Solving the mystery of an intersting era
At the time where the disparity between the east and the west, or by two cultures shaped by two religions.. Islam and Christianity is at its maximum. …my hands fell on a book called Ali and Nino… Where these two worlds wed in a fascinating exotic fantasy, compared to Shehrazad’s narrations.
I have never heard of this book before, I picked it out when I was in Saudi among several other books I used to buy a bunch of English books, whenever they were available, simply because most of the good Arabic books were not there and there was no specific system to what you can find or when you can find it, actually I will never forget the dirty look I got when I asked the guy at Jarir book store for Ahlam Mustaghanemy books! Ifft he looked at me with so much disgust, telling me coldly that her books are banned! Looking at me from head to toe! and since my hair was not covered, i just wished i could disappear! before they call some mutawe3!
Anyway.. I found it recently among my unread books… I did not have high expectation from this book, but was totally and very pleasantly surprised. Once I started looking in the internet, I realized it is a an enchanting cross-cultural romance set just before the Russian Revolution in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city on the edge of the Caspian Sea. Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Muslim desert boy from an aristocratic family, has fallen in love with the beautiful and enigmatic Nino Kipiani, a Christian girl with distinctly European background. To be together, they had to fight scandals and blood feud…. Only to prove that true love can win at the end… I guess our dear Roba once discussed mixed marriages in one of her, and this is an idea of how a mixed marriage looks like. Another example of how mixed marriages look like could be found in the map of love by Ahdaf Soueif, which I did not appreciate as much as I have her other book in the eye of the sun which i feel has changed my life! and recommended it to Natasha with the same note she wrote me once if I believe books can change lives i should read the unbearable lightness of being 
…Of course these are not real people, but I do have examples of real people who live blissfully in a mexed marriage… only no one would find them interesting, because you do not know them!
What is even more interesting about this book is the confused background of the writer, an interesting man of several identities Kurban Said, Assad Bei and Lev Nussimbaum… who was born Jew, converted to Islam at 17 years and spent the next 15 years in Christian Europe! Lived his life fearless, and wrote what his passions dictated… And whose early death was considered a cultural loss….
Hareega
It's astonishing how much can people do for the sake of love. I think it should be optional. Marrying someone from a different culture will usually cause some issues, not necessarily problems, between the couple themsleves and the families as well. I believe they are less alikely to succeed although in my family all of such marriages have worked very beautifully a (or looked like it at least) and those marriages where the couple had to separate were among people from the very same culture or even family.
Again, love can be dangerous. It shouldn't make them blind of what problems they might have. For marriage to work between people from different religions i believe the only way to do that is when one of them-or both- nelgect his/her religion, because religions are against such marriages.
(http://livejournal.com/users/)
Reply
My brother katab ktabu on a Christian girl from Baku-Azerbaijan. Things could be much better if he hasn't neglected his culture. Lots of compromise is required from the couple when dealing with their families, their people lets say. What I don't like is that in reality, whenever it happens it indicates that one or both the couple are lost souls who are not committed to their religion nor their culture. Putting religion aside since its allowed in Islam to marry non-Muslims, the problem remains a problem of identity. There is nothing I hate more than denying your roots and identity in the name of love. Thats a false accusation, an insult to love.
SC
(http://livejournal.com/users/)
Reply
Hareega and SC, I honestly dont think that mixed marriages can only succeed if one of them has to compromise their religion…beliefs are engrained in people, and that is something that can not be changed. I say that because i come from a mixed marriage background myself.. But I know for sure that one of the two cultures would be more visible in the household.
Mixed marriages can be two of the same religion but different cultures too…
Now Growing up at some thought that I had an identity issue, but now i dont think so anymore.. On the contrary, i think if anything, i loved coming from my background because it makes you more open minded, more accepting, more respectful to different ways of life. and if anything it makes you realize how similar human beings are.
(http://livejournal.com/users/madas)
Reply
I'm not againts mixed marriages at all, in case you thought I am but in reality many of those who marry from another different culture or religion are not qualified simply because they tend to be away from their religion and culture in the first place, a mixed marriage only makes things visibly worse. Some are not aware that marriage is more than the relationship between a man and a woman, there are their families and also the expected sons and daughters.
SC
(http://livejournal.com/users/)
Reply
You sound frustration ,is it you ? a single woaman with sexually dissatisfaction related !! you seem like you don't like Saudi no men ,was it baning you libertine behaviour .a westernized woman like needs to be sexually aroused to be happy and contented don't look as getting it .Shame a woman without a partner .Saud El Dagham
(http://livejournal.com/users/)
Reply
I just want to say I love the Buddha Bar CDs. They usually go well with a bar and a few beers.
Alright I am having flashbacks of The V Bar in The Venetian.
-ana jameed ma gheiro
(http://livejournal.com/users/)
Reply
it is a beautiful CD. I like all the Budha bar CDs. They usually use Amro Diab on their collection which is nice.
(http://livejournal.com/users/madas)
Reply
I have deleted a message here, that i did not think is appropriate, this person can use as many aliases as he wants, but i know who is the original person, this is the last time i would reply to any message from this person.
(http://livejournal.com/users/madas)
Reply
Well, I'm with mixed cultural marriage, I think its much better than same cultural one, as the kids will grow up in mixed cultural so they will be somehow intellectually rich
(http://livejournal.com/users/jadmadi)
Reply
yeah, intellectually richer, and so confused if the parents were not very aware of the effect of this on the children…
(http://livejournal.com/users/madas)
Reply