Simon Cowell to convert to Islam to marry girlfriend?

[Johnboy60]

Mezhgan Hussainy's family wants music mogul Simon Cowell to convert to Islam before he marries her, says a report.

The 'American Idol' judge had proposed to Hussainy last week.


'They're very westernised, but no one in their family has ever married a non-Muslim - and they're not willing for their youngest daughter to become the first,' digitalspy.co.uk quoted a source as saying about Hussainy's parents Mary and Sayed.


Hussainy's sister-in-law Erlene Garcia was also asked to convert before marrying her brother Wahid.


According to Hussainy's friend, 'Mezhgan is very reluctant about asking Simon to convert...and she knows how controversial it will be.'

 

[Maynard Keenan]

People who convert to marry were not true believers in their old faith and are not true believers in their new "faith." Its not surprising that it happens. Plenty of people are true believers, but for a huge number of people, religion is a matter of social convenience and "belief" means thinking about it maybe one hour a week.

 

[interpreter]

Why doesn't she convert to Christianity?

 

[dies-l]

For many people, religion is more of a cultural identification than a matter of belief. Some people are "Christians" because their parents were Christians and for no other reason. The same could be said of many Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, etc. When our religion is nothing more than a cultural identification, our attachment to it is no stronger than our attachment to our culture. For many white people, cultural identity is not all that strong. We combine these issues and we find that it is not that hard to "convert" people who have a religion that is mostly cultural and a weak connection to their culture.

I suspect that the reason that Simon Cowell is converting, rather than his gf, is that her family's cultural attachment is stronger than his. If he is indeed "converting" simply for marital purposes, from a spiritual standpoint, he will be no more Muslim and no less Christian after his conversion than before. It is quite likely, assuming that his alleged motives are accurate, that he was not and will not become a follower of either faith.

 

[katautumn]

People who convert to marry were not true believers in their old faith and are not true believers in their new "faith." Its not surprising that it happens. Plenty of people are true believers, but for a huge number of people, religion is a matter of social convenience and "belief" means thinking about it maybe one hour a week.

QFT

I can just picture Simon Cowell as a Muslim.

This mosque is absolutely dreadful, I mean just awful.

 

[Blackguard_]

This mosque is absolutely dreadful, I mean just awful.

Close, he'd say "this muezzin is absolutely dreadful, I mean just awful".

 

[Mr. Ripley]

He's thinking with his little brain. I wonder if he knows how much commitment is expected from Muslims. He going to stop in the middle of Idol to roll out his rug and say prayer?

 

[Phylogeny]

A close friend had a Muslim father and a christian mother. He converted to Christianity to appease her family who were fundamentalists. After they divorced, he went back to attending mosque. The children were raised Christians but their Christianity were cultural rather than spiritual. I never understood the whole 'conversion for the sake of marriage'. Obviously, if it takes a marriage to force your hand, it is not a true conversion. OTOH, the above poster who mentioned cultural attachments is probably most accurate in what happens in most cases. People are more concerned with the practices of their culture than the actual religion. In Simon's case, I doubt anything will change when/if he converts.

He's thinking with his little brain. I wonder if he knows how much commitment is expected from Muslims. He going to stop in the middle of Idol to roll out his rug and say prayer?

I know plenty of Muslims and many do not roll out their rug to pray five times a day. Many will also drink alcohol. Just as Christianity has varying degrees of religiosity, so does Islam. Don't assume all Muslims practice Islam in the same way.

 

[Mr. Ripley]

I wasn't aware that the Five Pillars were optional.

 

[Supreme]

He's thinking with his little brain. I wonder if he knows how much commitment is expected from Muslims. He going to stop in the middle of Idol to roll out his rug and say prayer?

Just picturing Cowell doing that in the middle of an insult to an overweight contestant made me laugh. Reputation is in order, good sir!

 

[SithDoughnut]

I wasn't aware that the Five Pillars were optional.

They're as optional as the 10 commandments are, and there are plenty of Christians who break those.

 

[Mr. Ripley]

And I'd probably regard conversion to Christianity with the intention of giving two flips to the 10 Commandments with about the same seriousness.