I suppose this is why a former work colleague told me I should shave my beard off 'because you're not a Muslim or a Sikh'?

My ancestors were Vikings and Saxons, thank you, so I'll keep the face-fuzz and the ponytail. I don't expect you to grow yours, and I don't care if a Sikh or Muslim man decides to shave.

Every culture is made up of the bits and pieces it has picked up from all the other cultures it encounters, plus a few home-grown habits.

'Cultural purity' is for Nazis.