So I thought about this topic on the plane, back to Dubai from London...after I heard someone saying Ya 3adra sitting next to a lady wearing a Muslim veil.
Here it goes..
Ghada, my eldest sister, a perfect mother of two, Leanne and Jad, married to Fares, a very interesting brother in law who loves cars, cigars, and few drinks in the mountains of Lebanon... Fares happens to be a Druze, same as us...
Nada, comes in second...the most creative in the family...a jewelry designer who has followed her dream to have her own brand...and has achieved that... mother of Anthony, and in a few weeks mother of ummm, ok they still didn't find a name...but she is a baby girl... Nada is married to Elias who runs his own business, and who kicks ass in Backgammon...Guess what, Elias happens to be a Christian...
Nisrine, last but not least...a crazy sister who loves life and food (don't worry she has a great body)... mother of two...Lia and Khalil-Ryan aka Leelo...Nisrine is married to Ali, a Shakespearean, poetic, romantic, silent kind of guy who happens to be a Muslim...
So how does all this work, a family with mixed religions, a muslim, a druze and a christian brother in law...who happen to have very strong bonds-bonds that brothers don't have...bonds that every family would like to have...
It all came to one explanation... an explanation that might sound stupid to some, but might make sense to others...
Each one of these brothers in law, practice religion in his own way...but they have one thing in common...they don't bring religion to their marriage...Ali doesn't say Ya Mohammad...Elias doesn't say Ya 3adra...and Fares doesn't say Ya Seede Salmein...
Well, if I may, I would like to be the first to comment on your blog... as a matter of fact, I have always wanted to interact in such a manner on certain topics.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say the harmony of brotherhood between Ali, Elias and Fares is because they don't bring their religion to their marriage... There is a bit of a person's faith in everything he or she does... the fact that Ali wouldn't steal or Elias wouldn't lie is because of the faith that they have. I think the secret ingredient is the family that they have come to. The fact that there wasn't any prejudice feelings towards them from the first place put them in the comfort zone. The fact that every time the family sits for dinner, no one has a religious wax layer around his/heart before a discussion does make a difference. Its the home that welcomed them, and definitely the house residents that made the difference...
God bless them all... starting from Im Firas to the little nameless one! ;)
I really enjoyed reading your blog entry, it's rare to find men who write about matters different from angry political speeches in Lebanon!
ReplyDeleteYour post made me smile, I wish more Lebanese families had this mind-openness regarding intra- an extra-religious marriages. I'd like to add my little note on why marriages like that CAN work; maybe we should work on focusing on what brings us together -One God, good deeds, generosity, compassion, etc.- rather than trying to persuade others that our religion is 'the right one'.
Religion should have a role in helping a marriage last, but yes, I agree that it should be kept down to a minimal level and turned into an individual practice rather than an obligation.
Looking forward to reading more entries,
keep it up!
Stephanie
Sam, Stephanie...Thank you for your comments. Have a good day.
ReplyDeleteSaleh