[elektikakass]

As salaam alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I know there are a few American members on this forum, so I thought I'd ask do Americans really view marrying your first cousin the same as marrying your real brother or sister?

[gennnniiikk]

you are asking american muslims or american non-muslims?

[steansathtpos]

As salaam alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I know there are a few American members on this forum, so I thought I'd ask do Americans really view marrying your first cousin the same as marrying your real brother or sister?

I'm in UK, and I find it nasty. Only BECAUSE - we grew up like brothers/sisters. Although of course Islamically it is ALLOWED.

[mpzoFeJs]

Yes amonst the majority of non Muslims in the United kingdom it is considered incest to marry the first cousin but it does still go on rarely. Many western educated Muslims also think in this way. There is evidence that shows many first cousin marriages in a family cause many health and genetic problems. It is better to seek new partners from distant families. The British royal Family suffered from weak offspring because of inter marriage within the same gene pool over many generations. The khalifah Osmaniya used to search for the most intelligent of women within the kingdom for the Khalif to have children with many selections processes were used, and children of slave women went on to become a khalif.

As salaam alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I know there are a few American members on this forum, so I thought I'd ask do Americans really view marrying your first cousin the same as marrying your real brother or sister?

[ClaudeMarkus]

As salaam alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I know there are a few American members on this forum, so I thought I'd ask do Americans really view marrying your first cousin the same as marrying your real brother or sister?

I am by far NOT an expert on cousin marriage in America, so please ignore half of what I am about to post.

From my understanding, marriage to first cousins is not illegal in the U.S., but it is often considered a taboo and a negative thing in general society. There are jokes about people who marry their cousins. It happens more than most people think.

[Daruhuw]

I'm in UK, and I find it nasty. Only BECAUSE - we grew up like brothers/sisters. Although of course Islamically it is ALLOWED.

Its crazy! i know one family in S.A who observe like strict strict strcit hijab BUT not from their cousins, coz they all grew up lyk brother-sisters - the weird thing is they all end end up marrying each other when they're older

[elektikakass]

As salaam alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I have been reading some of the posts and I have obsereved a few things.

1) It is legal in the UK and the USA to marry one's first cousin, so in essence it can't be considered the same as marrying one's real brother or sister. Therefore, the idea of it being incest is a product of social thought and culture.

2) Some have acknowledged that Islam permits such marriages, but they themselves consider such a practise abhorrent (or as one member stated 'Nasty'). I feel such comments are dangerous for one's Imaan because it is tantamount to considering that which Allah made permissible to be impure and inproper, and we seek Allah's refuge from having such opinions, Ameen.

[Olphander]

North America is a pretty big place and I personally have found different reactions from non-Muslims (and Muslims) to cousin marriage from one place to the next. Interestingly, my experience has been that some larger, more culturally diverse centres are less likely to look down on it or joke about it (or at least not in public) whereas in some smaller, more conservative places people openly joke about it and make their position known.

Negative reactions include "ewww, I could never even imagine marrying my cousins... we grew up together!" or with a shocked/concerned expression "oh my, are the children okay? Aren't you worried about defects?" Some people just go quiet for a while. Others look at every little problem with the children and are quick to blame them on cousin marriages.

[HunterM]

Feeling disgusted about cousin marriages stems more from western cultural thing I think. Each culture have their own baggage by putting forward the culture to islam. How come cousins become brothers and sisters when they are ghair mahrams? This same thing they wont say when it comes to school friends. I know a western woman who was married to a man who was her friend from school from very young, played together and so on. Here they are clear they are not brothers/sisters but friends and they get married too. When it comes to cousins, I dont understand the logic of saying that they are like brothers/sisters. Even as children if they have played together, after a stage, they are are not like brothers and sisters for they are ghair mahram. huh
Allahu alam

[Tzqowwyt]

As salaam alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I know there are a few American members on this forum, so I thought I'd ask do Americans really view marrying your first cousin the same as marrying your real brother or sister?

Brother,


You can check this thread out:

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...usin+marriages

Has input from Ulamaa', too.

[NeroASERCH]

It originates in Roman Catholicism not to marry 1st cousins.

Amongst the Muslims some Somalis see their 1st cousins who are their mothers-sisters-children as being brothers/sisters to them who they cannot marry,

even though they know it is not from Islam and Sheikhs tell them that they can marry these cousins if they want to many of them still feel this.

[RorieSorNearop]

How weird are they, they consider marrying cousins incest yet by donating anonymously their eggs/sperm they end up marrying their own brother/sisters!