Civil marriage is a very controversial matter in the Middle East region. Civil marriage is basically allowing a couple to get married regardless of race, religion or beliefs. All marriages in the Middle East are based on religion, and only a few religions allow different religion marriage. It’s a very complicated issue if, for instance, a Christian man wants to marry a Druze woman. In most cases they solve this problem by travelling to the closest country that allows civil marriage, Cyprus, and get married there.Why all the hassle if our countries can provide this freedom of choice for us, the freedom of marrying the one we love for their own being and not for their religion or race or beliefs. I support fighting for the right of legalizing civil marriage in the Middle East.
What’s marriage in the first place? Marriage is when two people are officially announced as a husband and wife in front of a group of people not opposing to this unity. The paper work is only proof of their marriage. Now, what bothers me the most is that in religion, there only has to be two people as witnesses and a religious figure to announce the marriage. Let’s say two people are from different religions have different belief, they both loved each other; there has to be a way that they can get married without the religious figure because not all religions are open to other religion marriages. This is where civil marriage comes.
In the Middle East, civil marriage is a very unaccepted thing because they consider it as drifting away from your own religion. This sometimes might lead to pressing legal charges and sometimes lead to honor killings. However, as people understand the human point of civil marriage and the human right of being able to easily consider it, they are fighting to make it legal in the Middle East. I came across many websites and Facebook groups and causes that are asking for the right of civil marriage in the Middle East.
Unfortunately, for governments to apply civil marriage in the Middle East and granting this right, it’s highly improbable. We first have to eliminate religious discrimination and sectarianism in the Middle East, and then grant civil marriage rights. And governments are indirectly reinforcing sectarianism and religious discrimination, not necessarily on purpose. It’s something that’s very hard to have in our region.
Some high authorities are benefiting from using religion as a way of controlling demands and as an excuse to not listening to what people have in mind. Civil marriage is a step forward to a new era full of understanding and personal freedom. Religions won’t be an obstacle in the ways of those who don’t believe in it. It’s purely a civil right for every man and woman to be able to spend the rest of their lives with the partners they choose without any prior conditions.
I think we should work hard to make it happen because after all civil marriage is nothing but a human right before being a civil right.
Main sources
All for Civil Marriage in Lebanon – Facebook Group
For Civil Marriage in Syria – Facebook Group – Thank you for the Picture
Civil Marriage Lebanon – Website
Civil Marriage in Lebanon – Facebook Page
Civil Marriage – Beliefs and Causes
Civil Marriage Civil Right - Website
