Interfaith Couples Make Marriages Work With Two Faiths

July 6, 2006

Source: MSNBC

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13699089/

On July 6, 2006 MSNBC reported, "As Muslims become more integrated in the West, marriage to people of other faiths is becoming more commonplace. Nowhere is this more true than in London, perhaps the most cosmopolitan European capital. Muslims make up about 8 percent of the city’s population and neighborhoods are renowned for their diversity. The 1960s and 70s Britain saw an influx of immigrants — a majority of whom were from South Asia – and their children attended British schools, speak with British accents and are active participants in the workforce. Interfaith marriages are almost a natural extension of their integration. 'London is a tolerant place that tends to turn everyone into Londoners,' said John Beckett, who has been in an interfaith marriage for 30 years. There are no official statistics kept of the number of interfaith couples in Britain. Estimates by people involved in interfaith organizations run around 17,000, but that wouldn’t necessarily include couples in which one partner converted."