Mumsnet Talk

Are you muslim or is one of you muslim? what do your kids look like and what are their names? How do you get on with the in laws? do you speak arabic?

Hi there. My DH is originally from Egypt, we have been married for almost 15 years and have a DS of 7 and a DD of 5. They both have Arabic names, my DS's name is quite an unusual name, even in Egypt, but it is a family name with great sentimental meaning to DH. DD name is one I have liked since I was young and just so happens to fit perfectly into both cultures. DD looks full Egyptian, think brown skin and very curly almost afro hair. DS is much paler with light olive skin, he has dark brown eyes but his hair is lighter brown and less curly than his sisters.
DH is Muslim and I am church of England, we respect and understand each others beliefs and I can honestly say the difference in religion has never really been an issue.
I understand a lot of Arabic and can follow a conversation, if someone was talking about me on a bus for instance I would know what they were on about! I find it more difficult to speak though. I could easily go into a shop and ask for something but would find it much harder to hold a full conversation. We speak English in the home and the inlaws are in Egypt so don't really have to use it much, lazy I know!
We visit Egypt once a year and I can honestly say I don't have a problem with the inlaws although I only have to put up with them for a few weeks a year!
Are you or your partner Egyptian, i am assuming so?

My childrens father is egyptian I am english (with jewish background but muslim by religion). Your kids sound beautiful mashaallah, my son is olive skinned, dark eyed and has thick tough dark hair, his sis is only 4 months almost but has very fair skin like me, brown eyes and soft dark hair. Ive got so addicted to egyptian food though...love baklawa and warak inab!! I also can understand a bit of arabic but cant speak it for my life lool :P how are the in laws towards you? egyptians are generally so lovely with the english i have found..thankfully lol

I can honestly say my inlaws are lovely, genuine people and when we visit we just slot into family life like we have never been away. I was worried the first time I met them that they wouldn't approve of our relationship, especially my father in law who is an extremely devout Muslim. I needn't have worried though, although he can be quite reserved with his emotions he is an extremely kind and gentle man and my mother in law would do anything for any one. How do you get on with your inlaws? Are they here or in Egypt?
I like Egyptian food too, I like all food tbh! I especially like krum mahshi, taamiyah and the Egyptian rice with vermicelli, I don't cook it any other way now! The only thing I don't really like is fuul, i think it is the look of it rather than the taste!
Where abouts in Egypt is your DH from?

thats lovely that you get on so well with your in laws :D I also adore egyptian food and am actually a big fan of fuul, i love koshery i think thats probably my favourite dish, and I love baklawa and konefa for dessert. mahshi is amazing, i need to practise cooking it though. my kids dad is from cairo, what about yours? Im having arabic lessons at the min so I can teach my kids their mother tongue as well as english. surprised at how much i actually understood!

My DH is from just outside Luxor. Does the kids dad speak Arabic to them? Unfortunately my DH mainly speaks English in the home so the kids havn't picked up a great deal of Arabic which I am really sad about tbh. I was thinking about getting someone in to teach them for maybe an hour or so a week, will definitely have to sort something out. I think it is difficult to get fluent in a language unless you are living in a country that speaks it and are completely imersed in it.

i love luxor its sooo beautiful, im yet to visit cairo, no way is it better than luxor lol. im having lessons with a friend of mine who teaches Qur'an at the local mosque, its great and i would def advise you do it for the kids if you want them to speak the language. for me as a muslim its really important that we all do cos of reading and understanding Qur'an etc, plus just generally wanting to communicate more with my kids grandparents. so much harder to learn a language as u get older though i reckon.

So really your DCs mother tongue is English but understandably you would like them to be able to speak Egyptian/Arabic too so they can converse with their Father's family?

Being as you are English and their Father is Egyptian and they are growing up in England.

Anyone still here on this thread? My DH is Egyptian too! He is Coptic though, which makes life really easy for us as I am Catholic. I love Egyptian food too, and had koshery for tea tonight!

Hi there. forgot about koshery, like that too but fills me up so quick! Did you make it yourself? We have Egyptian food at least once a week but I have never cooked Koshery.
Where in Egypt is your DH from and how many kids have you got? I imagine your beliefs are pretty similar with him being Copt and you being Catholic but what do you do about things like Christmas and Easter as I know the Copts celebrate them a week or so after a lot of other denominations. Do you celebrate them on the coptic or Catholic day or both?

Hi! Sorry, haven't checked this thread in ages! Yes, I cook koshery myself, got a really easy recipe from my sister in law years ago, and just know it now. I cheat and use a tub of crispy fried onions from the supermarket for the top tho! My DH is from Cairo and we have two boys aged 15 and nearly 17. Exams at the moment, and boy do Egyptians take education and results seriously! Faith wise, it's great, cos we basically Have the same faith. We celebrate Christmas on Dec 25th, and Easter twice! My DH fasts during lent, which is going vegan, and the boys and I just go vegetarian plus fish. DH won't end his fast until his Easter though, says its important to him to do it at the same time as his family. Sometimes Both Easters are at the same time though, so those years it's great! His family are really lovely and I wouldn't change them for the world. They all speak very good English, which is great, but has made me very lazy with Arabic! How about you? Children, life, etc? Would love to hear.