Navigating Co-Parenting with My Son’s Muslim Father as a Christian Mom
Salam everyone, I’m a practicing Christian, and my little boy’s dad is a Muslim who doesn’t strictly practice-he fasts during Ramadan, avoids pork, and eats with his right hand, but that’s about it. We live separately because we couldn’t agree on the marriage part, though he does provide for us financially while I stay home with our son. Whenever religion comes up, he gets defensive and it just turns into a frustrating talk, so I try to learn about Islam on my own to understand what he might expect for our kid. I’m planning to raise our son in my Christian faith, but his dad has him one day a week, so I wonder what a Muslim father usually hopes for when raising a child? I also had a Muslim ex who mentioned he had to go to the mosque regularly and memorize parts of the Quran, but my son’s father never had that. Why are there different expectations? If anyone has insights on raising a child with Islamic values or what I should keep in mind, I’d be grateful to hear them. Jazakallahu khairan.