Muslim Speed Dating

From: Next Generation Radio
Series: NPR's Next Generation Radio
Length: 03:34

Finding a spouse and maintaining respect for Islamic tradition Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Muslim Speed Dating
From: Next Generation Radio

Asma_small Forget arranged marriages or dating... Muslims in America have an alternative solution - professional matrimonial networks. Religious Muslims across the country are turning to these organizations in hopes of meeting a spouse, while maintaining respect for their Islamic Traditions. We visited one such organization - "Companionships," founded by an Imam and his wife in Virginia. Next generation radio's Asma Khalid has more.

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Piece Description

Forget arranged marriages or dating... Muslims in America have an alternative solution - professional matrimonial networks. Religious Muslims across the country are turning to these organizations in hopes of meeting a spouse, while maintaining respect for their Islamic Traditions. We visited one such organization - "Companionships," founded by an Imam and his wife in Virginia. Next generation radio's Asma Khalid has more.

Broadcast History

Aired on NPR's Morning Edition the week of January 21st.

Transcript

TRACK 1: At a Days Inn Hotel in Alexandria, forty singles mingle over dinner. At one table, a former Southern Baptist with a fiery red beard talks about how he once wanted to become a preacher. Nearby sits an engineer... she's the daughter of Indian immigrants. Her long, black Bollywood-esque hair swoops over her gold hoop earrings. Across the room, an African-American woman wearing a head scarf chats with a man from Cuba.
Although the diversity in the room is startling, attendees shares a common thread. They're Muslim... and their tradition teaches that getting married is a large part of the faith. And, so they've come tonight to fulfill their religious duty. But also to see whether they'll find a match.

TRACK 2: That's Hafza Gulam - the engineer. She never thought Muslim...
Read the full transcript