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No, I Don’t Have Special Islamic Converting Powers
Sorry, I seem to have run out
Recently, I sat down to dinner with a friend, and we found ourselves deep in conversation about relationships. I told her about someone I’d recently met, but I dismissed the situation because it wasn’t someone I could see a future with. That quickly led to the familiar question: was I being “open enough”?
Here’s the thing: I am open, to a degree.
I have a small number of entirely reasonable dealbreakers when it comes to relationships. At the top of the list is that I can’t be with someone who isn’t Muslim. Compatibility matters and for me, that includes faith.
Even so, people often suggest I should be more “flexible,” as if requirements are just rough guidelines to be casually ignored. So what’s the point of having them in the first place?
This is where I think one too many movies has sold us the idea that love is the ultimate goal and nothing else matters. Love can fix everything. All you need is love. If I were living out a two-dimensional story on the big screen, then maybe. But real life calls for more than just sentimental ideals.
Yes, love is important. But so is how we see the purpose of life, how we live it day-to-day, and whether we’re headed in the same direction. That’s…
