.... Two weeks ago, Tunisia became the only country in the Arab world to officially allow Muslim women to marry non-Muslim men, a decision that has sparked outrage in my native country, Egypt, and triggered fresh memories of my own ordeals as an “outsider”, who dared cross the cultural divide and marry a westerner.
In the early days of my relationship, I assumed that the only challenge would be from my mother, my only close relative. I was wrong; the challenges extended far beyond the immediate family. Indeed, although my mother strongly opposed the marriage, she later mellowed and respected my wish after my husband went to Egypt, converted to Islam, and formally proposed to me. Although my ex-husband formally converted in Al-Azhar, he did not take a Muslim name. That was enough to render his faith as “questionable”.
Shortly before midnight, after touring Damascus, we were interrupted in our hostel room by a rude wake up call – literally. An aggressive voice at the door said, “We are the night staff, we need to check your marriage certificate.”
Although we had shown the precious certificate to the afternoon staff earlier, the night staffs were not convinced. They wanted to check it one more time – at around midnight. “This is a Muslim country, and you claim to be Muslim,” one of them said. The two hostel staff looked bemused and offended when I responded angrily, “Yes, I am Muslim, and I have the right to choose my husband.” [inews.co.uk] Read more
