Can Muslim men attend church services with their spouses?

[Marry American 0]

to support your thoughts/ideas.

[MrsAmera 41]

Before I converted my husband said yes but he couldn't participate in "worshipping Jesus". I don't have any insight into Quranic references however it would be like a Christian attending a mosque and even praying as it's the same god and the Quran does say that.

[hitchoo 0]

As a Muslim man i do not find that a problem as i know but i cant say its always and every time right according to the Islamic view because we have in Islam an approach called the casual events and every event has its own conditions, so now it depends on the church and the lessons being conducted in it, that if they mention any inappropriate talk against Islam or its prophet ,then i think he should not attend it with you in this condition.

and on the other hand if its only kind of traditional worshiping he can go with you as a watcher but for sure dont involve in worshiping Jesus(A.S).

and i ill attend the church with my wife when i have the chance , it will be a good experience for me.

hope i put some light on your inquiry

Salam

Edited November 24, 2007 by hitchoo

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I sometimes attended church with my first husband, but found it to be rather uncomfortable to stand out as a non-participant during worship. However, I found the worshipers to be warm and welcoming, although they were always trying to get me to convert. I've also attended with other Christian relatives. They, and my first husband also attended masjid with me, which was verrrry interesting because, sadly, a lot of Muslims tend to be more intolerant of crossing religious lines than do non-Muslims, especially when it comes to Muslimas.

[ya falaha! 0]

I don't see a problem with it. I've attended mass with my parents a couple times and have gone to a few funeral services since converting. My husband attended Catholic school as a boy and he's Muslim.

[JeanneVictoria 55]

Wael can attend mass with me as (a watcher). He can attend weddings, funerals or any other events in the church as long as he doesn't worship.

[MrsAmera 41]

I'm curious how everyone defines "worship". To me attending church and choosing not to "worship" is an oxymoron. You're there, you're listening and while you're not reciting the words perhaps you're still engaged in the act. Also I feel like it's another way to say YOU are this but I am this, and we're very different. Muslims and Christians worship the same god (perhaps in some sects the worship of Jesus as God might cause problems). My feeling is that if I were to go to church I would worship God, I would pray and I would participate in the rituals (sans the wine) because when it boils down to it the purpose is that you are showing your love of God and devotion to God. There are enough lines drawn to tear the Abrahamic faiths apart, I really feel this should not be reinforced!

[Marry American 0]

Thank you guys for your wonderful insight.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Thank you guys for your wonderful insight.

It depends on the person. My husband would not go inside of a church. Period. But I have known other muslims that woud.

Yes I am going to tell you a funny story. There is this guy I know that won the lottery here from Morocco who actually went to Christian singles nights to meet women and he used to tell me these funny stories of him singing with them. He said his favorite part was where everyone always hugged all the time. He was from Saleh and really was a character. I was a little mortified.

TRUE STORY....LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

[MrsAmera 41]

That's too bad wahrania ---- the Muslim world see the US(Christian) world as unable to understand and come to terms with Islam but it seems that too often the pendulum swings both ways. Nothing wrong with learning about other people. If you're strong in your faith then learning about others wouldn't threaten you're being "infiltrated or converting". *sigh* Guess it's disheartening to me as I work in interfaith and although it seems like we make steps forward too often I am reminded how much further we have to go.

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

That's too bad wahrania ---- the Muslim world see the US(Christian) world as unable to understand and come to terms with Islam but it seems that too often the pendulum swings both ways. Nothing wrong with learning about other people. If you're strong in your faith then learning about others wouldn't threaten you're being "infiltrated or converting". *sigh* Guess it's disheartening to me as I work in interfaith and although it seems like we make steps forward too often I am reminded how much further we have to go.

Well alot of it has to do where you live. My husband had never met an american face to face before he met me. He had never met a jewish person until we were in Tunisia and there were some Tunisian jews sitting next to us in the restaurant and they started talking to us. He has a distorted idea of palestinians because several girls from his neighborhood got very mistreated by them.They have had a lot of settlers there over the years and some made a bad name for themselves....The chinese are well liked... some other groups are not.People like who they meet and see. If all they hear are horror stories, they dont like things without someone helping them know differently. All he saw of the usa is Dallas and Jerry Springer.

He has all kinds of misconceptions and alot of that has to do with not meeting a ton of people from outside of Algeria. Since he has known me , he has travelled and learned English and he watches movies now and understands whats going on. But I ll give you an example, he did not even know that over 100.000 jews used to live in his hometown. He had no idea about their contributions to history. He did not understand even his own history because alot of things have really gone down since the civil war that lasted from 1992 to 2002 where over 100,000 were killed. We are talking about a time with radical islamic fanatasism where women were dragged from the street and taken into the hills by Algerian and foreign AL Qaeda jihadis and impregnated and killed. This was not a time of incredible open mindedness and with the advent of the internet , they are learning and seeing things... I am still the first American that most of any of his family or neighbors have ever met because Americans just dont go there too much unless they are working in the oil fields ( and then they cant go anywhere now because they are under heavy security) or a wife of someone and honestly, I havent seen even one european or anyone for weeks at a time in Algeria although I know they are there...Usually married to someone and they arent walking down the street screaming I am american. I know they are there.. ( americans) but they are usually married to someone and very spread out. There are alot more Europeans married to Algerians than Americans because the population is so small here. I have seen alot of Americans who have met Algerians in Europe but it seems to be mostly over the net that people meet. I was actually already there but I was a tourist and there arent alot of them either.

. It also depends where you are from. I stay in the west which is not as popular a destination as Algiers. In fact many eastern Algerians know very very very very little about the west. Most do military service there and thats about it and go home.

They dont get the influx of foregners that algiers gets.

The west is very tied to Morocco due to the proximity. The language.. the music.. the cuisine.. much more spicey than the east. In fact a speciality is paella. The cous cous is much closer to Moroccan cous cous..

The west is More open in many ways....but there are some strong ties to the Sahara in the west and its really a gate way to the sahara desert so there are desert traditions and other things.

Algiers is the mac daddy... the big white city.... and every main thing is located there.....Its not the same as the west....the west is much more spread out and is not so densely occupied.

Morocco is another story. Jewish people go there. Tourists go there.. For Gods sake there is gay tourism groups going there. They are extremely open minded so Its not surprising that they would be tolerant of attending church or things like that. They havent been terrorised against it. And you have to remember that the christians are not a happy memory for them. The french came into Algeria in 1830 and burned mosques and converted them to churches and the ruling elite and the pied noirs were christians and the church is a symbol of opression. Cathedral of Oran is now a library. The Notre Dame in Algiers still functions as a church... But as you remember 7 monks were beheaded by islamists in 1996 and several nuns shot in the head and killed. The church is not for some countries as it is Morocco... Its not a threat there and it doesnt have unhappy memories from colonization and torture. You cant minimalise it and say that its as simple as interfaith. Its not . Its deep seated and part of the colonist past of Algeria. Morocco never went through that... They were a protectorate not a colony so they never saw the strife Algeria did.Its not about church or christians.. Its what the church represents...ties to the west and the people that tortured and abused them

I know plenty of Algerians who are EXTREMELY open minded about church. Some that would go to church with their spouses and wouldnt think anything of it. My husband is not. I am sure with time perhaps he would go to an event there....He just hasnt had positive experiences with christians and the christian were the pied noir.. I am in Algeria with him when I see him and there ( Ill be there in EID KABIR although I dont want to pet the sheep( pied noir means black feet and they were the europeans that settled Algeria after the French invasion.)

Algeria was one of the most important places for the early christian martyrs.

St Augustine was from there and its the site of very important places in early christianity. One such place in Algeria is Theveste.

Theveste was a city of Numidia. Its modern name is Tébessa, Algeria

During the 1st century CE, the Legio III Augusta resided there before being transferred to Lambaesis. It was made a colonial probably under Trajan.

There is mention of a council held there by the Donatists. Among its saints were St Lucius, its bishop, who in 256 assisted at the Council of Carthage and died as a martyr two years later; St Maximilianus, martyred 12 March, 295; St Crispina, martyred 5 December, 304.

Some of its bishops are known: Romulus in 349; Urbicus in 411; Felix exiled by the Vandals in 484; Palladius mentioned in an inscription.

It was rebuilt by the patrician Solomon at the beginning of the reign of Justinian I, and he built a tomb there which still exists. Under the Ottoman Empire, Theveste had a garrison of Janizaries. In 1851 it has been occupied by the French. Under the name of Tebessa it became the capital of a canton of the Department of Constantine in Algeria. Tebessa is very rich in ancient monuments, among them being a triumphal arch of Caracalla, a temple, a Christian basilica of the 4th century.

[caybee 21]

My husband has gone a couple of times. He likes the music. We try to go early enough so he can read the words of the hymns and other passages in advance and decide how much he wants to participate, if at all. Church services can be so different from each other. I would never knowingly subject him (or myself) to a church service where someone spoke negatively about Islam or the Prophet. On a related note, although we were married by a judge in a courthouse, the judge included the Trinity in the vows, which I didn't expect. I realized it while he was repeating after her and he didn't yet understand what she was saying, so I stopped her before he said it, and she just skipped that part. The most important things to my husband seem to be that he understand what is being said and what he is saying, and that he does not say or do anything that contradicts what he believes. Just being in a church doesn't trouble him. And I think that's a very individual decision. Now it's time for us to turn the tables.

[maggieNomar 0]

Before I converted my husband said yes but he couldn't participate in "worshipping Jesus". I don't have any insight into Quranic references however it would be like a Christian attending a mosque and even praying as it's the same god and the Quran does say that.

Don't let yourself be fooled Amera. It's not the same God. I used to believe that. But if you think about it, the Christian God gave His son on the cross. (whether you believe a literal son (trinity) or that Jesus came by the Power of God). I say this only because one of the basic beliefs in Christianity is the crucifiction of Christ for our sins. The Islamic God did not, as Islam teaches that Allah took Jesus off the cross and replaced him with someone else.

I did not write this to argue religious points. Only for you Amera to be aware of another side of that thinking.

[Nutty 2]

Since, Jesus is a saint in Islam and Christians both believe in one God, I think going into a church is not the problem, as an OBSERVER. However, they can not pray, bow or neal or participate in the activities of worship.

Also consider that there are many other "grey areas" of the Quran which are interpreted differently, by different Imams. It depends also on this.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I'm curious how everyone defines "worship". To me attending church and choosing not to "worship" is an oxymoron. You're there, you're listening and while you're not reciting the words perhaps you're still engaged in the act. Also I feel like it's another way to say YOU are this but I am this, and we're very different. Muslims and Christians worship the same god (perhaps in some sects the worship of Jesus as God might cause problems). My feeling is that if I were to go to church I would worship God, I would pray and I would participate in the rituals (sans the wine) because when it boils down to it the purpose is that you are showing your love of God and devotion to God. There are enough lines drawn to tear the Abrahamic faiths apart, I really feel this should not be reinforced!

Poor analogy. If you're at the scene of a fire, you're not engaged in the act of putting out the fire, and you can certainly attend church while respectfully avoiding engaging in Christian orthodoxy.