Now isn’t this interesting?
Are there laws now against marrying first cousins or closer in predominantly Islamic countries or does this practice continue? Anyone know?
This is correct. Inbreeding is a real problem
Never mind. That’s what I get for not reading the article first lol.
No. Just the opposite. And Muslims in England and the U.S. often send their children back to their home countries to marry their cousins and bring them back here.
First cousins on the male side are preferred. It was intended to keep tribes together.
Hard to believe any laws prohibit this. My understanding is that it is not only permitted, but encouraged—if not expected.
When I lived in Egypt it was still common for 2nd and 3rd cousins to marry....but I don’t know how to quantify that (I’ve never studied the sociology behind it). 1st cousin marriages were not as common.....but it still happened nonetheless.
I left in 1989.
Marrying first cousins is perfectly legal in most countries. A one off marriage between first cousins isn’t usually a problem though with about the same incidence of birth defects amongst offspring as those between non-related couples. However, when it is when it is done generation after generation, genetic weaknesses start to show and as it progresses down the generations, inbreeding becomes a serious problem. A culture that allows cousin marriage is OK, a culture that virtually compels cousin marriage is inviting serious health problems....