Section 5.9: Me Converting (from Hinduism), of course, Not Her!

Section 5.9: Me Converting (from Hinduism), of course, Not Her!

Concerns with expectation of religious (even fake) conversion have been a major theme at InterfaithShaadi. For this reason, this topic is covered extensively in this book and in the next about 10 sections.

Sanjay says:

I was in a “semi-serious” relationship with a Muslim girl for several months. I say that in quotes because let’s be honest, we all knew where it was headed. Initially of course it just started out as a mutual attraction, we loved spending time together, all that good stuff. Then as we grew more emotionally attached, she began bringing up conversion. It is me converting (from Hinduism), of course, not her. At first it was easy to laugh it off, but the same question kept coming up over and over again.

As we grew closer I discovered that she was not a very religious Muslim at all and had a much more open-minded and worldly view of God and faith than is usually taught by Islam—so really we weren’t that incompatible after all—but at the same time I found it stunning the degree to which she had been brainwashed. 

I was raised in a fairly religious Hindu household, but really I don’t consider myself “Hindu” as much as a “Hindu/Buddhist/Agnostic/ Spiritual”—but that’s beside the point. The problem lay with her family, who would surely never approve of me, not to speak of what they would think of her. She never told her family about me (nor did I tell mine), and I ended up moving away. So, gradually our relationship came to an end, but not without a good amount of stress and angst for both of us.

Thankfully we’ve both found new significant others from similar religious backgrounds and remain decent friends, but the moral of the story is still there—for anyone from a Dharmic background considering a serious relationship with a Muslim—just know what you’re getting into. YOU’RE the one who’s going to be asked to convert, to sacrifice who you are, to turn your back on your culture and heritage. Not them. This is not something to take lightly. —Sanjay

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