American Woman Married to Turkish Man.....

Submitted by Natalie (United States), Sep 28, 2006 at 14:00

Hello...I am a 33 year old woman who has been married to a Turkish man for the past 5 years. I can honestly say that I am a bit surprised by some of the views out there. Whether you are catholic, muslim, hindu, buddist, or whatever your religion may be, isn't it more important that we look at the individual first? Isn't it a bit arrogant to simply classify an entire race of people based on what others in their religion have or haven't done?

I am a catholic, and I know that I would feel terrible if someone were to judge my character based on those who have gone around blowning up abortion clinics, claiming that they are doing it for the sake of God. Because they have done it and they are catholic, does that make me like them? I understand that every culture has their set of morals and values and that we all follow that to some extent. Yet I can't help but think it's unfair that we let that view take over our judement completely. Is it really fair for a person to simply say, "Don't marry a muslim man because I've had a bad experience"? And does that mean that we would be less prone to heartbreak if we were to marry someone within our own race or religion. I highly doubt that! My husband is kind, honest, considerate, loving, loyal and so much more...he's the best thing that has ever happend to me......and if he happened to be all of these things, except wrapped in a different package, I would still love him just the same. Love and relationships are never easy, there are always pros and cons....but if we go around pre-judging others based on their cultural history or religion...then what makes us unlike any other group of extremists?

If you truly want to learn about an individual, get to know him, get to know his family and take things step by step, just as you would with any other relationship. Remember, con-men, egotistical pigs and fascists, come in ALL colors, shapes and sizes....and we should always be cautious no matter who they are or where they come from.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".