To ask what you think when you see a white woman and a Muslim man?

Famously black Muslim woman Iman, successfully married to David Bowie,
white, C of E he always said, it wasn’t a problem, why would it be.

I would just hope they are not raising the children Muslim. I have lived in a majority Muslim country — I do not recommend it personally and I worry that the vacuum left by Christianity (am not Christian just to be clear) means that another religion will take its place. Secularism seems difficult to maintain tbh

I know lots of Muslim men and boys. My DS plays in a cricket team where he is the only non Muslim. I chat and engage with the wives and they are all only Muslim. The other day one of the players of 25 told me he was attending events at a matchmaker type of place to find a wife. She will be Muslim. I know this man quite well having known him for over 10 years since he was 15 and asked him if he had tried meeting someone at college or University. He said no he must marry a Muslim lady who will bring his DC up in the Muslim faith. His Mum who I know quite well told me she would not mind who her son married if they were a good and kind person and agreed any DC would be Muslim faith. Out of about 60 Pakistani men not one has a non Muslim wife. They all seem perfectly happy though. The men seem to have some choice but choose to marry a fellow Muslim. The girls have less choice.

I assume you're asking about a man in traditional religious attire OP, and a woman who's not showing any signs in her appearance of being of the same faith? I live in London - I wouldn't give a second glance to a couple of that description.

However, if I knew the couple, for example, I was friends with one of them, and I knew that one was deeply religious, and one wasn't, I'd probably be concerned about whether 2 people with fundamentally different beliefs would have a successful relationship. That would be the same no matter which religion.

The handful I know in real life are all divorced and at some point the women were subjected to domestic violence.

The differences were simply too great for the marriages to work. Arguments over circumcision were a particular bone of contention.

This isn't representative in any way. Just my personal experience.

I have seen a white women in a burqa dress before and I must admit I found that strange.

I believe in freedom to dress how you want but it does seem odd someone would choose to wear something so oppressive. It seems a bad role model to the children. I think if you’ve grown up that way so genuinely think that’s ‘normal’ it’s perhaps more understandable but as a white woman you presumably haven’t… Also I do mean a full burqa not just a hijab.

I think I'd only really "notice", if the man was in traditional muslim dress, like a shalwar kameez, and the woman was dressed "western".
If the woman was in a hijab, I don't think I'd particularly notice that she was white.

Not all arab men wear traditional dress or beards.
Nor do they travel to an Arab country try to marry.
God help my family who has a Arab partner who's moved to the UK recently.
She would laugh in your face.

I would internally raise an eyebrow at at man, in Europe, in traditional Muslim dress, with a partner in western clothing. Mainly as those or dress traditionally are unlikely to date outside their culture.

But, frankly, if it's consenting on both sides, who cares?

How would I know he was Muslim?
Does he dress traditionally?

Where I grew up there were a lot of both Hindus and Muslims from India Bangladesh and Pakistan and a lot of Muslims didn't dress or act as religiously as many do now.
Now you get Muslim people from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds....third generation UK, or the Arab States, turkey, Eastern europe, white converts. And a wide range of devotion and outward indicators.

So if I saw a white woman with no signs such as headscarf etc, dressed in typical Western clothing and an Asian or Arab man I would assume he wasn't Muslim, or was ethnically Muslim (in the way I am ethnically chistian as I "celebrate" Christmas and Easter but am not religious) but not particularly devout.
Quite a lot of younger Muslims in my town, particularly those born here who went to diverse schools, are like this.

I would think it was very unusual, assuming he was wearing very traditional Muslim dress and she wasn't.

If he wasn't wearing traditional clothes I wouldn't have a clue what religion he was or think anything of it. I live in the South East and work in London, I know and see lots of mixed couples.

And I have to say, all the Muslim women I know love wearing the hijab - they're not oppressed by it at all.

Out in the real world, plenty of women from muslim backgrounds have non-muslim husbands and boyfriends.

To give just one example because she just popped up on my instagram, the beauty entrepreneur Huda Kattan comes from an arab muslim family from what I can tell, but is married to a Portuguese non-muslim man.

It is incredibly common, especially in the west, for muslim women to date/marry western men

It honestly is not common. It's not permissible. If the woman is a practicing Muslim her husband must also be Muslim. That's just the way it is in Islam.

Muslim is a religion and a choice so I'm not sure how you can look Muslim!?

I couldn't care less what a couple looked like. If they get on well then why does it matter what gender/religion/nationality/ethnicity they are? If people judge or even contemplate this then clearly they need to address their own issues.

Depends if she’s wearing a hair covering or not. If she is, I’d roll my eyes. I don’t like women being dictated to and controlled by men.

My parcel delivery regular guy is tall, white, mid European Muslim - I know this as,
I offered him a bottle of beer - he asked did it have alcohol, I said yes of course, its beer, then realised, handed over old fashioned lemonade, thirsty work lifting heavy parcels.
I wouldn’t have known, couldn’t have guessed.
Flowing garments, long beards, prayer caps are pretty unusual sight are they not, outside Bradford, parts of Leeds, Luton and other enclaves? whether or not escorting a white woman?

I'd think poor gullible woman. Emily Pankhurst would be shocked to see how these wives are treated as 3rd class citizens

I work with a white guy who has a Muslim girlfriend and wedding is on the cards in the future, he won't convert so it dies happen

Op I think you are coming across quite narrow minded

But that all depends on how religious someone is. One of my closest friends refers to herself as culturally Muslim. She is engaged and lives with a man who isn’t Muslim and has no intention to convert.

in the 10 years I have known she has never dated a Muslim man who is very religious.

honestly… I’d think “good luck with that” (directed at the woman)

as @Fairyliz points out the religion basically dictates you are a second class citizen.
one of my DBs converted for his wife he lives in a Muslim country and he really really dislikes how it women are treated.

I think this is quite complex.

I would be surprised to see a Muslim man, who wears religious signifiers, to be with a woman who is wearing clothes that suggests she isn’t Muslim.

But that is because I grew in an area with a large ish Muslim community and it didn’t happen. I know several non Muslim women who dated muslim men and where the men were particularly religious it was kept fairly quiet. So I would be surprised. But the surprise would come then go and that would be it.

I am mixed race and grew up in a very multicultural area. However, when it comes to friends I have been concerned for friends (of any race) in the ‘secret’ relationships. Because on more than one occasion those friends have found themselves to be the OW, when their partner has got married and not told them. Or found themselves ghosted when the man got married. Once when there was a child involved. But let’s be honest, it’s not just Muslim men that can treat women poorly. I am mentioning these situations because that’s the discussion here.

Also, in that situation I would have far more intimate knowledge of the situation. So I wouldn’t judge a couple on the street by it. Because I don’t know the detail and it’s obviously not secret if they are publicly out and about together.

as this is an anonymous forum, please do be honest.

I really don't think anything.

Hit post too soon!

It shouldn't be seen as representative, but given Islam appears to have the strictest rules about marriage, upbringing and so on, I think posters advise due diligence when other posters ask for opinions.
Vitriolic responses are uncalled of though.