Call it missionary marriage of Muslims to young, Western women.
Muslim men are allowed to marry non-Muslim women. But Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men.
What is love jihad? While not an official term, love jihad is described as the practice of Muslim men marrying women in the West, often for the purposes of advancing Islam.
A young woman falls in love with a handsome Muslim man. He is very masculine and has a deep sense of protection for her.
In a Western world where men are punished and labeled as “toxic” for even attempting to show care, coupled with the fact so many women are left uncovered and unprotected because of broken families, this cultural practice of protectiveness is highly attractive. She feels safe, attended to and cared for as he looks out for her.
So the man promises her, “For you is your religion, and for me is my religion” (Q 109:6). He assures her she can have her faith and he will have his.
They marry. He encourages her to go to the mosque. She may or may not.
All goes well until they have kids.
Across culture and time, the most ripe time for spiritual openness is at the birth of children.
The man’s spirit awakens to his spiritual roots when the children are born. He decides he wants his children raised Muslim. The wife objects. He wins no matter what it takes. Her concession. His aggression.
The woman veils if she hasn’t already. Mosque prayers become mandatory. The relationship goes south as the tension escalates. But now there’s a problem.
In Islam, pretty much only the man can divorce a wife, although in the West a woman can still divorce. If there is a divorce, the man gets the children. Oftentimes Western countries want to honor culture and so the kids will go to the husband. Women know this, and so they will stay in the marriage–one that often involves great suffering.
The turmoil is horrible. For the women. For the families. For the children caught in the middle.
We must educate our young people. We need to encourage them to marry in the Lord and in Him alone. And even date only in the Lord.
We should also educate them about other faiths as well, and practices such as these. They must be wise to the times.
There is also in this a call for fathers, husbands and men in general to ignore cultural feminist rhetoric and engage boldly in love, protection, and care. Men, you are needed.
Something needs to change. Love jihad is effectively taking out too many young women.
Warn your daughters. Strengthen them in the Lord.
Let’s be wise to the schemes and plans of the enemy. He is looking to take out generations.
Let’s not be “outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” — 2 Corinthians 2:11