Cousin marriages & defective children
Recently, Muslims in the U.K. were outraged when it was announced that the prevalence of marriages between cousins was responsible for a large number of defective children being born in their community. While it is true that cousin marriages slightly increase chances of children being born with genetic defects, among Muslims, most people are the products of decades of cousin marriages. If a child’s great grandparents, as well as grandparents were first cousins, it significantly increases the chances of that child having more defects than one whose forebears were not first cousins. I know many families in which children are either totally deaf or totally near-sighted, and they were shocked when doctors told them that inbreeding was to blame. For this reason, cousin marriages are banned in 26 states in the U.S., while most Hindu sects do not allow marriages between cousins. This proves that even three thousand years ago, people realized that marriage among near relatives was harmful.
So how do you convince people not to marry their cousins? The mullah will immediately say that it is a Jewish conspiracy against Islam, forgetting that it was the Holy Prophet (saw) himself who said, “Don’t marry a near relative (such as a first cousin) as in that case a child is born weak (i.e. defective)”, as quoted by Imam Ghazali in ‘Ihya Ulum id Din’.
But I doubt if in Pakistan people will marry outside their families, since in most cases, particularly in rural areas, the spouses of children are chosen by their parents when they’re hardly two or three years old.
Other posts by Shakir Lakhani
- No limit on foreign exchange taken out of Pakistan - November 12th, 2008
- Some questions about the "forex" scandal - November 11th, 2008
- Enjoying life after sixty - November 7th, 2008
- A Hussein in the White House - November 5th, 2008
- Why are poor Pakistanis always punished? - October 31st, 2008
- Pakistan's Economic Crisis: we're responsible - October 29th, 2008
- How Wall Street operates - October 23rd, 2008
- We’ll always have corruption - October 19th, 2008
- If Pakistan goes to war with United States of America - October 9th, 2008
- Killing of Christians in Secular India - October 1st, 2008
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February 21st, 2008 18:53 GMT
no such thing is quoted by imam ghazali. You know nothing about Islam. Prophet Mohmaad himself married his first cousin Zainab bint jash. Overall, i have not read a post more ridiculuos than this one in my life. The world does not run according to your whims and desires.
February 21st, 2008 22:49 GMT
I expected this reaction from someone like you. Please read DAWN of 20 February 2008. Go to the “Letters” section and read the piece entilted “Issue of cousin marriages” by M. Muslim. This is what he writes, “Interestingly, Imam Ghazali, in his famous work, ‘Ihya Ulum id Din’ (Revival of the Religious Sciences), has quoted Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as having said: “Don’t marry a near relative (such as a first cousin) as in that case a child is born weak (i.e. defective)”. This predated the findings of modern science by nearly 14 centuries”. And before you rush to call anything false, please do some research.
February 21st, 2008 23:37 GMT
i should not have reacted like that but i still do not agree with anything here. You are simply trying to stop cousins marrying each other. A large number of defects are found in children whose parents are not cousins.
February 21st, 2008 23:45 GMT
Excuse my first reply. I regret it.
according to your theory their should be no birth defects in hindu and chrisian children. Can you explain the reason for birth defects in them since they do not marry their cousins.
February 22nd, 2008 00:14 GMT
I never said there are no defects in Hindu or Christian children. Defects can result from several other causes, like parents smoking during the mother’s pregnancy. Just as those who do not smoke also have heart problems, but those who do smoke have a greater probability of having heart attacks, so also with cousin marriages. If a man and woman are first cousins, but their parents and grandparents were not closely related, then there is very little risk of them having defective children. But in families where there have been many generations of cousin marriages (which is the case of many people in Pakistan), the danger is very great. Which is why, even in the UK, Muslim children are unhealthy and have many genetic defects at birth.