Tip #1 – Choose The Right Moment
When we are tired, hungry, overwhelmed, stressed, or hurt, it can be hard to react and take in new information in a kind and rational way. Be sure you choose your moment carefully.
Make sure your friends and family are comfortable, in a good mood, and well fed before sharing the news of your upcoming intercultural marriage.
Tip #2 – Keep The Discussion Short
You don’t necessarily need to go into all the details in your first discussion. Keep the talk brief and bulleted so that you hit the main points.
Don’t get into all of the specifics or start answering dozens of questions.
Save the rest of the talk for a few days later, after your family has had time to digest the first round of information (and time to get over the shock of it, if needed).
Tip #3 – Give it Time
If you meet resistance, instead of turning the issue into an argument, agree to discuss the topic again in the near future.
Give your family members some time to digest the idea of an intercultural marriage.
This will make sure your tempers don’t flare and no one ends up saying something in anger that they can’t take back.
Understand that it may just take some time for family members to get used to the idea of an intercultural marriage, despite how they may have felt about it at first.
Tip #4 – Make The Introduction
When the time is right and after a few rounds of discussion, be sure to introduce the other prospective family to your parents and other family members to humanise the other person.
Help them see that your prospective spouse is also a good Muslim despite the difference in your cultures.
What If You Change Your Mind?
You may decide that the person is not right for you not because of their culture, but because of other insurmountable issues like large distances between families, immigration requirements, or conflicting ideas about Islam and how to best practice it.
There’s no need to feel upset if you come to the conclusion that you are just not right for each other.
Just be glad that you figured it out before the wedding and not after.
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