Reply to Harper520 re Islamic marriage

Submitted by Isis (Australia), Jul 3, 2009 at 02:41

Many Islamic marriages are not registered in Egypt but they are "recognised" as a marriage because it is known that the couple are married and that they live together. This is most common in the villages and the poorer areas of Egypt because the couples and their families cannot afford to pay the cost of a registered Ministry of Justice marriage in Cairo. Some of these couples will also resort to an "Orfi" marriage.

Your man can marry you under Islam as a second wife but you would need to convert. Are you happy with him already being married? Does he sleep in the same bed with his first wife or was it an arranged marriage that he is not happy with? Unfortunately many of the young men are trapped into marriages that they never wanted and "love" never enters the equation. Family status in the community is of the utmost importance and to have a son of marriageable age and not married is shameful. To solve this predicament, the mothers and aunties select a virginal young Muslim girl as a suitable wife and the marriage goes ahead despite protests from both sides. Culture plays such a huge part in relationships in Egypt. My husband summed it up with ""Egyptian men do not marry Egyptian women for love. It is for the family and the children that will be born".

My husband has a distant cousin going through this scenario at this moment. The man has been in a relationship with a western woman for some time but his family was becoming impatient and told him that he was bringing shame on them because he had not married a Muslim girl. The marriage to a very young first cousin (even though it is illegal here) has all been arranged for next month despite his protests. The western woman is devasted and so is the man in the centre of it all. Unfortunately , there is nothing that he can do if he wishes to remain in contact with his family.

The "Orfi" marriage is acceptable if you treat it as a marriage and know what it is. Even under the Islamic marriage your rights are few.

Regarding the tax reference - Egyptians that earn over a certain amount are taxed and only wealthy Egyptians achieve this level. I think that this is just hollow reasoning to support his suggestion.

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