Religion Conversion

[Bigboof88]

Hi Guys,

Considering marrying a girl, however, she wants the conversion. I'm a pretty nonreligious person and to be honest it does not particularly bother me however Ive got the concern that I would generating some expectations that I would practice which I would not. I would just like to hear if anyone has been through the process and if they have any advice to share.

[marcus]

... I'm a pretty nonreligious person and to be honest it does not particularly bother me however Ive got the concern that I would generating some expectations that I would practice which I would not ...

I am also a nonreligious person and got converted to marry my (at that time) Indonesian girlfriend (later we divorced after 10 years marriage) . She obviously knew that I was doing that just for the marriage and never had any expectation about me fully practicing . She herself didn't practice much . But I respected her religious behavior/preferences so we never : had a dog , nor ate pork meat , nor drunk alcohol , ..

[waarmstrong]

You are definitely correct in assuming that your prospective marriage will come with expectations, and not only religious expectations. I suspect your casual attitude toward religion will be at an end, if you marry into an Islamic family.

I have been married to my Indonesian spouse for 22 years and converted to Islam as part of the process. How my spouse and I dealt with our respective religious beliefs, questions and post-marriage behavior was to have thorough, detailed, and transparent discussions prior to the marriage regarding both our relationship with our faiths and expectation for our partner concerning his or her religious beliefs and behavior. This is particularly important with regard to learning basic Arab chants and prayers, as well as performance of the many rituals. Also discussed were the family implications of performing or not performing the public trappings of Islam.

Finding out how others on the board dealt with these matters can be instructive, but the onus is on you to get things straight with your perspective bride by having the frank discussions I suggest. If you are unwilling to assent to the expectations that could likely be non-negotiable, best to get off the bus at the next stop.

[tel522]

To be married here you must have the same religion ,the only solution is to marry outside of the country , If your gf is dead serious about your full conversion to islam and all that entails ,and you are not , you have a problem . Which would be insurmountable .

I know of people who do the conversion just to align with the process for marriage ,without a problem , but that depends on your prospective partner and her family .