IRAQ: Despite sectarian violence, an Iraqi Shi'ite and Sunni cross the divide in marriage

In the midst of sectarian violence, a young couple south of the capital Baghdad from Shi'te and Sunni backgrounds, defy sectarianism and marry. A young Iraqi Sunni Arab has tied the knot with a Shi'ite girl in a rural area south of the capital Baghdad. It should have been a simple story of the young falling in love and marrying, but the union is a willful symbol of defiance against sectarianism, which has engulfed the country since the bombing of a revered Samarran Shi'ite shrine in 2006. Twenty-six year old Muslim Ghali from the mainly Sunni populated area of Albo Alwan in Mahaweel, Babylon province said he fell in love with Inas Shakir Mikhlef and wanted to marry her. "I loved the girl and she returned my love and we have never discussed the fact of being a Sunni and she is a Shi'ite," said Ghali, "We are God willing, against such sectarianism." Ghali's family supported him, encouraged by a gift of $1500 (USD) granted by Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi to any man brave enough to break the sectarian barriers and marry a woman from a different sect. Ghali said he will use the money to help pay the cost of the wedding and buy furniture for the couple's new home. The wedding stands as an example of the complex nature of Iraq's society. Not long ago, a Sunni-Shiite wedding would have been commonplace. Mixed marriages were not unusual even in the days of former president Saddam Hussein where Shi'ites were heavily repressed. But in today's Baghdad, it is a brave and bold move. The groom's father, Ghali Aboud, said he was never concerned about religious differences. "We do care about the girl's reputation and her morals and do not care about religious differences. She is a good girl and, the first thing we knew about it was that he loved her and she loved him, and so we worked to get them married," he said. The atmosphere at the couple's nuptials was festive with relatives and friends celebrating and congratulating them, no different from any other wedding. Jamer Ubaid Assal, the uncle of the bride blamed the new political parties for the poisonous climate, adding that two of his Shi'ite aunts were married to Sunnis. "This marriage is a response to the poisonous thoughts which want to divide the country into Shi'ites, Sunnis and regions. It is a thorn in the eyes of those who want to make this happen," said Assal. Wearing a white wedding dress and her face covered behind a veil, the 25 year-old bride Inas said that the newlyweds wanted their love to defy sectarianism. Many of the differences between Sunnis and Shi'ites in practice, traditions, and customs are considered by many as minor enough to be dismissed, except by puritans of both sects. There are no official statistics but some estimates indicate that about a third of Iraq's 6.5 million marriages are unions between Arab Sunnis and Shi'ites.

ITN Source | October 31, 2007

Tags:. .muslim. .religious. .marrying. .married. .example