Struggling with my parents’ views on marriage
Assalamu alaikum, everyone. I’ve been dealing with this for a while and just need to vent. I’m a French Moroccan, born and raised in France, and my parents are making marriage a huge source of stress. A while back, I was engaged to a French Christian woman and we planned to marry. When I told my parents, they became harsh, accusing her of terrible things and trying to break us up without even meeting her. I felt so hurt and betrayed that she eventually left. They insisted only Moroccans were acceptable. Years later, they pushed me toward a girl they barely knew-just the niece of a friend-saying she was from a good family. I was broken and gave in. Turns out she was cruel, dishonest, and constantly insulted me for not giving in to her demands, while contributing nothing herself. Alhamdulillah, I’m divorced now. But now they’re at it again with someone else, and my father even told them I was interested without asking me. I don’t know her name, what she looks like-nothing. Honestly, they shattered me, and I haven’t fully forgiven them for what happened with my ex. Since then, I haven’t found a kind partner, and they act like it’s normal. I’m just supposed to obey. I’m so confused-is this normal? Is it right? Have I been wrong from the start? Should their opinion matter more than mine? I’m now scared to disagree with them about anything.