Video Reflection
Religious Pluralism and Interfaith Marriage
Intro – what is an interfaith marriage
Hi and Assalamualaikum wrb. My name is Syafiq 1818581, and this is my reflection on the issue of interfaith marriages. Interfaith marriage, like its name, suggests a union between two people that subscribe to different religions and belief systems. The main concern of interreligious marriage is of the offsprings. Which religion should the child be? Should it follow the father’s faith or the mother’s? These questions will be answered later in the video.
My initial reaction after viewing that video was enraged. I am mad at the threats and discriminations faced by the couples and their children. As a human, we all should live without worries, and those children did not deserve to live in constant fear of being killed and harmed. I am also sad because people that embody a religion dare to kidnap Yousuf Bhatti because of that marriage and the basis of religion. As far as I am concern, Islam is a religion of peace and not religion that approves violence. The same thing can be said about other couples shown in the video.
I am also intrigued by the statement of Muhammad Tahir Hakeen from the International Islamic University of Islamabad in the video. He said that Islam stresses harmony; therefore, there should be harmony between the spouses. Then, he said that “… then a man is superior to a woman and he may force her to convert to his religion.” In my opinion, does Islam approves patriarchy? Or is it a cultural context that endorses male supremacy? I was thinking about this because all the couples interviewed in the video, all the women in the relationship are the ones who converted into their husband’s faiths and not the other way around. Why is that so? These questions will also be answered later in the video.
Body 2 – view of scholars (Muslims, Christian) and other cases
To better understand the concept of interfaith marriage, let’s briefly discuss the views of religion about this issue. I have chosen only two; Islam and Christianity as these are the religions that are present in the video and also because of the limited amount of time given.
In Islam, the jurisdiction on interfaith marriage can be seen in two verses in the Quran. The first verse is the fifth verse of Surah al-Maidah, which translated into:
“This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret] lovers. And whoever denies the faith – his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers.”
From this verse, it is ruled that Muslims may marry the People of the Scriptures, which are the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians. Next, the second verse is from Surah al-Baqarah, verse 221, which translates:
“And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe. And a believing slave woman is better than a polytheist, even though she might please you. And do not marry polytheistic men [to your women] until they believe. And a believing slave is better than a polytheist, even though he might please you. Those invite [you] to the Fire, but Allah invites to Paradise and to forgiveness, by His permission. And He makes clear His verses to the people that perhaps they may remember.”
The second verse dictates that Muslims are prohibited to marry a polytheist or a believer other than the People of the Scripture. Therefore, the two verses have clearly stated the Muslim guidelines and view on interfaith marriage. However, this ruling is only applied to Muslim men traditionally. Muslim women are strictly prohibited even to marry a person of the Book. This is the view that all the Muslims have subscribed to for the longest time. Yet again, in this modern era, the idea of interfaith marriage is debated again. This time some modern Muslims have taken a new perspective on this topic and some of the scholars have a different opinion on this issue which is against the traditional standpoint. I have consulted an article entitled Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal
Theory Behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions by Alex B. Leeman. In his article, Leeman cited a few modern Muslim scholars, including Dr. Khaleel Mohammed. Khaleel Mohammed, as mentioned in Leeman, argues that interfaith marriage is possible for both Muslim men and women as long as neither of the party forces their faith on each other. In his defence, he said that today’s condition is different from the times of the early Muslim era as women today are equal to men and have rights, including legislation regarding marriage. Again Leeman cited another Muslim scholar – Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im to support Khaleel Mohammed’s claims. Ahmed An-Na’im stated that gender dynamics nowadays have changed and therefore, traditional rationale is invalid. The third scholar to be cited is Mahdi Zahraa. He reasoned that (quote-unquote) “the lack of a specific and clear prohibition against Muslim women marrying People of the Book actually speaks strongly in favor of allowing such marriages in certain circumstances.”
On the other hand, traditionally, those adhered to Christianity are not allowed to marry outside the religion based on these two verses:
3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. (Deuteronomy 7:3-4)
14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)
Both Old and New Testaments have highlighted this issue and stated that Christians are not allowed to “intermarry” and “yoked together with unbelievers” as it may put their faith at risk, similar to Muslims. However, Christianity, individually, Roman Catholicism has taken a new perspective on interfaith marriage in this modern era.
In Roman Catholicism, marriage between a Catholic and a Christian from other denominations like Protestantism requires the Catholic party to ask for a dispensation. Dispensation, to make it simple is like a rukhsah in Islam. It can only apply to certain conditions to ‘ease’ an adherent to perform his or her religious duty, and a bishop of the Catholic Church is the only one who can give it. In 1907 under the decree of Ne Temere, the non-Catholic party must agree to raise their offsprings as Catholics. However, this decree is nullified in 1970 under the law Matrimonia mixta by Pope Paul the Sixth. In the later law, only the Catholic partner must promise to do his or her best to raise the children a Catholic. Matrimonia mixta then was maintained in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.
If a Catholic wants to marry a non-Christian or also known as a non-baptized person, their union would be invalid and thus, prohibited. This condition can be lifted if the Catholic partner asks for dispensation from the notion ‘disparity of worship’. If the dispensation is given, the marriage will be considered as natural, not sacramental. Take it as the marriage will not be considered as ibadah for the Catholics.
Body 1 – how RP and interfaith marriage connected
Now that we have explored a brief view about interfaith marriage through Islam and the Christian perspective, I would like to relate how the idea of interfaith marriage and religious pluralism can be connected and seen as a new challenge in the modern age.
- Both are a result of globalization.
As technological advancement is inevitable, the world is getting more and more connected, and humanity can reach each other so efficiently through communication and transportation. This connection brought exchanges in ideas, language, and culture across the globe. This phenomenon is called globalization. It has forced traditional institutions, especially religion, to adapt and accommodate these changes. Many of the foreign influences can affect the sanctity of religion, whether positively or negatively and among those influences are religious pluralism and interfaith marriage. Therefore, it is up to the experts in respective religions to provide solutions and answers to stay relevant.
- Both can threaten the theological aspect of religion.
Religions have their own rites and customs to be done by their followers which includes marriage. In all religions, marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman in the same religion, which ultimately will produce offsprings that will spread the faith and maintain it. However, interfaith couples will face an issue of the children’s upbringing. This is the primary concern that we can see in both examples of Christianity and Islam. If the couples ‘yolked together’, the child is going to follow the religion of the father or the mother which in both Catholicism and Islam claimed their rights on. If the children are out of the context, how about the couple themselves. Faith is a serious matter to all religions and if couples of different beliefs get married, won’t their faith jeopardize by the other party? Can then maintain their faith exclusively without giving to temptations? Why are there converts in the interfaith marriages?
Conclusion – wrap up
Before I end my video, I want to address the questions that I asked previously. In my honest opinion, as a Muslim, I would recommend others to avoid interfaith marriage the same way I try to be aware of religious pluralism. However, as a human, I cannot deny the power of love. As a teenager, I would say love is blind, and love can come in mysterious ways. But again, thinking spiritually, I would not give up my faith in Allah because of my desires. I am also worried about the faith of the children of the interfaith couples. They would be raised by parents that are so different theologically. What if the child understands Allah but through the lens of Trinity, for example. Nauzubillahi min zalik.
But again, this video is not for judging the couples or saying what they are doing is prohibited or accepted. I intend for acknowledging the phenomena of interfaith marriage, and religious pluralism does exist, and Muslim scholars need to provide a more precise solution on these issues. Yes, I admit that apostasy is clearly haram in Islam but to take the matter to our own hands is wrong. We don’t have the legislative and authoritative power to commit any harm to the couples, even to innocent children like what can be seen in the video. Therefore, I strongly condone the acts of violence in the basis of religion and I suggest that to tackle this issue of interfaith marriage and religious pluralism, as a Muslim, we need to deeply comprehend our religion and its purpose first before jumping into the jurisdiction of permissibility and prohibition in religion.
Thank you for watching and wabillahi…