It is actually the dominant opinion that it is forbidden to marry them in a non Muslim country I don't know what source they used to say it is halalAgreed. The mother is a huge influence on the child. A lot of Muslim men deceive themselves into thinking "women of the book" are halal to marry, not realizing there's a big chance your child becomes a Christian or a Jew. A lot of these men are weak in the deen to begin with. I knew a Colombian girl whose father was a Lebanese Muslim and mother was a catholic and guess what? She was super catholic and islamophobic.