NJGal, that's all so sweet!!! The stories about the Syrian husband are cute---I lived in the Middle East and despite the tough reputation of some Arab guys I find that Arabs in general demonstrate much more affection to their spouses than what I've seen in desi culture where it's very taboo... In Jerusalem, Cairo, and Beirut I would sometimes saw newly-wed couples, clearly religious (the girl muhajjibah, the guy with beard sometimes), walking side by side holding hands. And I can definitely see the American convert guy being a mold breaker, but in a good way. A lot of the male converts I've met here in the US have been true 'Renaissance men' who have very good din but who also have a very helpful, egalitarian approach to the work of the marriage---which seems to me to fit the manner in which the Prophet treated his marriages!