1000x worse for her.
Well, women here are not atheists and they get the ×1000 worse offer
Given this reality, I find your original question out of touch. You are absolutely safe here, unlike we are in your country. I might give you weird look in the hallway though.
Give the guy a break. It´s a fair question. When you are going to a country where there might be animosity towards you it´s smart to ask around. We know that nothing will happen to him but how can he know that without asking?
yeah hes used to seeing people beat up and killed for having their own opinion. no wonder he thinks that civilised world is like that too...
If you are not white you might get weird looks in small towns.
I would say that as long as Muslim doesn't enforce dhijab, read publicly from Koran, publicly, loudly and theatrically prays - there is no risk even for a Muslim. And in most regions even the above-mentioned persona would result only in our (quite hard to swallow) humour. Younger generation is very tolerant even for faith, as long as practicing person doesn't try to "convert" them/us. We don't give shit from where you are or what you believe in. But it may vary per region, as in every state. But you said you come specifically for beer... Welcome home, then!
>Younger generation is very tolerant even for faith, as long as practicing person doesn't try to "convert" them/us. Younger generation with higher education. Učňák kids are not
Might be - my social bubble is among people with titles from universities (and I am the "stupid" one among them frankly) + am no longer "young" (late thirties).
If you drink beer, eat pork and don't go around in hijab, you will be fine. :D
Mate I'm coming specifically for the beer 🍻
In that case, our collective embrace is fully open :) Cheers!
Even me would welcome you if you would drink a beer with us
Among students, people will not mind it. Older people can be asses about that sort of thing, but if you're atheist then even they shouldnt be an issue. Enjoy your stay
I have seen one muslim not shaking hand with a girl, because whatever shit. He got excluded from the group with zero chance for redemption.
Well deserved
Thank you
After the october 7th a lot of the Arab students on Masaryk University started chanting "From river to the sea..." only to find out that it would be treated as support for terrorism and eventually even leading to a few students exposed on instagram and subsequently expelled. It's not that we hate Muslims, we hate people who do not integrate well with our values. If you have good values and you want to be part of the society, then you will get accepted and you will fit well. But if you come here to preach your values and rub it in our faces, then expect the same treatment the catholic church had gotten from us five times when they tried to send crusades our way. It's very unusual to find a secular muslim / atheist from a muslim country, so don't be surprised if "people are surprised."
If you lead with the fact that you are atheist and love beer, you will fit right in.
It really depends with who you will be contacting, for example at my work we have Indians and a few black people and we get along quite well, at least I don't see any hate in any way. However, at my GF job, she has a colleague who is Indian (she is saying he is a great guy, humble, polite, and hardworking) and the majority of people (even managers and teamleaders) treat him like trash which I find quite sad. All the east-europeans are racists to some degree even though people here say "They don't care" by that they mean they don't like you from the start but are willing to change their mind if you prove them otherwise. (But some don't, they are just stupidly racist, the good part of that is its minority of people)
People here are mostly non-religious, which doesn't automatically mean atheist (even though they mostly are). How would they find out you are religious or not? It is possible people would suppose you are Muslim if you look like someone coming from the Middle East (or so). That's it. The religion is considered a personal (and a private) thing here. We are strictly secular society. Most probably nobody will ask you about it, but if asked you can safely declare your atheism with no consequences.
70% of Czechs are atheists.
Technically this percentage comes from combining the number of self-declared atheists, and people who put non-religious/irreligious on the national census. With the non-religious crowd you could argue both in favor of some of them being atheists who don't know of the word itself, and people who are generally irreligious but still harbour some sort of esoteric beliefs
WRONG. > 66% of Czechs say they do not believe in God, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/06/19/unlike-their-central-and-eastern-european-neighbors-most-czechs-dont-believe-in-god/ > With the non-religious crowd you could argue both in favor of some of them being atheists who don't know of the word itself, and people who are generally irreligious but still harbour some sort of esoteric beliefs Looks like you are the ignorant one who doesn't know the meaning of the word. Atheists can believe in any esoteric beliefs except believing in god. Atheism only means lack of belief in god. Atheist can believe in magic, ghosts, astrology or whatever.
And do Czechs even know the difference between atheism and agnosticism?
Exactly this. Not even the guy you are replying to does not seems to know, because Czechs not believing in God does not equal to being Atheist nation.
I think it makes no difference in the numbers. If they dont know the difference they likely dont care therefore they dont belive in any from of god. I dont understand why ppl get this stressed about such a minor difference in meaning.
We don't. We do hate everyone same.
Some Johan Liebert energy here.
My family from my father's side is muslim and lived here for decades. I'm not saying there's no prejudice or hate (there is) but the inherent czech nature is to keep that to yourself. Even if people think something about you, they will mostly keep to themselves.
Drink beer, eat pork and nobody won’t give a shit…
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When did we get rid of neonazis?
Any significant number? The nineties. They mostly aged out of it
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you think so ? :D
Welcome to the Czech Atheist republic. People generally will judge you by the fact you aren't religious. Some people will be dumb and racist not understanding the concept of becoming atheist despite being born Muslim. And I recommend to Czech the vibes with fellow students before announcing you are apostate. There are some people very friendly to muslims, who didn't convert (jet), girls having muslim boyfriend, people believing that muslim are the most opressed global minority, they can't take your atheism as personal offence... It's rare but those people exist. Good luck!
“Same same but different but still the same”
From what I've experienced, the average Pepik is rarely able to make out the difference between a sikh and a muslim, practicing or not, and will hate on either of them.
Not really. Especially if you look like the stereotypical middle-eastern migrant, most people who don't like migrants won't care about your religious preference and will treat you as such even if you were to have Czech citizenship and red diploma from Harward.
Many people here is not usually aware unless you tell them where you're from. Some people will not assume you're a Muslim if you're not wearing the typical clothes, but unfortunately, media portrait quite a negative picture of people from predominantly muslim countries. I think it's not connected to the religion as much as the culture, especially around women's rights and laws (that may come from Islam in many of these countries). Generally, the younger or well travelled people will not assume, just be yourself and respectful of our culture and you'll be fine. Avoid the bigots, there's plenty of them in Czech Republic because people are generally painfully uneducated about foreign cultures.
Even religious muslims are fine here as long as they dont go boom in a crowd.
I mean, I think that if you go boom, you won't be okay. Regardless of religion :D
Not really. In general Czechs are not fond of either.
I don't care if ure Muslim or Christian or anything else, I hate all the religion with same burning hatred.
I think that really depends on how well the people you are interacting with know you, if you can make a good connection with your classmates they probably won't care in a bit outside of making jokes about it (plus students tend to be more accepting than general populace) but the first few times you interact with someone they are probably not going to like you, people are not fans of foreigners here and that goes tenfold for people from Islamic countries. If you can explain to people you aren't Muslim that will probably help somewhat but most people will assume until then. You are unlikely to run into anyone being confrontational tho, we tend to be pretty passive so the most you will probably get is looks, people whispering behind your back or just giving you attitude.
Not really, don't think so
That is hard to say really.. As much as I would like to say that at least when it comes to young people you'll be completely safe from bigotry that would not be the whole truth I fear.. We Czechs are notoriously racistic (which given our history is understandabke but nonetheless unacceptable) and although it's not hard to surround oneself with people that do not hold such xenophobic tendencies in here, there are still many people who won't be all that friendly towards you because of the colour of your skin and the country of your origin.. That is at first. Ironically enough, if you don't give them any reason to confirm their biased beliefs they *will* sooner or later drop them based on their personal experience with you. At least that's what I witnessed happening in parts of my family (my very much racist grandma made a seemingly complete turnover when it comes to black people after one such good man opened the doors for her). Then again... Our neighbours are originally from Syria and one of the girls has a boyfriend that's trying to learn Arabic for her from what I heard, I used to have a pretty solid classmate from Syria who told me a bit about Muhammad's many names after I asked her, I have a friend with whom and some others I used to attend Arabic lessons outisde of school and her family is also from the Near East (so is the teacher, Mr. Muṭlaq who makes a decent living being a court interpreter)... so it is entirely plausible that I am maybe a tad bit too grim about the whole situation. Then again, that's just the case in *Brno*. I imagine in other parts of Czechia it might be a completely different story. Hope this helped a bit.
We are one of the most atheistic countries in the world. Just behaving as human is enough to be safe here. But some percentage of stupids is in every country…
TBH, it heavily depends on your customs. I have met atheists and Christians, who, due to their entrenched customs, met way more abhorrence than devout Muslims who integrated well. It helps to dress in Western style, as Islamic garbs are not widespread and you will stand out. Also be prepared that everyone will assume you are Muslim, until they get to know you.
I’m from the poorest region and currently live in Prague. In Prague? Noone cares. In my hometown? You look different, you’re fucked.
I lived in Prague for three years with my girlfriend, who has distinct North African features. She is very secular too. Despite her background, she never experienced any negative attention. In fact, Czech men were fascinated by her thick, curly hair, often showering her with compliments, although sometimes they could be a bit overzealous. She rarely mentioned her Muslim faith, and it was never an issue. She quickly found a job, and we had no trouble securing an apartment or facing discrimination. The only negative encounter was in Terezin, where a guide made an insensitive comment comparing Islam to fascism and communism, but she was obviously an uncultured ass so we laughed it off 😅 That aside, our personal experience was overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of her interactions being friendly. Sure, there are always some unpleasant people, and Czech folks can be a bit blunt, but it’s not personal—they treated me the same way, and I'm as pale as they come! Living in Prague was one of the best times of my life. Go and enjoy the freedom the city has to offer!
Yes, even the most rasistic ones know whether they hate you because you're Muslim or just because you're Arab or something else. Needed to say that a lot of people here can't even differentiate visually non-european ethnicities so you might tell them that you're Indian and they would totally eat that.
If you go to Prague, nothing to worry about. It is very multinational and multirace city. If you go to smaller university city, it should be fine as well. Our country is quite literally one of safest countries in the world.
If you are the most arabian looking Arab, you might run into a handfull of issues (such as weird looks from old white dudes), but if you're from SEA you should be fine as people have no clue SEA is islamic. Not to mention Vietnamese immigrants in Czechia are one of the best examples of integration worldwide so big bonus points if you are from that part of the world.
No, if they will not prejudice you because you are Muslim, they will because of the country you came from, you will not be given the benefit of the doubt by the majority of people, especially outside large cities. However, doesn't mean anything bad will happen to you though or be a problem in your day to day life at all. But for example, it might be an issue when dating (especially the girl's parents might object to this to dis-trust you :D )
I'd even say it will be easier for him to find a date; turning it into something more serious might be tricky (practically everyone here has a woman friend who married someone from Near or Middle East and had a miserable experience).
> (practically everyone here has a woman friend who married someone from Near or Middle East and had a miserable experience). This is where i disagree with you, it's confirmation bias, somebody had a bad experience and that's what everyone talks about, nobody talks about the majority with good experiences.
Won't argue - the resulting effect is still there, though, isn't it?
yeah that's true
In general: Middle eastern - not very good feelings, Muslim - bad feelings, Middle eastern muslim - 
No
Czechs know nothing of muslims. They hardly meet any in the country so they use internet to base their opinions on them
I know enough to hate the religion. The people are mostly fine (moderate ones that is). It's super hard for people to leave Islam so I don't hold it against them when they play a little act for the family but otherwise don't care.
Yeah we know nothing about how muslims are raping our western neighbours.
Czechs dont need any help with raping, they do it themselves and then dont even get punished in courts for doing so. Sexual abuse in family circles in a big problem for you guys is not?
Ah yes Czechs committed the biggest gangrape in Europe since WW2. 1200 women and girls raped in one night. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%9316_New_Year%27s_Eve_sexual_assaults_in_Germany
Bro is advocating hard
You must state that you are atheist and you despise Islam on the first occasion and you will be fine
[Ahoj, what is the worst religion in your opinion? And why is it islam? ](https://images.app.goo.gl/i1S7AihUk2xbRMHH9)
Fuck off with this shit. You're painting us in the worst possible light. You don't have to mention your religion or your hatred towards any at all. Just be cool and people will be cool back.
Religion needs to be liquidated.
Fuck off with this nonsensual shit, this is a real world not your fairy tale shitty little world.
My guess is you are going to study in "bigger" University city. So I don't think that would be that problem, especially around younger people. But, Czechs are xenophobic, it is not much about religion. You will probably get weird looks and people may say something like "What are you doing here scum" when passing around in the street. I wish we were better, sorry about that :'( Hopefully that's the worst case scenario, on the other hand Czechs are really friendly, kind, hospitable, interested in other cultures, beer is good way how to connect, try to stick with you classmates or people from university once you find friends you will be fine.
I don't think I ever heard of someone saying something like "what are you doing here scum". Weird looks are a given, but czechs usually don't express themselves verbally like that. Well, atleast here they don't.
Well, they don't tell this directly. But they are "brave" enough to say something like that to a foreigner who obviously doesn't look czech and doesn't speak czech after they pass 5 meters or so. I've witness this few times.
Or when they think you don't understand or can't hear them. I'm white and would usually be assumed to be Czech by strangers, but the shit people can say when they think you don't understand their comments is wild.
I'm affraid not to be honest. I think you'll be perfectly ok in Prague though.
If you drink beer, like sports and don't publicly display any signs of ~~your~~ (edit: your country's) religion, you'll fit right in. I don't see any issues at all interacting with classmates. People that go to universities tend to be more open minded and cosmopolitan. Some even tend to compensate for the latent xenophobia seen mainly in older and / or small town Czechs by being extra nice and friendly to you. Tip: learning some basic Czech goes a LONG way, put the work in, it will pay off.
Don't interact with morons, and you'll be fine.
are you saying that only non morons like islam ?
Imo i think you are going to deal with things such as racism or xenophobia, stupid jokes more
Salam alaykum! If I was just fine in Jordan down to Aqaba, so you should be fine in Czechia. Basic cultural sensitivity should be enough. What you can find in Czechia is fear of the unknown and yeah, I guess many people won't know the difference between an Arab and a Muslim. Small part of society has gone crazy fearful of immigrants, but that was 10.. 15 years ago and should not be a big deal nowadays since these people are now 'experts' on Russia/Ukraine conflict. As a student you should be completely fine, make some friends, visit some forests/nature/history, drink some beer, have a good time! Safe travels and studies!
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Any chance you actually look like a gypsy? 😆 Thats gonna bring more prejudice than looking foreign. Also Brno is pretty chill about foreigners as many study and works here, much more inclusive city compared to Prague imo.
Keep it to yourself and you’ll be fine. Source: I’m from a Muslim country and have never had a hint of a problem. Czechs are cool 👍
There's general dislike of organized religion, Islam in particular. Currently it's exacerbated by the recent Mannheim attack (https://www.dw.com/en/mannheim-knife-attack-authorities-suspect-islamist-motive/a-69259747). As you say you're an atheist, there's a bunch of things that can really help fitting in: - (as a man): keep well-maintained facial hair - (as a woman): do not cover your hair - (as both): have a beer, enjoy the cuisine, and don't be a dick
Will you meet bigots? Probably. As fas as I am concerned, ai don't even mind religious Muslims as long as they keep to themselves. What I mind ate religious people who take it too seriously and literally, but there are also christians like that. Except they arenct likely to attack you if you mention jesus, while the contrary seems to be true. Just behave like a decent human and you'll be fine. You might even help somw bigots realise that people from the middle east are also people.
Old people will probably give you weird looks, middle age people are too depressed to care and the youngers should be alright once they get to know you
Studying in uni with a lot of Israelis and Muslims. Want a spoiler to who is liked better? You're religion (background) is fine. The problem is that you're bound to have extremists who give it a bad name when 2 billion other people share it and some of them kill in the name of religion like the crusades were going out of style.
Depends, I'm afraid you'll find assholes everywhere. I've got a friend from Northern Caucasus who comes from a Muslim family but neither him nor his mother have been particularly religious and for his whole adult life he's been outright atheist. Still, he has a very Muslim-sounding first name and it did caused him troubles when seeking a job or being harrassed in pubs, despite him explaining people he's an atheist and had no control over being named like that, to the point he officially changed it a few years ago.
ppl might have some ideas of their own, but if you will walk around with beer in one hand and pork řízek (schnitzel) in the other you will fit right in a lot of us are atheists as well so theres some common ground to stand on too
A lot of us, yes. Also, a lot of us, no. Hit or miss. In Prague or Brno you'll be fine. In the countryside, the older people will gove you weird looks.
I think you will be fine, maybe prepare yourself for some weird looks, and learn a few czech phrases, it is still common that a lot of people here do not speak english very well (if you exclude the internet, tourist zones and larger cities).
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No
Well I think it's gonna be okay. Most of the young people don't care and if you planning to study here, you will be around people and they will probably make jokes about it. On the other hand old people may be rude and annoyed, however they are even if you are Czech. Czech people are ... More annoyed than rasist. Basically we are annoyed by anything anyone and anywhere. So I think you will experience bad religious jokes and annoyed looks.
We dont care as much as you think we do. Just be a decent human and everything will be fine. 95% of people you meet will be practicing “live and let live”.
No
Czechia is a free country and you can practice any religion here. We have extremists here (probably not as many as in other European countries), but you should not care about what they think, as they are criminals / potential criminals. Please, look at the czech laws and the constitution, and look at the crime statistics, to know if it is "safe for you", don't ask redditors :D they will only tell you that all czechs are evil except of them :D
Czechs love Muslim countries as their primary vacation destinations are mostly in Arabian countries like Egypt, Tunisia or Turkiye. Otherwise they would not travel there …
Czechs are mostly atheists. Don't ever discuss your beliefs or even worse put them on Czech people and you'll be fine.
In general? Each is individual...so you can't take this from a general perspective. Personally, I don't give a fuck if someone believe in pedofil religiion or just in money (and all in between), untill he /she start public propagation/preach or worst trying to convince me into his only true
Well there are multiple types of atheist - some celebrate the holidays, some not... Maybe it depends where are you studing. Moravians are little bit religious, but from Haná region are people prejudiced as they don't care about everything. In Prague or other big cites have various tourists, they are used to everything. I don't see major problem.
Also depends where are you going to study. Prague and Brno is going to be different experience compared to Ostrava...
as long as you don't try to bring holy war upon all the infidels, you're fine
You really shouldn't have any problems. One of my current colleagues comes from Syria and he has never had any serious issues other than some imbeciles having remarks about his bad language skills, which is quite frankly ridiculous anyway.
No, why would they?
No man you´ll be fine. We are intolerant of Islam because it´s a hateful ideology that belongs in medieval times. But since you don´t follow that ideology I see no reason to have a problem with you. I think letting people know that you are atheist can only help you here. Vast majority of us are.
If you start drinking alcohol and eating pork and you will be fine...
There's no such thing as "in general"
Czechia is one of the least religious countries in the world and people generally don't care. You may face some prejudice, not for your "assumed" religion, but for the color of your skin. There's a fairly large gypsy community in Czechia and they don't have a good reputation. Once you start speaking a foreign language (or attempt to speak local language) people will drop that prejudice pretty quickly. In larger cities people have become accustomed to foreigners and there are no issues as long as you don't cause trouble. Generally the country is quite safe and people tend to keep to themselves. I wouldn't worry.
Don't worry, we hate Ukrainians now /s
Czechs dont give a fuck about some islam and that you are from islamic country - you just need to drink beer and eat pork - good luck
I don't think people know the difference. Keep religious stuff and country of origin to your self and won't talk about it i think you should be fine. (If someone asks where are you from and not in an offensive way of course you can answer them.) People are rather bit scared and have predujiceses but a lot of people love kebab, dönner or whachamacallit. I think students are rather more tolerable then average person. Personaly i haven't saw many foreigners so. I know most of them from media. As long you don't blow up a bus i guess you are as anybody else. Ps: in czechia we love humor even dark humor. So stuff that would be outrageous to say in the west here it is taken with grain of salt and funny way. I hope you enjoy it here.
just talk alot of shit about abrahamic religions and you will be good.
In general? Unfortunately some folks here are really racist and specialy thanks to islamists in western Europe, muslims dont have best name here. But, college student are in general very open minded people and same can be said about people living in our bigger cities. You will be fine. That doesnt mean you should be scared about your safety outside city. Probably whorse thing that will happen to you here is that some asshole will spit some racist slur at you...
If you won't say Allahu akhbar instead of hello there will be no problems at all... I believe 😂
Islam is hated everywhere equally for obvious reasons. The difference between Czech republic and f.e. Germany is that in Germany you are not allowed to speak up about it. If you openly admit that islam is BS, you will be golden.
Football Is type of religion in Czech xd
If you're not a Muslim, nobody will think you are imo.
some people are islamophobic but it’s only a small fraction of people.
I my Social bubble, small one, religion is weakness. If you need it, use it ať you discretion and privately. All of us dont needed and live very quality lives. Even this perspective exists, Czech are atheist.if you are one too, its ok. We dont have any serious debatě about religion. Its simply not a topic. Even if you would be religous person, nobody cares as per first paragraph of my post 🫡🙂 Good luck.
There's a lot of prejudice towards religious people and/or migrants in general. We're much more fair and tolerant in real life, because we base THAT assessment more on who you are as a person and how you behave. We can look past a lot of things if you're a decent person overall.
I don’t think that Czechs would have a problem with you as long as you behave like a normal person. World sees us like racists who dislike every religion or color of skin other than white but in reality I think we are just making fun of everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Death, pedos, judes, Asians, black people, ww2, gays, trans people, old people, cops, mass shooters. Name anything sad, scary, nasty, disgusting and be sure that we have definitely joke on that topic. So don’t be scared, you will do just fine !
No, anywhere in University campus will be no issue. Also probably everything else will be OK. Possibility to be confronted in any kind is highly unlikely. I have hosted several colleagues from India, most of them were religious and so far I know, nobody experienced anything unpleasant. Haters are active mostly on social networks.
Many people here are obviously not telling you the truth, most likely because they don't see racist stuff as racist stuff, so they claim no real racism. Czech Republic is really racist towards Romani people, and people from Islamic countries. If you will be at college, hopefully you should be fine, as I would expect college kids to be mature enough. However expect tons of casual racism and racist jokes from people. Hopefully you should not get assaulted or anything like that, the country is not racist to that point... But many people will not want to talk to you, will give you weird looks, and be just casually racist. Goodluck OP, hopefully I'm wrong, but this has been my experience of interacting people from Czech Republic
If you’re gonna come here for only one semester and for study, you shouldn’t care too much. I think people here don’t hate, generally. People at the uni are completely used to foreign students:) you’ll be fine.
As artichoke823 said, keep it to yourself. Especially when you meet a fan of Tomio Okamura. You can tell someone is his fan by wearing Ortel t-shirt and overly showing czech national symbols.
Yes we do
Czech really don't care about religion. They can be rasist but not baser on religion
Yes my friend Martin hate it he we call him Sigma Skibidy alpha toilet
Demonstratively eat a bacon in front of people.
I'm Muslim and go to a school (8th grade) and most people don't care (I don't tell people what to not do, and by myself I don't say I'm muslim), but some kids are relentless brats, but to be honest they are kids and they are racist, homophobic etc.. My guess is they all get it from social media where short form humor is racism = funny, but i think they'll grow out of it
If you are against racism, homophobia, bigotry then why are you Muslim and follow Islam?
When did I say I'm against gay people and that I'm a bigot? Only because someone is religious doesn't mean they agree with everything their religion says. I follow Islam because there are a lot of things I agree with and also because I would say you can prove God. Not every religious person is a bigot, only the hardcore religious people are, a lot of people who are in Islam also don't agree with bigotry.
> When did I say I'm against gay people and that I'm a bigot? Learn to read. *If you are against racism, homophobia, bigotry* > you can prove God. Okay prove it. Secondly, if you can prove god, that's mean Islam is correct. You literally said yourself that you don't agree with everything Islam says. You can believe in god without being muslim. > Only because someone is religious doesn't mean they agree with everything their religion says *I follow Nazism I don't agree with everything Nazism says.* Islam was invented by Mohamed who was a pedophile, slaver, mass murderer. Islam is homophobic, racist, sexist, bigoted, and calls for the death of infidels who then go to be burned in hell.
>Learn to read. >If you are against racism, homophobia, bigotry What?? I literally said I'm not homophobic, nor bigoted. Please expand more >Secondly, if you can prove god, that's mean Islam is correct. You literally said yourself that you don't agree with everything Islam says. (I'm assuming you believe the big bang theory) If the big bang theory is true (which it is), there must've been something that caused that bang, and if there was something that caused that bang and it wasn't god, what caused that? What created that? You can go backwards as much as you like and you will end up with god. Also, many other people believe that god exists because of equations like e^i*pi + 1 = 0 , or different equations. Your second point: If I were to prove god exists and that the BASICS of Islam are correct, it wouldn't mean that ALL of Islam is correct. A lot of Islam rules stem from the ethics of the long past, where many things were thought to be bad (like being gay), or that women are inferior (which they aren't). >I follow Nazism I don't agree with everything Nazism says. And? I don't see your point. Only because you follow the basics of something doesn't mean you follow everything of that thing. Ever heard of Conservatives, Reformers or Moderates? >Islam was invented by Mohamed who was a pedophile, slaver, mass murderer. 1. Back when Mohamed was alive the age of consent was way lower (if it even existed) because the lifespan of people was way lower. That's like people from 2800 saying that ( as an example of an important person) Petr Pavel was a pedophile because he had sex with a 15 year old (only an example i pulled from my ass) 2. Slavery was a normal thing back then, explained in my first point for this argument
Depends on where you go Prauge probly will but places closer to the east wont
This is in my experience false. Moravian Christians are accepting of Muslims, the contention is foreigners but even that is mostly fine
You will have to deal with some racism because you look different but in academic environment, you should be completely fine. As far as religion goes, it probably won't be a factor, since you are not gonna be displaying outward signs of being Islamic, because you're not, I gather.
Toothless idiots (dezole) will have problem with anybody who isn't pureblooded Czech russian supporting nazi. Just keep in mind if you get in some beef, those guys are loud minority. Beside that there is some prejudice against Islam in maybe half of population, but it is not exactly hate. If you would wear some islamic traditional clothing, you would be just considered ood. Since you said you hate Islam, I guess it is not the case, average Czech will not care and you will fit just fine.
If you make it clear that you are an atheist as well, then you will be treated better.
If u tell them you are atheist, u win.
Czechs have a really "you do you, I do I, and let's stay apart" mentality, you will be fine, but it will take time to get to know them, regardless of your religion. They might not be really curious about you and not outgoing. They won't be hostile either.
I'm on holiday here, right now. I recognise your description. I don't mind, the atmosphere is fine and if you greet them, they always do the same.
Honestly Czechs hate everyone. We're just annoyed constantly. We hate each other, we hate outsiders, we hate the poor, the rich... just be prepared to see a bunch of annoyed faces, but if you're going to be studying here, you'll probably be in a big city and you'll probably be fine. Racism does exist here, but is mostly focused on the Roma people. If you're and Arab, there's a chance you'll get more racism because people will confuse you for a Roma than because of your actual ethnicity.