My brother who is a doctor had invited another doctor who is of Pakistani descent, during the Thanksgiving holidays last month. He and his wife brought some beef kebab for us but they do not drink etc…anyway, they have a lovely daughter who is in the 7th grade so while they were leaving, at the end of the evening, I told them that I wish things were different in that my son who is an 8th grader, would not agree with I making a choice for him, but in another time, I would have asked his daughter’s hand for my son.

To end this harangue, I am originally from India (my parents are Hindu by birth) and married to a white catholic woman and religion never made any difference any which way…I went to her church and she came to Indian pujas …granted they are not so everyday affair in the US (although now more common than before) and our children has Christmas as the main festivity having been born and grown up in EU and the US. Having said all that, I must also confess that sometimes, I do wonder what it is like to get married to someone from your community …I do not mean religion-wise but rather culturally…someone who spoke your language and perhaps would understand the nuances, even when not everything is verbalized….love is great but I am not sure at this point of my life if love is the only thing…respect is much more important, at least to me and that means I do not want to try to convert anyone, just to begin with.

And what a bigger shame, that those Muslims who marry out of their religion, wish their spouse to convert !!

Crazy situation that !!!