Monday, July 9, 2012

Disowned

Disowned!!!! Yeah, that is what my family has done to me. They have disowned me for life... Why? Because I am in love with a British Christian man and want to spend the rest of my life with him. Isn't it strange? How can parents be so ruthless towards their own flesh and blood?
Well, as you all know, things were not going very good with John, he just wasn't willing to commit, so I sort of gave him an ultimatum. I said either you commit to me or else I am leaving this country for good and moving to the US, where I would be granted asylum based on my apostasy. He got paranoid and agreed to meet my family, since my parents are on a visit this summer and staying with my brothers, so I invited mom and dad for lunch two weeks ago to a restaurant and told them that I am bringing someone special whom I want them to meet and approve. They were a bit skeptical, but I think they almost assumed it would be a Pakistani or an Indian Muslim or maybe an Arab, but I am sure they never expected to see a white guy.

As soon as they entered the restaurant, John and I got up to greet them. To say that my parents were shocked beyond their wits would be the understatement of the year. Anyway, dad shook hands and we all sat down for lunch and I must say that dad did behave pretty good, he was civil to him and they both talked about cricket, food, England, the Middle East and the crazy Arabs and their erratic driving. It went on pretty smooth and then we all departed with a very civil goodbye. Then an hour later, while John and I were watching a movie at his place, mom called me up and said, "This is the last time I am calling you, because your dad and I disown you: from this day onwards, you are dead for us. You have really let us down by getting involved with a non Muslim. It's over, so please
never even try to get in touch." And she just hung up on me.

I was devastated and started crying uncontrollably. John could not believe it either, and poor guy has been extremely supportive since then. Last week my mom sort of came around, she called me up, but now she is pretending nothing happened. She always calls me when dad is not around, which I am sure means dad has no idea she is talking to me. Both my brothers are not talking to me either, but my sisters in law are, and they have been very nice about it. I guess women are easier to come around than men when it comes to matters of the heart.

John left for the UK last week and I then applied for a UK visit visa, which I just got on Thursday, and now the next step is to apply for a Schengen visa, as John and I plan to travel across Europe, but the most difficult part is how in the world am I going to explain to my family, friends, colleagues and everyone else that why the hell am I going away on a trip to the UK and Europe right in the middle of Ramadan. They don’t know that I am not a Muslim anymore and this time in Ramadan, for the first time in my life, I won’t be fasting, so that part is going to be tough.

I know one thing for sure, that I want to spend the rest of my life with this man and I can do anything, just about anything for him and our future together. I would like to request all my readers to please pray for us and that my family would eventually come around and accept me for what I am. So till next time, have a great week. Cheers.