Hello all

I've started dating again and there's this really nice man I've been speaking with who I'm supposed to be going on a date with. Tragically, I don't have therapy until after the date so I can't talk to my therapist about this

The apparent problem is that I'm being advised against this date because he is Muslim/from a Muslim family - I have no problem with this at all but because he's from a Muslim background and as he says originates from Saudi Arabia (an extremely strict country) my friends think he will attack me. You see, the thing is, I'm gay and we met on a gay dating site and so my friends reasoning is that he might either be gay and ashamed due to his Muslim background and may lash out at me or he's pretending to be gay on the site so he can attack gays because it's not acceptable to be gay and Muslim.

What's even more complicated is that my therapists says I can't trust my own judgment and should rely on the judgment of those closest to me - they're generally reasonable but this borderlines stereotypical/irrational. I think their concerns stem from our Muslim friends who can be very outspoken at times..

The date will absolutely be in public and everybody knows what he looks like and has his phone number "just in case" so I'm very cautious about this anyway as everyone should be going on a date

My belief is that it's okay to be gay and Muslim and I'm happy to date a Muslim man but I'm very aware of attitudes within Islam regarding homosexuals.. but my therapist says rely on others judgment, what would you say??? Thoughts will be so appreciated