On the website People With Voices Deborah Gabriel writes concerning British Pakistani who marry first cousins.
Gabriel, working on a Ph.D. in journalism, criticizes fellow British journalist Ed West for using ‘inbreeding’ instead of ‘consanquinity’ to describe marriage between British Pakistani first cousins.
After faulting West, Gabriel goes on to use the word ‘ tradition’ in a misleading way. She says that wearing Burka and marriage between first cousins are best described as Pakistani ‘traditions’. I disagree. Gabriel describes human behaviors – clothing and marriage habits – that are largely guided by Islamic religious law.
What are traditions? Some Brits regularly eat yorkshire pudding with their roast beef. Some Americans regularly go to 4th of July parades. Those are traditions. No legal or religious sanctions attach to persons who do not do those activities.
In some countries — and possibly in certain areas of the U.S. and Britain — Islamic religious law guides most aspects of life including clothing, marriage and sex. And huge sanctions may attach for breaking Islamic religious law.
In Saudia Arabia last year Shiria law upheld selling an 8 year old child to a 50 year old man. In Afganistan, a couple was stoned to death for having sex outside of marriage Homosexualaity is a capital crime under Sharia law.
A favorite cookbook of mine is 1000 Jewish Recipes by Faye Levy, published in 2000. This cookbook has no recipes for pork. Is Ms. Levy a racist or acting in a discriminatory manner by not including pork recipes? No. My Jewish cookbook lacks pork recipes precisely because ancient Jewish religious law guides modern Jewish food habits.
Similarly, wearing Burka and first cousin marriages between British Pakistanis are not best described as Pakistani ‘traditions’.
These behaviors are guided, possibly controlled, by Islamic religious law. Yes, some Pakistani women may say that they choose to wear Burka in Britain. A choice in Britain or the U.S. is not a choice for women in other parts of the world.
I have heard it said that Islamic law affects all decisions people make. And we all know instances where things do not go well for those who break with Islamic laws.
A year or so ago, in Saudi Arabia a bunch of school age girls ran out of their school because it was on fire. The girls did not wear Burka. The girls were seized and thrown back into the burning building. The girls died because Islamic religious law caused some men to act that way.
Deborah Gabriel argues that first cousin marriages and wearing Burka by British Pakistanis are best thought of as ‘traditions’ and best dealt with similarly to the demographic shift in educated women to bear children later. She cites figures that older women age 40 have a 1% chance of having a Down’s Syndrome child. Pakistanis who are first cousins have a 6% chance of bearing a child with severe disabilities. If older women have choice to bear disabled children why not also British Pakistani who marry first cousins? The author uses medical authority for support for her view.
Does Gabriel think that Pakistani women who were bamboozled or intimidated into marriages have a real choice to say “No!†to more children with their first cousin husband? In general, Islamic women are very much second class citizens relative to the power and authority that Islamic men exert.
What will give real choice and freedom to British Pakistani women? Not having to do 24/7 total child care for severely disabled children is one way. And that way means knowing that marriage between blood relations is wrong for the children, wrong for society to pay the incredible expense and wrong for parents to bear the terrible grief.
If women know it is wrong then they will teach their daughters and sons that it is wrong.
I say to Deborah Gabriel, aspiring Ph.D. journalist, that she call a spade a spade. Use words accurately. Words are your craft as a journalist. Be precise with words.
Traditions are habits that people engage in by choice and desire. Traditions are not behaviors that must be done or sanctions may attach.
Gabriel may prefer the six sylable word ‘consanguinity’ to the word ‘ in-breeding’ but generally simple words say it best. ‘Related by blood’ says it simply and accurately.
First cousin marriages between British Pakistani is not a ‘tradition’. It is an unfortunate bi- product of ancient Islamic religious law.
The Prophet Mohammed had a number of wives. Five wives I believe. One marriage was consummated when the girl was age 9. Is that not child abuse? Another marriage was with a young woman whom he married the same day that he killed her father, brother and husband. How cruel can you get to deprive her of all close male relations? The Prophet in his personal behavior showed little respect for women.
With this kind of personal marital history — multiple wives with young girls and women taken through violence –probably the Koran condones behavior akin to what the Prophet did.
Back to author Gabriel’s assertion that marriage between British Pakistani first cousins is simply a ‘tradition’.
No, Ms. Gabriel. Read the Koran. Project Gutenberg has 3 versions of all verses. Book 4 verse 023 lists all persons a man is prohibited from marrying. The list is extensive including his mother-in-law and nieces. Not on the excluded list are first cousins. So, the religious law of Islam permits marriage by first cousins. This is not a ‘tradition’ — this is Islamic law.
From the Koran:
004.023 Y: “Prohibited to you (For marriage) are:– Your mothers, daughters, sisters; father’s sisters, Mother’s sisters; brother’s daughters, sister’s daughters; foster-mothers (Who gave you suck), foster-sisters; your wives’ mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom ye have gone in,- no prohibition if ye have not gone in;- (Those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful;-
P: “Forbidden unto you are your mothers, and your daughters, and your sisters, and your father’s sisters, and your mother’s sisters, and your brother’s daughters and your sister’s daughters, and your foster-mothers, and your foster-sisters, and your mothers-in-law, and your step-daughters who are under your protection (born) of your women unto whom ye have gone in – but if ye have not gone in unto them, then it is no sin for you (to marry their daughters) – and the wives of your sons who (spring) from your own loins. And (it is forbidden unto you) that ye should have two sisters together, except what hath already happened (of that nature) in the past. Lo! Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.”
Written 8-28-2010 by Cameron Smith Jackson drCameronJackson@gmail.com
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