Why do people do it? For Pakistani families, marrying within the family guarantees that wealth/inheritance stays within the family and also ensures that family cultures and traditions are maintained.
Pakistan. In Pakistan, cousin marriage is legal and common for economic, religious and cultural reasons. Consanguineous marriage in Pakistan was reported to be higher than 60% of the population in 2014.
The Prophet (Sallallaahualaihiwasallam) himself is reported to have married his cousin. The practice adopted by religious figures adds a sense of acceptability and also preference to cousin marriages even though there is no legal compulsion behind the same.
But, it is far more common in Pakistan than in any other country, with a high percentage marrying their first cousins. According to BMC Women's Health data, Pakistan has one of the highest rates of cousin marriages at 65%.
As far as Islam is concerned, a person's mother's cousin is lawful to him for marriage, unless there is some other reason to prevent this.
Seven relations are prohibited because of consanguinity, i.e. kinship or relationship by blood, viz. mothers, daughters, sisters, paternal aunts, maternal aunts, and nieces (whether sister's or brother's daughters). In this case, no distinction is made between full and half relations, both being equally prohibited.
In Islam, marriages between first cousins are permitted. (Surah Nisa Verse 22-24). Cousin marriage is also permitted in many other religions and civilizations.
Cousin marriage was historically practiced by indigenous cultures in Australia, North America, South America, and Polynesia. In some jurisdictions, cousin marriage is legally prohibited: for example, in mainland China, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, the Philippines and 24 of the 50 United States.
Consanguineous marriages constitute 10.4% of marriages worldwide. We explore what leads people to marry relatives using data from Pakistan, which has the highest rates of cousin marriage globally.
The Middle East has uniquely high rates of cousin marriage among the world's regions. Certain Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, have rates of marriage to first or second cousins that may exceed 70%. Iraq was estimated in one study to have a rate of 33%.
You cannot marry your mother, grandmother, daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, great-niece, aunts, or great-aunts. You also cannot marry someone who is also related to you through such relatives.
Cousin marriage occurs more commonly and is customary to varying degrees among people of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Middle Eastern origin, and also among some groups of Indian origin, Irish travellers, and some refugee populations.
Communities that marry cousins, like Adam and Ruby, have a higher number of one particular group of inherited conditions. These are called recessive disorders which cause a range of serious diseases and disabilities. Examples include Primary Ciliary Dykinesia (PCD), thalassaemia and Tay- Sachs disease.
Throughout the Middle East, Africa and parts of South Asia, marriage between family members has been widely practised for thousands of years, largely as a means of securing relationships between tribes and preserving family wealth, but also as a practical necessity given that genders are often kept separate.
First cousin marriages (27.8%) were the most common type of consanguineous marriages, followed by double first cousin (6.9%), second cousin (5.8%), beyond second cousin (3.9%) and first cousin once removed (1.8%).
There is a general consensus among Sunni and Shia fiqh experts that Surah Al-Baqarah 221 and Surat Al‑Mumtahanah 10 ban Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. This consensus is still standing strong. On the other hand, the Quran allows Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women (“People of the Book”).
In the United States, second cousins are legally allowed to marry in every state. However, marriage between first cousins is legal in only about half of the American states.
In some states, including New York, California, and Florida, you can marry your first cousin with no restrictions. But in many other states, like West Virginia, Kentucky, and Texas, cousin marriage is banned altogether.
The legal status of cousin marriage varies considerably from one U.S. states to another, ranging from being are legal in some states to being a criminal offense in others. However, even in the states where it is legal, the practice is not widespread.
Cousin marriages are not allowed. "Section 1, Article 38 of the Family Code prohibits marriage of relatives up to the fourth civil degree (first cousins)."
Marriage between cousins is a contentious topic across the globe, but you may be surprised to hear it's completely legal in the UK.
Here in Britain it's actually perfectly legal for first cousins to marry. Prince Philip and The Queen are even third cousins. Charles Darwin was also married to his first cousin Emma Wedgwood.
For Muslims, male circumcision is performed for religious reasons, mainly to follow the sunnah (practice) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Moreover, there are attempts to label it as a contributor to cleanliness / personal hygiene. These are done largely to grant the practice scientific legitimacy and a moral foundation.
First cousins and first cousins once removed can only marry if the woman in the relationship is at least 55, or either is permanently sterile. Unlike first cousins, other, more distant cousins are allowed to marry, since the law only restricts marriages between first cousins.
It is also legal throughout Canada and Mexico to marry your cousin. The U.S. is the only western country with cousin marriage restrictions. Children of non-related couples have a 2-3% risk of birth defects, as opposed to first cousins having a 4-6% risk.