Love Means Never Having to Say You Are An Infidel!

Re: # 15
nasah! By showing your unreasonable hatred towards Islam just shows your ignorance abt it. If u even had a brain of the size of an electron,u would`v looked beyond fox news n the western media`s propaganda n looked into the Quran to see wat Islam actually is. So stop takin `being stupid` classes n look into the facts.Yes,Islam is a code of conduct n No it is not a violent or harsh religion.Infact, the two Abrahamic religions b4 Islam(christianity n judaism) r more strict than Islam.

Can one have two religions. The very simple answer is a loud NO. Ofcourse not. One cannot even be faithful to multiple factions within one religion. It is unthinkable to talk of ``believing`` in different religions.

For example, as a Jew one cannot believe that either Jesus or Muhammad were prophets (the word used in the sense of messenger from God). I have heard a few Jews say that Jesus was a GREAT JEW. As a Christian Jesus was the person of God who still visits us(them) in the form of the Holy Spirit. For a Muslim, both Jesus and Moses are great prophets but the greatest of them all is Muhammad. The Jews don`t give a damn about the Gospels. Both the Jews and Christians believe the Quran to be the word of a dis-informed man. While Muslims say that Quran is the word of God and that the Jewish and Christian scriptures cannot be so as they have been self-admittedly authored by man. The true word of God, the Muslims say, was lost by both these communities.

All of this within the fold of the three (known to me) montheistic religions. It is illogical to assume that anyone could be both a Christian and a Jew/Muslim.

INTER-FAITH MARRIAGE:

For Muslims, a Muslim man may marry a Muslim (prefferably), Christian or a Jewish woman on the pre-condition (must be laid out clearly) that the children would be Muslim. Further, the spouse to be must be a practising Muslim/Christian/Jew and not just one by birth. It is discouraged for a person to convert just to get married. If a Muslim man marries anyone outside these guidelines, that is not considered a valid marriage. There is no ambiguity about this. As for Moe`s comments in interact #2, no we are not to be the jury or the judge. It is upto God to decide what He wants to do with such couples. However, it is for us never to get into such a situation as He Himself has disliked it and forbidden it. Finally, a Muslim woman can only marry a Muslim man.

For Christians, depending on which school of thought you belong to, inter-faith marriages are either forbidden, or strongly discouraged, or tolerated yet discouraged. I am not sure how Jews handle this but I am pretty sure that it is forbidden in their religion as well. If any one knows better could you please clarify.

One can always argue that such restrictions are making an un-healthy society. But then, rather than finding a way out within the framework of religion (non-existent I may add) why not work to abolish religion. I fail to understand the dilemma of those who know nothing much about their religion and consider it more a matter of cultural inheritance. Religion, to me, transcends all cultural boundaries. I also believe that one must think about religion, look at alternatives (atheism, etc) and then adopt one philosophy/theology. THEN STICK TO IT IN DAILY MATTERS. IF YOU CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WHAT YOUR RELIGION HAS TO SAY IN SUCH MATTERS IS TRUE AND CORRECT, I THINKYOU SHOULD DENOUNCE YOUR RELIGION.

saminasha

Did you read that beautiful news story about how whites and blacks in America, instead of diverging, are increasingly coming together in marriage?

Hydra,

Actually, these marriages took place in ShaitanSheheir-the USA....any one have any figures on how many interreligious marriages are taking place in Pakistan, Iran?

...A Pakistani-American married to a Jamaican American, an Aruban married to a Japanese, an Indian married to a Chinese woman, A Fillipina married to an Italian, an Iranian woman married to an Irish man...there are already some gorgeous children out there....

A Bulgarian Woman and an Irish American, a Dutch guy and a half Japanese, half Italian woman...

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“Unlike other religions, Islam is a code of conduct” (shahid khan) –

such a heartwarming, high flutin, profoundly meaningless phrase –

don’t u guys ever get tired of repeating the same blather over and over again – why don’t u abbreviate the whole paragraph -- as PBUI -- and get on the subject of discussion.

btw -- what do u know about those ‘unlike’ religions -- like Hinduism, , Buddhism, Christianity – have u studied other people’s religions? – have u taken a course of religion 101 – if u r in college – if u r in a mad rassa taking the course of ignorance 101 – quit it – go & see the normal world beyond the fanatic Islam.

FYI -- Islam is just like any other religion – no better no worse.

if “Islam is a code of conduct” – the current criminal conduct of -- murder and mayhem – of a minority of its -- clueless conductees -- has definitely turned it into an abomination – an anamoly

in that respect -- YOUR Islam (not mine) -- is definitely “UNLIKE” -- any of the other -- ‘gentler-kinder’ -- regular religions …

An Iranian Woman and a Korean American Man, a Pakistani American and a Dutch Man

Moe Choudhary
You say,`` Love Means Never Having to Say You Are An Infidel !``

Wrong!

Love means never asking the other person to convert to a new religion
(i)for the sake of getting married
(ii) to avoid saying one is infidel
(ii) to make sure that person responsible to convert the spouse gains `Sawab` and direct entry to paradise.

Love means love from both sides and not love from one side and emotional black-mailing from the other side.

````as the proud father of two daughters, i can honestly say that it really doesn`t matter who they marry as long as it is not a horrible hindoo (or indian muslim) and has good table manners````(hamidm)

the miserable muslims -- avoid them like bubonic plague -- but WHY the horrible hindoos?? --

do u have something against the indians?

most pakistanis -- most injuns -- have good table manners -- most r hand to mouth.

Good to see this article....and thanks for pointing out that life is as angst ridden as you make it.....

Btw, know a Palestinian Muslim man who married an Israeli Jewish woman as did two other male members of his family; a Palestinian Marxist who was involved with an Indian Brahmin, a Pakistani Muslim who married a Chinese woman...why is it that of all these cultures and religions, its the Muslims who must impose their say?

``Will the marriage take place in a synagogue or a church or a mosque?``
............ how about a court house?

Will the family celebrate Christmas or Eid or Chanuka?
.............. how about all three?


Is such a union recognizable in the eyes of God?
.......... who gives a flip - for all we know she might be as blind as a mole ?

....... no need to sweat the small stuff ......... as the proud father of two daughters, i can honestly say that it really doesn`t matter who they marry as long as it is not a horrible hindoo (or indian muslim) and has good table manners ......... of course the ``community`` will be shocked and tongues will wag for a few weeks but then they will go back to worrying about their tabligi son-in-law who has taken to beating their muslima daughter .............

Re: Rahat.
Excellent reply Rahat. Hope to see more of you on Chowk. Please write moore I can see you are a good writer.

Great article! I`m on to you Moe Chaudhry.

I am giving my feedback after reading and analyzing your article from the Islamic stand-point. Unlike other religions, Islam is a code of conduct, a way of life and not merely a set of rituals. When it comes to matters of belief, a follower of Islam submits to the orders of his Lord, the Almighty Allah. Quran clearly speaks about what is permitted/forbidden with regards to marriage besides other issues of life. Thus, if someone believes in Quran and the orders of Allah, he/she should try to abide by that.
For those who don`t, meaning they are least bothered about their faith, let alone inter-religious marriage, they do whatever they like in other aspects too. So, why should they at all care about their religious beliefs when they are not following the religion in the first place? Islam is identity of a muslim and one should try to maintain one`s identity. Since there is a clear line of demarcation between social behavior of muslims and non-muslims, one can not ride two boats at the same time.

There is a commonly used term ABCD`s i.e. American Born Confused Desi`s for the US born kids of immigrant parents. Their parents stick to the culture of their motherland but their kids become americanized. The duality of behavior i.e. Americans outside but Indians/Pakistanis at home obviously confuses many of them. Keeping the cultural influence in mind, one can easily foresee the devastating effect dual religious beliefs can have on the offsprings of inter-religious marriages.