married to locals. Some with kids, some without. Almost universally they have converted. Again, it's not a requirement (Muslims men can marry Jewish and Christian women), but many chose to do it, and even if the woman wasn't sure at the time, she knew it wouldn't be acceptable to his family if she did not.
Almost universally they cover here in Qatar (shayla and abaya, one wears niqab). When back home in US, they almost universally remove it. One friend here absolutely loathes covering here. She does so not out of a feeling that Islamically she should but out of respect for her husband (knowing he would be ridiculed and catch a lot of sh*t if she didn't).
Their marriages are like any other marriage -- both good times and bad. My friends say they love the close sense of family here, being around people to celebrate Ramadans and Eids with, how people here LOVE children. They admire the loyalty and feeling of commitment that people have for family.
But I think they do struggle with more issues just from the sheer fact of it being an intercultural relationship. Problem areas I have witnessed included: they're living with his family; using her income to pay for his relatives; he doesn't want his daughters to go to a mixed school (that's better quality); he goes out all night with the boys but she's restricted from doing the same with the girls; she's worried he'll take a secret second wife (because his family keeps harping on why they don't have a baby yet); he told her to remove all her artwork (that she'd had prior to marriage) from the house because it depicted human forms; he won't let her go to friend's houses when there will be men there (other people's husbands, even western men) that he doesn't know; he refuses to allow her to celebrate secular American holidays like Thanksgiving; she doesn't have his permission go to the souk AT ALL.
One couple married in the States when they met at university, and then it took almost a decade (and one child later) before he could get the marriage approved/recognized here so that he could bring his wife and child back to Qatar with him.
"Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise."
-- Maya Angelou
married to locals. Some with kids, some without. Almost universally they have converted. Again, it's not a requirement (Muslims men can marry Jewish and Christian women), but many chose to do it, and even if the woman wasn't sure at the time, she knew it wouldn't be acceptable to his family if she did not.
Almost universally they cover here in Qatar (shayla and abaya, one wears niqab). When back home in US, they almost universally remove it. One friend here absolutely loathes covering here. She does so not out of a feeling that Islamically she should but out of respect for her husband (knowing he would be ridiculed and catch a lot of sh*t if she didn't).
Their marriages are like any other marriage -- both good times and bad. My friends say they love the close sense of family here, being around people to celebrate Ramadans and Eids with, how people here LOVE children. They admire the loyalty and feeling of commitment that people have for family.
But I think they do struggle with more issues just from the sheer fact of it being an intercultural relationship. Problem areas I have witnessed included: they're living with his family; using her income to pay for his relatives; he doesn't want his daughters to go to a mixed school (that's better quality); he goes out all night with the boys but she's restricted from doing the same with the girls; she's worried he'll take a secret second wife (because his family keeps harping on why they don't have a baby yet); he told her to remove all her artwork (that she'd had prior to marriage) from the house because it depicted human forms; he won't let her go to friend's houses when there will be men there (other people's husbands, even western men) that he doesn't know; he refuses to allow her to celebrate secular American holidays like Thanksgiving; she doesn't have his permission go to the souk AT ALL.
One couple married in the States when they met at university, and then it took almost a decade (and one child later) before he could get the marriage approved/recognized here so that he could bring his wife and child back to Qatar with him.
"Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise."
-- Maya Angelou