Consanguinity in the Islamic World

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- Tonyt
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Consanguinity in the Islamic World
OP - July 23, 2015, 02:55 PM

So I have become interested in this topic of consanguineous marriages in the Islamic World, which mainly occurs through 1st or 2nd cousin marriages. According to the data on consang.net, more than half of marriages in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are consanguineous, and most other core Islamic countries have at least 30%. I was really unaware that this was such a huge issue.

A single cousin marriage is unlikely to cause many detrimental health affects, but if this kind of marriage is repeated over many generations it can lead to health problems.

Do any CEMBers know of many cousin marriages in their community? If so what are the reasons and justifications used by the community to promote this kind of marriage and is a lot of pressure put on people to marry their cousins? Or is simply an option that people can take or leave?

Seeing as now there is plenty of medical data showing the dangers of such unions, is there any observable trend in communities to abandon this practice?
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Reply #1 - July 23, 2015, 03:05 PM

I have relatives who have done this and unfortunately you can see the effects. Fortunately in my family it was always a take it or leave it kind of thing (thankfully I left it!), but I can imagine circumstances, especially with female children who are having a difficult time getting married where there could be pressure applied to do this.

I think with greater education about the health risks this thing will decline, at least among more educated families, but I feel its unlikely that information will trickle down to affect the cultural practices of more remote, less educated populaces. So yeah, this thing is probably here to stay for a bit. Maybe Saudi Arabia could be something of a different story though, as my experience is with Pakistani families.

Edit: lol I euphemized the shit out of this. "this thing" = cousin marriages

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Consanguinity in the Islamic World
Reply #2 - July 23, 2015, 03:15 PM

First cousins marriage still happen to this day, but much less so than a couple decades ago. In my direct surrounding, my paternal grandparents were first cousins, but there have been no cousin marriage in my extended family since them. Or rather there is one couple whose mothers are cousins, but they're two in over a hundred people.

In people my age (early 30's) it's mostly seen as an outdated practice.

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Consanguinity in the Islamic World
Reply #3 - July 23, 2015, 03:18 PM

From my experience much less these days.
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Reply #4 - July 23, 2015, 03:18 PM

Quote from: Tonyt on July 23, 2015, 02:55 PM
So I have become interested in this topic of consanguineous marriages in the Islamic World, which mainly occurs through 1st or 2nd cousin marriages. According to the data on consang.net, more than half of marriages in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are consanguineous, and most other core Islamic countries have at least 30%. I was really unaware that this was such a huge issue.

(Clicky for piccy!)

A single cousin marriage is unlikely to cause many detrimental health affects, but if this kind of marriage is repeated over many generations it can lead to health problems.

Do any CEMBers know of many cousin marriages in their community? If so what are the reasons and justifications used by the community to promote this kind of marriage and is a lot of pressure put on people to marry their cousins? Or is simply an option that people can take or leave?

Seeing as now there is plenty of medical data showing the dangers of such unions, is there any observable trend in communities to abandon this practice?

I think it is declining. Most of my cousins are now marrying outside of their relatives.

But there are still families who "cousin marry", since they've known long each others families, they feel they can trust each other. They see it as a way of strengthening the bond between the families.

And it is easier for most people because they dont have to search for the groom or bride, because it's right there? Lol
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