Not so wrong as you think

Submitted by Ianus (Poland), Oct 26, 2011 at 19:03

BB King wrote :

> If inter-religious marriage becomes the foundation on which a democracy is based then we have a problem with your example of Israel as a democracy. Inter-religious marriages are prohibited in Israel i.e., a Jew cannot marry a non-Jew within the borders of Israel. The link is below:

http://www.religiouswatch.com/thread00595_interfaith_marriage_in_israel.htm

Inter-religious couples will have to travel overseas and get married in a foreign country and then return to Israel if they want their marriage recognized by the state of Israel.<

First, as a Jew you don't have to go to Cyprus to combine your wedding trip with marrying a non-Jewess or an unbelieving Jewess. (Do you know what happens to Moslems who change their mind on Islam , i.e. to apostates? Definitely more than just denying them the right to get married in a mosque ;). You may stay in the country and go instead to the Consulate General of Paraguay in Tel Aviv , Igal Alon 112 , and get the marriage papers you need there. On your leaving the consulate building they will be automatically recognized by the state of Israel. Where can I go if I want to circumvent the shariah marriage law in Lebanon which the state of Lebanon will recognize ?

Second, Israel is gradually liberalizing its marriage law. In March 2010 the Knesset passed a bill allowing Israelis not belonging to any recognized confessions (atheists) to enter civil marriages ( "couplehood unions"). Some 300 000 people at once may benefit from this bill which is no doubt not the last one given vivid debates and agitation in that matter in Israel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_Israel

> In this regard Lebanon is more liberal. A Muslim man can marry a Christian or Jewish woman without the latter having to convert to Islam. Catholic men can marry Muslim women and the children will be baptized and raised as Catholics. The link is below:

http://www.mattarlaw.com/Lawyers-in-Lebanon/Marriage-In-Lebanon/Marriage-Law-Lawyer-in-Lebanon.htm <

I advise you to read more carefully the links you provide :

" -A Sunni or Shia (Muslim) man can marry a Christian or Jewish woman without her having to convert herself, but a Muslim woman cannot marry a Christian or a Jew.

-Catholic men can marry a Muslim woman. In this case the couple receives the blessing at the sacristy, and the children must be baptized and raised as Catholics .<

So we are told that a Muslima mustn't marry a Christian or a Jew and then we are told that she can marry a Catholic. So Catholics are not considered to be Christians according to the Lebanese law? Strange, isn't it ?

Anyway, I'd love to know how many Catholics have married Muslimas and could raise their children as Catholics recently in Lebanon ? Do you have any stats on that? Given a state of unfinished civil war reigning in Lebanon with memories of thousands of dead, tortured, raped and wounded in the inter-faith civil war what can one say about "generosity" of this law? Another Oriental Fata Morgana to fool the Westerners ?

Note also this quote in your link "Under Muslim law, polygamy is permitted." So, practically speaking, a Moslem man can marry four non-Moslem women while a Catholic is limited to one.I can't imagine he can get one, let alone four divorces from the pope. Again very "liberal" for Moslems, isn't it ?

Polygamy is not allowed in Israel, not even among Moslems. Very "undemocratic" and quite un-liberal of Israel, isn't it? But at least Israel controls and enforces its laws while in Lebanon they remain on paper just like most laws in countries with no central government able to control its own territory. I guess that in such a country the best thing to do is pass illusory laws which you won't have to enforce simple because they are pure forms and the cases they provide for will not happen sparing you the impossible task of making them happen while you simply can't do it .

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