Well Im glad my dating history has brought up some discussions and issues.

I acknowledge that I have narrowed my margin for the right guy by saying that I want a nice Hindu Punjabi boy, but who here wouldnt like someone who falls in the same "category" as themselves?  I am aware that finding someone is hard, and its likely that I wont end up with a nice hindu PUNJABI guy.  I choose to still want a this type of person because I know my that I will be honoring my parents and my extended family by marrying within the same "category" and caste.  This brings up a whole issue of doing what makes yourself happy and what would make your parents happy, but thats a topic for another day.

As Sukhi said, its quite likely that a nice hindu punjabi boy would be "disgusted" by the fact that I`ve dated a Muslim guy.  And (thanks to Jamil for defending me) this shows Sukhi`s narrow minded-ness.  Yes, many Muslims are strict, but no, by dating a Muslim, I do not feel that I have been "tainted" or have ruined my chances for a nice hindu boy.  I wouldnt want to be dating a guy who finds Muslim`s repulsive.  Religious tolerance is very important.  By having such a low opinion of other religions what makes us any different from religious extremists?  Maybe we dont kill in the name of God, but we are still propogating a vicious cycle of religious intolerance.

As a Hindu, I was taught to accept and respect all religions and all gods, including Allah.  If people would jsut open their eyes a little, they will see that both Sikhism and Hinduism has drawn on some basic Muslim edicts.  A simple example being men and women covering their hair in places of worship as a minimum.

So, Im actually a bit offended by Sukhi thinking I`m narrow-minded.  I have learned a lot about Muslim culture from the person I am dating.  A lot of the pre-conceived notions I had about Muslims were either validated or nullified, and as a result, I have a greater respect for the Muslim community.  By dating outside of my religion and culture I have learned a lot of cultural and religious tolerance.  It is my personal opinion, in fact, (and I dont mean to offend people) that people who are unwilling to date outside of their group have a very narrow scope on life.  and here I say unwilling...not haven`t...I fully realize that some people just happen to only have opportunities to date certain groups...what I mean is people consciously NOT dating certain groups of people.