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"This service is needed for American Muslims and we need more local communities to offer productive matrimonial programs," DeCuir told IOL. |
WASHINGTON — It is never easy to find a soul mate who reflects the image one has carved in dreams.
But it is even more difficult for many Muslims scattered in different states in America.
Hind, a 26-year-old Washington DC local who wants to pursue a career in medicine, is a case in point.
She believes it is hard to find a match in US.
"The pool of people gets smaller…especially if you’re from an area where there aren’t any Muslims," she told IslamOnline.net.
Hind and many young American Muslims think the two-day matrimonial banquets at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North American (ISNA), the largest gathering of Muslims in North America, is trying to help out.
"Most people are restricted to their locality, restricted to their social circle, and not everyone walks around with a wedding ring," says Amarah DeCuir, the organizer of ISNA matrimonial banquets.
"It is hard to know who is looking."
She believes ISNA offers a dignified platform for single men and women seeking a spouse.
"This service is needed for American Muslims and we need more local communities to offer productive matrimonial programs."
Nearly 300 people had signed up for each of the two ISNA banquets.
Men hop from one designated table to the next and try to make an impression on the other within the designated 25 minutes per table.
For the shy-guys, ISNA has some interesting icebreaker questions that men can ask the ladies, which gets the ball rolling.
Conversations vary from table to table; in fact, from person to person. Some asked hard-hitting questions, while others take a laid-back approach.
After the short chit-chat some exchanged numbers and emails to establish a connection to follow-up, while others weren’t able to click fully or communicate their interest.
While the children play shy or even better rub-shoulders, the parents on the far side of the hall play an active role in getting to know parents and exchanging numbers.
Searching
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| "Physically and emotionally I’m ready for marriage, so why wait," Moody (R) told IOL. |
Latifa Ashraf has been looking for the right man to marry her 34-year-old psychiatrist Deeba Ashraf, who kept the subject of marriage in the backseat and gave precedence to education and career.
She made reservations in both ISNA banquets to make sure they get to see as many people as possible.
"We have been looking for a long time, so far we haven’t found anybody," she told IOL.
Deeba, from Houston, Texas, met 20 or so men from her age group each day.
Tasnim Khan flew from Arizona to accompany her physician sister who came all the way from Florida after hearing about ISNA banquets from a friend.
"They don’t have time to talk about the usual things in life…they have very constricted conversations, like do you pray five-times a day or not? What do you thing about cooking and cleaning?"
The youngest participant in the matrimonial banquet was 17-year-old revert Promise Moody from New York.
She came to the annual convention primarily for the matrimonial banquets.
"Physically and emotionally I’m ready for marriage, so why wait," she told IOL.
Moody, who has been proactively looking for a mate for the past one-year, wants to be a housewife and is looking for a man who is steadfast in his faith.
"I want a husband who feel strongly about my hijab…and encourage me to wear a niqab inshAllah," she told IOL.
"I don’t want someone who would tell me to take it off."
Hassaan Karim, 28, a network administrator for an accounting firm, is a first-timer at ISNA matrimonial banquets.
His demanding job leaves him little recreational time to look for suitable partners.
"I asked what their hobbies were; that way I could connect with them at a personal level," he told IOL.
Karim left the hall with some connections and look forward to touch-base with them soon.
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