According to rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website):Farzaneh Gholami, a Tehran-born woman who married an Italian Shia man at the age of 25, now considers this marriage to be a significant event in her life after living in Italy for four years and having a son.
See the Persian text here
As reported by the World Women’s Service, Farzaneh Gholami talks about how she met her husband: During my university years at Tehran University, I was studying the Italian language and collaborating with a magazine published by Italian Shias. It was through this magazine that I got to know Hussein Morley, and after a while, he came to Tehran, and we became more acquainted.
Farzaneh continues: When I met my husband, he had been a Muslim for seven years; he was the only Muslim in his family and had a conservative background. After conducting research about him and his family through my friends, and also after receiving approval from my family during a month-long trip to Italy with my mother, I married him.
Farzaneh Gholami discusses the impact of this marriage on her faith: After becoming a Muslim, I became more active and revolutionary. When I distanced myself from my familiar environment and entered a European world full of corruption and disbelief, I decided to take my Islam more seriously and put it into practice.
(Hussein Morley with his wife, Farzaneh Gholami, being interviewed by Zan Rooz Magazine)
Farzaneh Gholami’s husband speaks about why he chose an Iranian Shia girl as his wife: When I became a Muslim and a Shia, I wanted to marry a Muslim girl. Based on this, naturally, I would choose my spouse from Pakistani, Lebanese, or Iranian Shia girls. However, the most important criterion for me was commitment to Islam and religious ethics, not just being Iranian. Now I am happy to have married an Iranian girl.
Hussein Morley talks about the concept of hijab: In my opinion, hijab is like an explosion of light in the darkness of the West. I believe that men understand the philosophy of hijab much better than women do. In the West, when women wear hijab, it is like a light shining in darkness and obscurity.
He adds: When I see some women in Iran, especially in Tehran, not observing proper hijab, I feel really sorry because I think they don’t fully understand the value of hijab.
