Expert: Le Anne Clausen - 3/21/2010

Question
I dont know alot about the arabic culture but have just met a guy (25) who's father is arabic and mother ittalian they are christian i am worried as i have developed strong feelings for  him but am confused about the arabic culture. i was not brought up in a religeous family and have only heard stories on how arabic men treat their women and that arabic men are meant to marry arabic women so if i take this further with him is that going to be a problem. i want to ask him about this but not sure the right things to ask without offending as i know christians and muslims are different but the only arabic culture i have heard about is muslim please can u send me some info on the different between muslim and christian arabic men not the religious side but their way of living thankyou

Answer
Greetings Kirsty, and thanks for your question.  Basically, in a situation like this, the only way you can really find out about this guy is the way you find out about any guy--by asking him directly, and getting to know his friends and family as well as possible.  While some arabic men have been known to treat women poorly, others are ver kind to women--just like any other culture.  While it's true that some men prefer to marry only women within their own culture, other men and their families are open to marrying women of other cultures.  If this guy's mom is Italian and his dad is Arab, it's likely their family is open to marrying women of other cultures.  You might like to really spend some time getting to know his mom, since she could also give you a lot of really helpful information about this particular family.  Outside of religious practices, there really is not a lot of differences in the way Christians and Muslims of Arab descent live their daily lives.

Good luck to you, and I hope this helps!

peace,

Le Anne