Other Mental Disorders

Submitted by Mark D (United States), Mar 14, 2014 at 11:35

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.

Would I be remiss in saying that it can also lead to a higher occurrence of mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia? There are people who say those.

Regardless, it only makes sense that this practice has got to stop because it is making people suffer. The burning question is should we take it up a notch and probably ban it? And this is only for Islam because I do not know of any religion that encourages or state that inbreeding is good or recommended.

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