Please read: Interfaith relationship

Hello everyone!
I need the advice of a knowledgeable Muslim..

My partner (Muslim) and I (non-Muslim) met 2 years ago, we fell in love and became a couple right away. I was raised Christian but haven't had a religion for a long time now, I personally believe that I don't NEED a religion to be a good person. I try to be a good person everyday, I want to help people and do good things for others'. I don't have a problem with the Muslim religion or any other religion, for that matter. I'm open-minded and respect everybody, no matter where you come from or what you believe. My partner is a Muslim but he doesn't practice his religion right now, he hasn't practiced since before he met me. I respect him and his religion, and support him in every way. There's been a couple times he's asked me to wake him to go to the mosque, and I would have if he hadn't changed his mind. I don't eat pork, out of respect for him. He drinks, smokes and does other non-Muslim things. When he drinks,  I fear for my safety and have him traumatized by his behavior. He's a great guy overall and we have a "good" relationship, he loves me and I love him. I think he assumed that I would become Muslim someday, and I've already made it clear that I do not want to be Muslim, I'm happy with the way I live my life. I have human rights and I should be given the same respect I give, I don't ask him to change for me because he deserves to be Muslim and I support that. His sister and my Muslim friends always tell me to "just be Muslim", that everyone will accept me and we will be happy. I respect his family but I don't need anyone to accept me, God didn't make me Muslim, he gave me the freedom to choose so I shouldn't change my life for anybody. I also think that is the wrong reason to become Muslim, if people asked me why I am Muslim, I would say because my partner wants me to or some other bad reason. I think, like any religion, I should have to convert because it's something I feel in my heart, something I want in my life, something I believe in. But either way I don't have to be Muslim because I just don't have to, if I don't want to. Everyone's answer to our situation is "just be Muslim", "just try it" and it's much more complicated than that. I can't just "be Muslim just because it's better", and more importantly I don't have to be Muslim because I don't want to be. So, my partner and I had a beautiful baby boy, our life is great but there's always this religion thing in the back of my mind. I love him so much and I care about his own beliefs and I want him to be happy with his life and his "afterlife". I'm Hispanic (American) and he's Somalian, we are from completely different cultures, different worlds. Our life will never be the life of a "religious family", I'm not religious and even though I support him with his own religion, we will never lead a "religious" life. My son and I don't eat pork, and I told him that he CAN teach our son about his religion but he cannot "force" him because my son has human rights and he deserves the freedom to choose. When we gets older and understands it, then he can choose to be Muslim and I'm totally okay with that. I do a lot for him but he's not better than me and I'm no better than him, we are equals and we have to meet in the middle (even though I do a lot more for him). Because I love and care about him I want to be truly happy with his life and his relationship with God and his religion, I want him to make the right choices according to his religion and follow the life that he believes in. I have ended our relationship several times because I want him to move on and find a Muslim woman and live the true Muslim lifestyle that he wants, but he loves me too much to let me go. I love him so much and I want to be with him for the rest of my life, but his religions is very important to him and I want him to live the life he wants, even if that means losing him. He wants us to get married and I would do that for him so that he feels better about our relationship, but I'm not converting to Muslim. The point is, I think that because he loves me, he doesn't want to leave me. But I think, as he gets older he will want to follow his religion more and more and will get to the point that he's not satisfied with being married to non-Muslim woman. This could take months or years, and I will have give him years of my life for him to leave me in the end. I would rather end our relationship now so that he can find a Muslim woman and live the lifestyle he wants, and move towards the future he wants.

Any advice is greatly appreciate, it's a tough situation and I would like to know what other Muslims think. I would like to receive advice from a knowledgeable Muslim person, someone who understand their religion very well.

Thank you for reading and I look forward to reading your advice and answering any questions you might have.

By the way, even though I don't have a religion, I do believe in God and pray. I have a relationship with God but I don't follow the "guidelines" that come with having a religion. I make good choices, I try to be a good human being and help others as much as I can. I think there's a lot of people from all religions who are not "good" people, and someone without a religion can sometimes be a better person than someone who has a religion but doesn't follow it.

Well, I am not a muslim, but I think you sound very wise.

NABA wrote: First of all what is Muslim??A Muslim is a person who submits his will to Allah,I.e follow the teachings of Qur'an.u don't require any persian/arabic name to b a Muslim.as a friend I m not forcing U to b religious but at least try to read Qur'an and then U will b much closer to Allah and find mental peace.islam is not only a religion,its a way of life,for eg Allah forbids backbiting(ch 49 v 11-12),Allah also commands us to knock the door before entering anyone's house(ch 24 v 27).in Qur'an u will find that Allah has taken care from big things to small minute things,I know u don't want to b religious but when u read Qur'an u urself will like it and appreciate the mercifullness of Allah.take this verse only-ch 28 v 84-when u do a good deed,Allah will grant u a reward  more than ur merit,for bad deed Allah will punish according to merit or forgive u if u repent.so in my point of view u should read Qur'an with translation,then u might come close to Islam.

Thank you for sharing your opinion, but I don't HAVE to get close to Islam. If God wanted everybody to be Muslim, we would all be Muslim. He gave us the freedom to choose, so there's no reason why I should "try to get close to Islam", when I could try to get close to any other religion (which I don't want to). I don't consider getting close to any religion, I'm happy with my way of life and I don't need to change it. I respect everybody and every religion, but I would never advice you to change your way of life, because I don't have to and I don't want to. You are Muslim, and that's okay! I don't want you to change, I don't want you to be something you don't want. I support you and your choices, why should I be advice to "try" to change my views or be a part of something I don't have to because I don't want to?

All people are entitled to their own religious beliefs. You are a good person who does not hurt others, that's what is important now.

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Jose Francisco