How Would You Respond to Salaam Alaikum ?

[GrandizerII]

If you know how to speak Arabic, and you want to return the greeting ("Salaam Alaikum") in kind in Arabic, you say "wa aalaikom as-salaam" ("and peace upon you").

That said, I've never had a Muslim say this greeting to me in my homecountry (Lebanon), probably because they only tend to say this to other Muslims. To Arabic-speaking non-Muslims, they seem to just go with "salaam", "marhaba" ("hello") and the likes.

I had a girl friend from Lebanon. She and her family would respond "Ma Salaami". I assume that is less formal than " Wa Alaikum As Salaam"?

That actually means "goodbye", "maa" meaning "with" and "salaameh" meaning "peace". Both Christians and Muslims in Lebanon say that.