Did Anyone...

Marry into a Muslim family? I did...And while my husband is not Muslim, the rest of his family is...

I was hoping that there was another Mom out there in a similiar situation, because I find a lot of my friends don't get why his side of the family drives me nuts. Anyone else out there?

<blockquote><b>Quoting Boots+3:</b>" Marry into a Muslim family? I did...And while my husband is not Muslim, the rest of his family is... ... [snip!] ... situation, because I find a lot of my friends don't get why his side of the family drives me nuts. Anyone else out there?"</blockquote>




Well, why do they drive you nuts?

I don't have to be married to a muslim to understand why his family drives you nuts.

I'm not... but I've dated people of different religious and cultural backgrounds whose families hated my guts. Does that count?

Do you want a list? lol

For one thing, my husband does not practice Islam...They blame me for that one.

My mother in law is still sore about the naming of our oldest two girls...For one thing, we weren't too concerned about the meaning...We just wanted a name we liked. That's a big no no for Muslims...You've gotta have meaning in the name. We also named the girls at the hospital each time, not on the 6th day after they were born. (That was a huge point of conflict) His side of the family refused to even come and see Rue until she was two weeks old...They were better with Zoe, but once again the subject of the naming of this baby came up...My mother in law asked if we would please respect the Islamic traditions that my husband was brought up with and allow for a proper naming. No! N-O. You are Muslim, that's great, but we're not. Therefore, we do not follow the Islamic traditions.

Then there's the huge conflict over Church. We take our girls to a Baptist church, they attend Sunday School...Guess how well that goes over? Like a lighter and gasoline.

Then there's the way we let the girls dress...I don't care if my girls wear t-shirts and jeans, and neither does my husband. But for his family? Huge issue, because if anything other than a woman's hands or face is seen, it's considered immodest. And while this doesn't apply until puberty, the general rule is that 'modesty' is taught from an early age. Hence the conflict.

Need I go on?

Quoting The Doctor:" I'm not... but I've dated people of different religious and cultural backgrounds whose families hated my guts. Does that count?"

Yes! That completely counts! Because then you understand the...family dynamics we have.

Quoting Boots+3:" Yes! That completely counts! Because then you understand the...family dynamics we have."

Yeah, wow. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be, especially when it comes to your kids.  

Quoting The Doctor:" Yeah, wow. I can't imagine how frustrating that would be, especially when it comes to your kids.  "

So much of the drama surrounds the girls...They pretty much gave up on my husband when we got married (There's another drama in itself) but they're determined to try and, I don't know, convert the girls or something.

I know my husband still wants them involved in his life, as well as in the girls life, but it's been 8 years of this, and the temperature's maybe gone up from -40 C to -39. It's really frustrating...I always find it funny when people complain about their mother in laws, because as bad as they can be, I'm always like, ok, now try having a Muslim mother in law. It just takes it to the next degree of insanity.

But you would've gotten a taste of this, then, having dated into other cultures and religions.