First-Cousin Marriages

Submitted by Mark D (United States), Mar 11, 2014 at 22:34

A preference for first-cousin marriages, which harks back to pre-Islamic tribal practices (to keep wealth in the family and to benefit from daughters' fertility) over approximately fifty generations has led to widespread inbreeding with negative consequences, including about twice the incidence rate of such genetic disorders as thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, spinal muscular atrophy, diabetes, deafness, muteness, and autism.

I rolled my eyes so far into the top of my head I almost fell over backward. Harmful religious practices are truly filled to capacity.

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