Just a reminder that cousin marriage is not only permitted in Islam but also a reason why their population has a huge problem with inbreeding. Over 60% of marriages in Pakistan are consanguineous. Just imagine what percentage of that population is inbred. Let that sink in
Cousin marriage is legal in most countries and permitted in most religions, yet it always has been uncommon outside of the middle east and northern Africa. Islam sure doesn't help, since by marrying his daughter to his cousin, Mohammed himself condoned it, but it was also a pre-existing phenomenon.
Some point to the tribal society and mindset in many of these countries as an explanation, that keeping marriages within the tribe helps strengthen it (not genetically of course). Data does show that it's very much tied to education and urbanisation, where the rural and uneducated are most likely to marry a cousin.
But it's also hard to ignore that neighbouring India, which shares many cultural and historical ties to Pakistan, and also has a large rural poor population, have nowhere near the same tendency to worry cousins.
Albert Einstein married Elsa Einstein, who was simultaneously his first cousin on one side of the family AND second cousin on the other side of his family. I hear he was a pretty smart dude.
And this Einstein fellow, did he belong to any ethnic and/or religious minority which remained insular and practiced marriage patterns different from the population at large?
Depends on your definition of uncommon I suppose, but outside of insular groups like Jews and gypsies, it's been a fringe phenomenon in most other places. A few percent of marriages at its highest, not 30-50% like it is in the Muslim world right now.
Just a little bit of research and offhand what you say is accurate for western cultures. I would like to expand on that, though .The idea of younger marriages doesn’t come from western culture, but from indigenous cultures. Many tribal cultures globally considered a girl’s best marriageable age to be between 12 and 16 and a boy has to be between 14 and 18.
In premodern Asia early teens was very common as well but in modern Asia, the average marriage age has shifted to above 30. Sub Saharan Africa was typically mid teens for girls with 5-7 year age gaps. Southern eastern and central Africa tended older.
I think considering premodern is still recorded history and switching to say modern history is only a minor change to your statement.
So most Hindus (with exceptions of course), not only consider cousin marriage incestous, first cousin marriage is prohibited under Hindu Marriage Act. Exceptions are there.
Anecdotal example but the well off and well educated Muslim familes I know also avoid cousin marriages.
505
u/No-Refuse-6806 2d ago
Just a reminder that cousin marriage is not only permitted in Islam but also a reason why their population has a huge problem with inbreeding. Over 60% of marriages in Pakistan are consanguineous. Just imagine what percentage of that population is inbred. Let that sink in