Michael, 40, and Somaia, 30, met while he was studying Arabic in Cairo. They fell in love in 2015, when he converted to Islam in order to get married.
When Michael traveled from the US to Egypt in the summer of 2015 to study Arabic, he did not expect to find love there. But at a language institute in Cairo he was introduced to Somaian, who taught in specialized programs. “He was a VIP student, so I knew I had to be careful with his program,” she says. “He seemed a good and honest man.”
Although Michael initially believed that Somaia was cool as a person, she soon began to relax. “I realized that her bosses had instructed her to give me special teaching treatment. “But as a result, we started talking about our lives and we formed a strong friendship,” he said.
During the month of Ramadan, Somaia invited Michael to an iftar dinner, which is held after breaking the fast by the believers, in the holy month. “He stayed until midnight and we talked for a long time, but I believed it was just friendship,” the woman said, according to Tch.
Shortly afterwards Somaia accompanied Michael to a tourist area in Cairo, where he would buy souvenirs for his family. They then went to a restaurant and Michael says he realized he wanted more than friendship from her. “I felt I could see him in a light I had never seen before. “Everything changed for me.”
A few days later Michael was preparing to return to the US, where he would pursue a doctorate in linguistic anthropology. “I asked him to come for a coffee, to say goodbye.” There he had told her he wanted to stay with her and asked her if she felt that way too. “There are no casual connections in Egypt,” she says. “Even though she was not told exactly, I was asking her to marry me. “Somaia immediately said it was impossible.”
Although she was drawn to him, the issue had other complications. “I had a lot of feelings but I put them aside because I didn’t think it would work,” says Somaia.
She had been married for some time before, an event she described as a “death blow” to any future relationship, according to Egyptian culture.
She also worried that her family would not allow her to go with an American man. Michael says: “I was not a Muslim and I had no idea of the Islamic religion. “I did not know that a Muslim woman could not be allowed to marry a non-Muslim man.”
He told the woman he was willing to make changes in his life for this to work. They had stayed in touch and Michale visited him again the following December.
“At this time I had decided to convert to Islam. “I had been thinking about it for several months,” says Michael. Somaia’s mother then gave them the blessing to marry. “She came with me to the conversion ceremony. “Since then we have become very close,” he said. Although the brother initially had concerns because “because he did not want me to be hurt again,” says Somaia, “everyone in the family was happy for us.”
The couple got married at the justice ministry after the conversion ceremony in the summer of 2016. They had originally planned a family wedding, but this was canceled by a plane crash.
“The US government believed it was a bomb attack. “The State Department issued a warning that American citizens should not enter Egypt,” said Michael. So out of terrorist concerns, Michael University asked him to return to the US temporarily.
He returned to Egypt and applied for a ‘green card’ for Somaia. “She is Yemeni-Egyptian and at that time the government had banned people from entering most Muslim countries,” says Michael. As the couple could not go to the US together, Michael decided to live in Cairo. The Somaia visa was only recently approved and the couple will go to the US, where they hope to open a family.
“People believe we should be against our origins,” says Michael. “But in fact we are both house people. “We love the family and communicate well.”
Even Somaia says she can be herself next to her husband. “We are fine together,” she says. / The Guardian
