Muslim marriages are, against common misguided beliefs, usually not arranged marriages, but men and women have the right to chose their own partner within their own religion.
Strangely enough, Muslim men are allowed to marry Jewish or Christian women, but Muslim women are expected to marry a man of their own faith.
When Muslim men or Muslim women around the world are searching for a potential marital spouse, specific qualities are supposed to be looked for in a partner. These qualities include a lawful, sufficient income, as well as piety, contentment, an ability to make sound, mature judgments, protectiveness, responsibility and a forgiving nature in a man.
Further more, a man should have even temper, tolerance, patience, cooperation, generosity, bodily cleanliness and a good overall appearance, as well as being from a good, acceptable and reputable family.
The qualities a man should seek in a woman consist of an easy going and affectionate nature, sound understanding and judgment, piety, obedience, contentment, patience, bodily cleanliness, good appearance and obviously being part of a stable and decent family. Muslim men and Muslim women around the world
This, of course, could be applied to any sensible choice of partner, although women in the Western world would be likely to question the obedience part mentioned here.
One has to remember that Muslim culture and traditions are very different from Western ideas and philosophies. This equally applies to the actual Muslim wedding rituals. As a matter of fact, while there are obviously basic similarities, these rituals often vary even from country to country.
A Muslim ritual of marriage in China, for instance, will be different in certain respects to the same ritual in India, the United Arab Emirates or the Philippines. One thing remains the same, they are the results of often very short courtships, with both sets of parents having a great deal of influence of who is acceptable as a partner.
Wherever a young couple happens to live, whether in a mostly Muslim country or a predominantly Christian, Hindu or Buddhist country, strict rules will have been followed before the marriage takes place and more often than not, couples will have had little or o time alone during their courtship.
This, in the eyes of Muslims, has given them plenty of time to get to know each other without feelings of lust affecting their judgment. Statistics show that far fewer, if any, Muslim marriages end in divorces than those of other faiths. According to Muslim