General Discussion

etherealtruth

(22,165 posts)

26. I was married to a Muslim for a decade

Fri Oct 10, 2014, 01:07 PM

Oct 2014

We have three beautiful children.

Though I am not fond of my ex-husband, I adore his family and am forever grateful for the friends I gained through our relationship.

Though I never considered converting, I have fasted during Ramzan (Ramadan in Urdu), I have done my best to create Eid celebrations when we lived in areas distant from family or close adherents (and enjoyed Eid tremendously when we could be with family).

I grew up in metro Detroit and attended a public university in Michigan (we have a tremendous and old population of middle eastern immigrants).

I know many secular folk that many in the US would consider "Muslim" based solely on heritage/ religion of ancestors

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How many muslims do you know personally? [View all] closeupready Oct 2014 OP

6 that I have a social relationship with gwheezie Oct 2014 #1

Close personal friends, I have 3, probably a dozen acquaintances, closeupready Oct 2014 #6

None. I do not know any. yeoman6987 Oct 2014 #69

None as far as I know. Throd Oct 2014 #2

I doubt I could put a number on this etherealtruth Oct 2014 #3

If you know people and talk to them on even a semi-regular basis gollygee Oct 2014 #7

I was married to a Muslim for a decade etherealtruth Oct 2014 #26

I share a lot of your life experiences/feelings. closeupready Oct 2014 #33

All I can say ... etherealtruth Oct 2014 #35

I have no idea. I also have no idea how many Christians I know. Erich Bloodaxe BSN Oct 2014 #4

Ditto. Don't ask, don't tell. :evilgrin: eppur_se_muova Oct 2014 #39

A lot gollygee Oct 2014 #5

yep and I know lots of Muslims as a result. Quayblue Oct 2014 #24

Local greengrocer, Mr Tariq. sibelian Oct 2014 #8

None that I know of. femmocrat Oct 2014 #9

Four UglyGreed Oct 2014 #10

I used to work for a vet that was Muslim. logosoco Oct 2014 #11

At least a dozen. cloudbase Oct 2014 #12

I also know a couple of Islamic people who are willing to have a small amount of beer gollygee Oct 2014 #14

And do you know all of their hates, fears, desires, tendencies, plans, and demands Dreamer Tatum Oct 2014 #13

Okay, so mark you down as 'don't know any, don't want to'? closeupready Oct 2014 #16

No, I know a few and have known many. Dreamer Tatum Oct 2014 #18

I avoid funnies gwheezie Oct 2014 #17

I like Hagar the Horrible sometimes. nt Dreamer Tatum Oct 2014 #20

Ha Ha gwheezie Oct 2014 #38

I suspect everyone has the same answer statistically whatthehey Oct 2014 #15

Yet, here they come, to opine about Islam - when you concede closeupready Oct 2014 #19

Well not quite whatthehey Oct 2014 #45

Lots of people in other countries opine about Americans without knowing any personally. whathehell Oct 2014 #85

Islamist extremists are also not representative of a religion of 2 billion or so people. DanTex Oct 2014 #21

Never said they were. They are however, the biggest current global problem. whatthehey Oct 2014 #40

I'd go with global warming. DanTex Oct 2014 #47

Muslim is not a religion. No one really cares about religion. Muslim culture, however... randome Oct 2014 #60

Define "know" Prophet 451 Oct 2014 #22

I don't talk about religion. I have no idea. aikoaiko Oct 2014 #23

But you do talk religion - at least here you do. closeupready Oct 2014 #36

A member pipi_k Oct 2014 #25

About a dozen. 4 that are close friends. hobbit709 Oct 2014 #27

The only Muslims I know are Sufis. cali Oct 2014 #28

I answered 6 because they said they were Muslim gwheezie Oct 2014 #29

That I consider real friends? JustAnotherGen Oct 2014 #30

At least 10 ismnotwasm Oct 2014 #31

A bunch AgingAmerican Oct 2014 #32

I know a large number of Muslims. hrmjustin Oct 2014 #34

In my lifetime quite a few although where I live now none. Cleita Oct 2014 #37

A lot. JaneyVee Oct 2014 #41

I knew many when I was in college in the 1980s. Have a known a couple bullwinkle428 Oct 2014 #42

about 40...along with Sikhs and Buddhists and all sorts of others ProdigalJunkMail Oct 2014 #43

Quite a few greymattermom Oct 2014 #44

Actually quite a few RockaFowler Oct 2014 #46

Wow. That must make for some pretty lively family reunions, lol. closeupready Oct 2014 #48

Oh yeah!! RockaFowler Oct 2014 #50

One, once, that I knew shanti Oct 2014 #49

As I do not inquire others as to their faith or beliefs, I don't know liberal N proud Oct 2014 #51

Muslim is not a religion. randome Oct 2014 #62

I don't think that I implied that it was liberal N proud Oct 2014 #66

I worked in the Middle East for 25 years, so what can I say? Douglas Carpenter Oct 2014 #52

None. I am old and do not get around much anymore. jwirr Oct 2014 #53

None, as far as I know. There are very few in my area. Brickbat Oct 2014 #54

Several. SheilaT Oct 2014 #55

Thanks! As to your last statement about TV getting things wrong, closeupready Oct 2014 #58

No idea. Iggo Oct 2014 #56

none MFM008 Oct 2014 #57

Probably 10 to a dozen or so. mmonk Oct 2014 #59

I think there is inadvertent conflation going on. randome Oct 2014 #61

Maher is smart, but I suspect he's courting controversy, closeupready Oct 2014 #67

His support for Israel is hard to understand, too. Doesn't seem consistent to me. randome Oct 2014 #84

Well apparently, his mother was Jewish, though he was raised Catholic. closeupready Oct 2014 #89

My husband has a Muslim friend. It was really interesting to watch him go through Rammadan. liberal_at_heart Oct 2014 #63

You just did the same thing. The OP is about Muslims and you automatically talk about religion. randome Oct 2014 #64

Now i am confused? Unless you mean the actual name of the religion is Islam? logosoco Oct 2014 #73

You're right gollygee Oct 2014 #75

These days anything remotely to do with religion confuses me. logosoco Oct 2014 #80

You're not the only one who's confused. Most people don't know the meaning of the word 'Muslim'. randome Oct 2014 #83

Presently, none. Have worked with three in the past... LeftinOH Oct 2014 #65

4 (nt) Nye Bevan Oct 2014 #68

I've had many Muslim coworkers in hospitals Warpy Oct 2014 #70

My optomotrist is Palestinian, my Urologist is Pakistani, Tierra_y_Libertad Oct 2014 #71

About 20. Maybe more. haele Oct 2014 #72

None - I don't think suburban Rhode Island has many Muslims at all. nt hack89 Oct 2014 #74

My boss, for one Siwsan Oct 2014 #76

many - and it isn't all wonderful and boy all people are basically the same samsingh Oct 2014 #77

That's the whole point. You can't stereotype any group as all good or all bad. liberal_at_heart Oct 2014 #92

I know my son-in-law Blue_In_AK Oct 2014 #78

Too many to count. Hint: I live in Dearborn Taitertots Oct 2014 #79

Does not matter one little bit The Straight Story Oct 2014 #81

And yet, gay people coming out of the closet is credited with helping closeupready Oct 2014 #82

Maybe a dozen, along with more whom I know on a casual basis. MineralMan Oct 2014 #86

I know two. whathehell Oct 2014 #87

Currently, one family of four. City Lights Oct 2014 #88

I know two personally, phylny Oct 2014 #90

a lot JI7 Oct 2014 #91

None that I know of. n/t Aerows Oct 2014 #93

At least one but I only know his religion whistler162 Oct 2014 #94

25 or so... ileus Oct 2014 #95

During my career in New York City and Washington DC, I have worked with quite a few Muslims. madinmaryland Oct 2014 #96

Close friends? AnalystInParadise Oct 2014 #97

None that I know of customerserviceguy Oct 2014 #98

About ten. Only a couple are devout. Marr Oct 2014 #99

Most people here ... GeorgeGist Oct 2014 #100

One that I know of. drm604 Oct 2014 #101

Zero. ZombieHorde Oct 2014 #102

I didn't know I was supposed to keep track. KentuckyWoman Oct 2014 #103

Who celebrates Ramadan? If your friends do, bingo. closeupready Oct 2014 #104

A few coworkers, but no one I'm close with - that I know of. MH1 Oct 2014 #105

Never asked it wasn't important... Historic NY Oct 2014 #106

I wouldn't know TorchTheWitch Oct 2014 #107

I know some Christians and the ones who scream the loudest LawDeeDah Oct 2014 #108

I have no idea. Probably a minimum of 25. I live in an area with a large kestrel91316 Oct 2014 #109

One good friend at the moment; I used to work with four other Muslims. DebJ Oct 2014 #110

I don't know as I don't ask them. kentauros Oct 2014 #111