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

@CammyChameleon whatever. I'm happy. That's it really

Brainwashed is a fantastic word.

The OP is asking about the stereotypes and deep seated racist views on seeing the scenario she suggested -
if im honest (white British woman) if i dwelled on it i would think :
hope she’s treated as an equal
hope she’s not hidden from rest of his family
hope her MIL isn’t an interfering dragon - because of all the posts i read here about Asian in laws etc

so I think I would go along the lines of concern for the woman !

very aware this is stereotyping and racist …. ☹️

I had a friend at primary school who's mum had only moved her to marry. She spoke virtually no English but she (actually mum and daughter) was beautiful with incredibly long black hair, and beautiful brightly coloured shalwar kamis and she came into school to teach us how to make roti or something. I went to their house for tea.

When my friend turned 8 she wasn't allowed to get changed for PE with everyone else....I suppose that's fair enough.
Then she left our primary school and went to an all girls secondary school (which did have a higher proportion muslims)
When I saw her again 6 yrs later at college she was wearing a full length black head and body cloak. And no make up
So different to what her mum had been like 10 yrs earlier.

It was a patter that repeated a lot around then. Girls I grew up with that were very western suddenly becoming far more devout.

I have seen a reversal in the last 10 years or so as their children now become teens and their is much more fluidity. I have friends who may where very Muslim dress one day and jeans and t-shirt next day. Families out celebrating eid recently very few women and girls wore a full head covering, if any, let alone a veil.
The presence of more modest but mainstream fashions has made it OK to wear your own style without completely disregarding your faith.

I would worry for the woman only because based on white British women I've known who married Muslim men, the men were either controlling or abusive.

@CammyChameleon Well that's what you think. It's not up to me to change your mind.

I'm happy with my life. I have my own business and children and we are happy. If you think I'm brainwashed then that's what you think.

You don't have to understand why ither people do the things they are do. I'm not hurting anyone.

Also my step dad was a convert to Sikhism before he met my mum. No ones worried about that either.

It sounds like a cult suggesting you were predestined to become part of it tbh and cannot understand why a western woman would want to limit herself to covering her hair and suchlike.

This is TAAT. In the thread, the op described herself as young and travelling solo to get married. Questions were around is the country safe, is the situation safe?

When I was in my early 20s, I travelled to South Africa with a casual boyfriend and I had known for a couple of months. My Dad was really horrified by this, at the time there were no smart phones or tracking apps.

I think you need to risk assess situations, particularly when it comes to travel.

But, I wouldn't judge a couple with different faiths.

How would one know he's a Muslim? I mean unless he's wearing an Abaya i don't know how you'd tell?
Anyway even if he had huge neon lights shining above his head saying 'Muslim' i wouldn't think anything (well I might covet the neon sign coz I'm a bit of a magpie liking bright shiny stuff!).
Seriously who has the time to give stuff like this headspace. I couldn't give a tuppence for anyones religious beliefs, so long as they don't spout anything at me (looking at you bro and your endless JW dogma, just give it a rest seriously you'll never convert this heathen!), it's cool, just live and let live.

Nothing. Someone else's romantic interests/choices are not my concern as they don't have any effect on me.

@CammyChameleon well its what we say..you don't have to understand it

I reverted after reading and studying many religions.

I am married to a Muslim. I got married 5 years after I converted. 2 seperate things

That's just bizarre - "born Muslim" when you grew up in a British Christian household. Why did you convert to islam? Do you have a Muslim spouse?

I think if someone is so religious that it shapes their day to day dress then they would only be married to another muslim, white or otherwise.

@CammyChameleon a revert is also a convert. We prefer to say we reverted as we believe we are all born Muslim and not raised as a Muslim but we come to the religion later.

Its the same.

To clarify I am white British. Raised Christian. Reverted/converted to islam.

I think all relationships where the two partners have had very different upbringings can be quite challenging*, especially if one or both families has strong religious views or is from a country that is culturally very different, or their extended families are on two different continents so I usually assume there must be a lot of love there to have made the relationship worth fighting for.

Obviously, how much marrying into a religion affects the non-religious spouse is going to depend on how extensively the religion influences their day to day life, and how conservatively the religious partner/their family are in adhering to the rule book (applies to all religions).

I do worry about how religion can be used to oppress women but non-religious ideology can be used in the same manner.

*I’m English and was married to an American and that was pretty tricky, despite being more culturally similar than many international couples.

I don't think anything of it tbh. Unless someone is very obviously dressed in traditional clothes, I wouldn't always know that they were Muslim in any case - Islam covers so many ethnicities that could be virtually any other religion as well.

I do raise an eyebrow if I hear that someone has converted to their partner's religion. I never really understand why this is a thing - surely people don't suddenly start believing in something because they happen to be in a relationship with someone?

And I would advise a friend to think very carefully about living/marrying into a Muslim country where women's rights are limited. That's just common sense, surely?

But a relationship between a Muslim man and a non-Muslim woman here in the UK? Wouldn't bat an eyelid personally.

Sorry if someone has already asked, but is it ok then for a Muslim man to marry a non Muslim woman? If so, how come?

Personally I likely wouldn’t notice if I walked past you in the street as I’m completely disinterested in other people in general unless I know them.

Me myself, I wouldn’t be with anyone who was staunchly religious, regardless of which religion, as I feel it would make is incompatible to have such differing views on something so important to them.

I honestly wouldn't care, or notice, and think it's sad if people do.

A revert - so someone who grew up Muslim and went back to what they knew? Not what I was talking about.

@CammyChameleon I would think she's probably studied and made the decision for herself. Talking as a revert to islam of 16 years and years a hijab.

So you judge people by their clothes? How do you identify those Muslims who wear more western clothes? Do you think only those in Hasidic clothing are Jewish?
What a very strange and surprisingly misonformed post

I don’t think I’m naive at all. It has very islamaphobic undertones. There are 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide. There isn’t one type of Muslim as it is a religion. In the same way you get different folk practising Catholicism or Buddhism or Judaism in different ways or presenting in different ways.

To ask what do you think when you see a Muslim man with a white woman. The OP is suggesting there is a certain type of Muslim male and that the white woman is in some way being controlled or coerced as a passive victim of the dangerous Muslim male. That is what this post is suggesting. I stand by what I said.

I wonder if it's to stir pre-election debate?

Quite a few threads from 'teachers' asking if they should return to teaching too.

Oh, I thought it was the all over covering thing. I live very rurally so no, I don't see anything like that. I go to London (Cannon Street) for work sometimes but most people in that area are in work clothes. I have muslim work colleagues (Turkish and North African) but none of them dress in an identifiably 'muslim' way that I can see. Which is why I said I would have trouble recognising someone to be muslim unless I knew them and had found out some other way.