In different Muslim cultures across the world, marriage is often arranged according to the desires of families, rather than the wishes of individuals. These marriages often result in tumultuous relationships with little emotional connection between the husband and wife. Among the Hui and other Muslim minority groups, it is not unusual for husbands to stray and find new wives. Because of religious and cultural stigmas, the wife remains in her singular marriage regardless of how many other wives the husband has.
This was the situation for Wei. She grew up in a home with a loving mother and wandering father. As an adult, she learned of her father’s “other” families and often struggled with how this fit into her strict Islamic beliefs. She loves her mom but also feels a cultural responsibility for caring for her father in his advancing age. Because of this experience, Wei met and chose her own husband, desiring more for her own marriage than what she had seen in her parents’, but she still lacks hope for her family’s future.
Pray
- Pray for young Muslims forced into arranged marriages.
- Pray that in seeking hope in a hopeless situation they would find the Father.
- Pray that young couples will turn to Christ together and build their foundation on Him alone.
**All names have been changed and the picture is not of the storyteller in order to protect the identities of those who have shared their stories and lives with us over the years.