Losing My Religion

nandita ji dont worry dont worry about the religion thing after some time the children will adjust and figure out things but more importantly what will the adults do so you can teach your child the meaning agnostic or something but what will you do when the boy has to fill up forms and things like that and also my experience is that in biggest of diverse families also sometimes the pure strains as they call themselves within the fmily will put spokes.

rejoice rejoice in your world citizen child and hve 7 more!!

There is lot of filtering going on in chowk of late especially on this article. I wonder what was objectionable in my post at 116 inspite of the prechecking. I would suggest that the chowk staff may let us know what was specfically objectionable so that we may avoid it in future, if not on chowk, through a personal e-mail.

Our family also had a problem of identity. My great grand-father had married a Hindu woman. Despite the fact that she had converted to islam and came to be known as `Sheikhani` my grandy`s father disinherited him. So we came to be called `Sheikhani Syed` by our biradari at large. We must be having Hindu relatives but we don`t know any of them. We however felt extraordinary affinity to Hidus even when we knew nothing about our history. The best fried of my father was a Hindu gentleman and so was mine whom we lost on partition. I wonder whether this affinity to Hindus was it in our genes.

Re: # 157
Actually, they have been happening for many centuries in Pakistan.

Nandita: what I get from your article and posts so for is that your husband is not practicing muslim or even does not consider himself a muslim(only his grandfather was a muslim)...since he married you in a Hindu ceremony that means he does not consider himself muslim. If that is the case then I can`t understand how only having a name like Baig makes one muslim?

I am surpirzed no one pointed out so for that Baig is not a muslim name ..it is an ethnic name of Central asia...the name existed before Islam...just because most people of last name Baig or muslims does not make a Baig muslim.

Kids who think your son is a muslim by virtue of having surname Baig are mistakedn...what I don`t understand is you keep accepting that as correct.
If your husband is not a muslim and obviously you are not either, then how your son becomes a muslim(inspite of alledgations by other kids) unless your son has convrted at the age of 5?

There are lot other names which are entirely muslims but some Hindus have the same name also..e.g. Sial is a Muslim surname from Pakistan.....once in a while you will bump into a Sial who is Hindu.

Baig is an ethnic name not a muslim name. All your son has to say to his friend is.... oh you guys are so stupid that you don;t even know that Baig is not a muslim ONLY name...hey Johny Walker was a taliban muslim..does that make Dubya a Muslim?

Dehliwala: A famous sikh writer Kartar Singh Duggal of Delhi`s wife was a victim of partition and he let her follow her religion.

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Duggal`s wife Ayesha was not a victim of parition in the literal sense..bur Duggal was. let me explain. Duggal as of Aug 1st 1947 was working as program director or some thing at Lahroe Radio station and was sen to that week to New Delhi to cover the Independence celebrations by his, I think, muslim boss. One his friends in Lahore was no one else but Ali sardar Jafri`s wife Sultana. Sultana`s younger sister Aysha was studying in some Medical school in New Dehli so Sultana gave Duggal her phone number or address to meet her. (girl`s fmaily was from kanpur or soemplace)...anyways....the way whole thing was happening Duggal ws supposed to come back to Alhroe and report to his job after this assignment....that really tells you how most people tought this is going to be...going back to their homes after riots are over.....Duggal and Ayesa were present in new Delhi on Aug 15th celebrations and some english newspaper even covered this story of two young friends a Sikh boy and a muslim girl celebrating independence of India and looking to a great secular future blah blah...... Duggal and Ayesha came close to each other in coming weeks and decided to marry with in few months....meanwhile Duggal`s fmaily was uprooted from Rawalpindi and whatever left arrived in Delhi also.

Interestingly when arrangement was made to report kidnapped women from each side and send them to their families, some peopel from Ayesha`s family in Lahore reported that Duggal has kidnapped their cousin Ayesha....that eld to soem torubles for the couple.. but eventually things calmed down.

Duggala dn ayesha have a son and a daughter....both raised in a mixed environment..Duggal considers his kids` mothertonge to be Urdu as Ayesha is from Khalis urdu background...Duggal and Dr Ayesha has been very popular in Indian scene all their lives, including a friendship and relations with Ali Jafri.

Re: # 154
salim yaar...
people do not believe that you are married...it`s for obvious reasons...which is due to your lies from day one on chowk...remember when you said that you are a middle aged professor who is conducting a survey of human behaviour with your middle aged wife and then you reported to be single, working in a strip joint and then you got a job and a wife in Turkey...so all that bs has eroded your crediblity...now tp prove to the good people of chowk that you are mattied...please post your and ypour wife`s shadi ki picture along with a copy of the nikahnama...and then see how every one believes you and loves like i do...
your only genuine friend on chowk...

khamkhwa
baqalam khud...;)

Marriages between muslims and other faiths in the UK is rare, but marriages between muslims of different national background is fairly common and growing , one of the 7/7 bomber was married to Indian gujrati muslim.
There is a new trend young Pakistani men going over to Morocco to marry, I wonder why.
BTW the first honour killing I read about in the 70’s was a sikh killing his daughter because she was going out with muslim boy.

Raw-Dust:

``i think, kids not their last names should decide whatever they wanna be .. once they are done growing up.``

This is what should happen in an ideal world. In almost every case, however, our religious identies were formed before we became adults.

If I were a dictator, I would ban all baptismal ceremonies, such as circumcision, mundan, etc. for kids until they have reached adulthood. People should be able to choose or change their religion in life just as they change their votes for political parties; however social excommunications, not to speak of death in certain cases, would prevent this from happening.

First of all I’d like to complain to chowk staff about this imposter ASLAM777 using similar nic to mine.

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#152, {``They were having a lot of problem with that, the last time, we met.........I wonder if he ever got married.......``}

If one`s mixed parentage, as far as religion is concerned, becomes a problem with getting married then one has much bigger problems than getting married. :)

Salim

Knew an Indian Hindu husband-Muslim wife elderly family, who had migrated to the USA. Very nice couple. Actually husband was a very nice guy. Wife could get a bit irritating (though only a bit). Had a son whom they raised as a Muslim. Everything seemed to be going along fine, until they tried to find a rishta for him. They were having a lot of problem with that, the last time, we met.........I wonder if he ever got married.......

re: nandita
``my kids are apparantly muslim.....!``

i think, kids not their last names should decide whatever they wanna be .. once they are done growing up.

cheers.

Chowk InterAct! space is for discussing ideas presented in the article, we expect members to respect this space and advise you to take other discussions either to unplugged forums or your personal correspondence.

I didn`t have a nikah...I actually had a hindu ceremony followed by a civil special marriages Act ceremony! But, the surname is Muslim and according to the laws of the land...my kids are apparantly muslim.....!

#143, I always thought that the ``People of the Book`` stuff was very confusing. Most of Muslims` major struggles were with the so-called ``People of the Book.``

By the way, Dillidost,
Don`t forget Raj Babbar and his wife - was it Nadira?

Two of my own female cousins in Jaipur are married to wonderfu Hindu husbands.

What matters most is that people are happy. I am very happy - even though my wife is a Sunni.

Salim.