Advice

yes, indeed. the movie is called "not without my daughter' and it's about an American woman marrying an iranian doctor who has been in America for 20 years.
as for my case, I haven't met his parents, only few friends and I have to admit he behaved wonderfully in his home country.
another point of view is the iranian guy in the movie was a shiit, while my guy is a sunni. and it makes a difference.
still I'm not to marry a.s.a.p. first he will introduce me to his parents next time I'm on holiday to Egypt and I can say no to marriage.

still I believe, as not all Christians are the same, Muslims too are different in character. I don't believe in stereo types and I advice everyone to judge the person not the nation of religion he was born and raised in.

I will however take your advice into account. Thanks and all the best.

hello there
did you say that you have been to egypt befor?
well.i guess there is nothing to do with his parents if you love each other.the most important is,what character he have.age sometimes is important.only for the egyption parents.
if you need to ask something.i will answer you.
am working as travel agent.so i live in egypt,but i spend most of my time with tourists from every where.so i hope that i know both mentalities
yours.khalid
tantra33egy30@yahoo.com

parents do matter, I guess regardless of the part of the world. and it would be great to offer and gain the respect of my future in law's.
age is OK. he's one year older than me, so there is not a big gap.
and yes, I have been to Egypt when I was little with my parents and 2 months ago without my parents I intend to go to Egypt again next year.
as for mentality, depends on which part of the world you are. I don't think an American would have the same mentality like a French for example. so as mentality is concerned, depends on the individual, family origins, upbringing and external factors such as society. all the best.

Hello Lana,
Marriage a big step, let alone to an Arab/Persian descender. Being thankful to all their pros, you must keep in mind that you will HAVE TO compromise A LOT to keep the relationsip flowing smoothly at different points in time.
I am an Egyptian myself, yet I am finding difficulty dealing with my OWN culture in this aspect.
Watch how the person you are about to marry treats his mother and sisters and any lady members of the family (make sure he's not aware of that). If you notice any alarming or uneasy incidents, don't overlook them and don't take them lightly. I want to say more but I'll stop here for now Good luck!
(P.S.: MOST MOST importantly, make sure this person was not a previous encounter of yours in Sinai on your tour trips!

hi Sawsan,
thanks for your advices. very good ideas and I will bear them in mind.
He wasn't however a random encounter in Sinai. he was my classmate. I am aware of how many compromises I will do but life is full of compromises no matter where you are or who you take as your life partner.
I wish you all the best. lana

Hi everybody, how are you all doing? My name is Liza and I'm engaged to an Egyptian Muslim man...I am Christian and I was wondering if anybody had any advice for me before entering this marriage? I'm very nervous about it and scared it won't work out--Thanks a lot--Love, Liza

Hello Liza. Well, I don't know if my advice will help (I haven't been quite through your experience) but I'm an Egyptian Muslim...
If your Fiance is cultured and well-educated, chances are you won't have to make any compromises about your own beliefs despite your own will -he won't force you or anything... May be the only compromises you will probably go through are at times of occassions (e.g. Ramadan, two feasts, etc) -in terms of joining the rituals of dinner and celebration. But in all cases, all Muslims will want their children to be also Muslim, so I think you have to work this issue out.
That's about him being Muslim.
About being Egyptian, my advice is this: Arab culture allows men to be a bit more demanding without any bad conscience, and expects women to meet such behaviour without any grudge or hard feelings. So my point is that you have to be explicit about your worries and your expectations for the future: place of residue, whether you want to keep your job, rights and obligations of the household, etc...
Anything else, please don't hesitate to write )
Cheers everyone!
Sawsan

Hi Sawsan, thanks so much for replying to me, and indeed Hany (that's my habibi) has already said to me he wants our kids to be Muslim--I wonder if maybe you could email me? I have a lot of other questions--again, thanks so much for your advice--Love, Liza

1) discuss about children.
how they will be brought up. Muslim or Christian or both and then let children decide.
2) inlaws how to draw certain boundaries. it's difficult especially when in comes to children. but it's better to have an understanding what can be said to inlaws and your own parents.
I'm speaking from experience. Married with two children with an egyptian muslim man.

I totally agree with both Sawsan and Sileegoose you really need to discuss the children,most Egyptian men like to bring their children up as muslims,and if they compromise then the inlaws dont like it,and they are important.
I dont know how to put this but some men think that once you married then they can do whatever and expect to accept just cause you married,dont know if thats making any sense,but they mite say one thing just to satisfy you before the marriage the change their minds afterwards,so just make sure your future husband is not one of them.
Im saying this because it happened to a friend of mine,and she went through hell for her daughter.
Its only an advice,if you got any more concerns or questions please contact me here or e-mail me.
good luck.