Islam discourages marrying relatives, says official

Dubai: Marrying within the family sparked a heated debate during a public forum on genetics, with some asking why it was discouraged when tests were available to weed out faulty genes.

Dr Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Haddad, a director at Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai, told the audience at the Second Pan-Arab Human Genetics Conference that Islam discouraged marrying relatives, or consanguinity.

Professor Abdul Nasser Abu Al Bassal, dean of Sharia and Islamic Studies at University of Sharjah, then questioned the concept during his presentation on pre-marital genetic testing.

"Why forbid consanguineous marriage when pre-marital genetic testing can find out if they have a disorder?" he asked."Consa nguineous marriage is not a monster," he added.

Healthier offspring

Dr Al Haddad rebutted, saying: "Preference does not mean it is forbidden. It is just preferred [to marry outside the family] to have healthier offspring."

Geneticists attending the forum supported Dr Al Haddad's statement, saying genetic testing did not necessarily prevent genetic disorders.

Dr Mohammad Naveed, consultant geneticist with the UAE Genetic Disease Association, later told Gulf News that pre-marital genetic testing was not fool-proof. "Genetic tests only catch the disorders you're looking for [with the tests]. In cases of common disorders like thalassaemia, the risks are the same for people marrying within or outside the family," he said.

However, the same could not be said for rare genetic disorders that run in families. "Consanguinity increases the risk of genetic disorders, especially recessive disorders," he said. "It unfolds hidden carriers [of disorders] in the family that are rare or unknown, such as mental retardation."

The Arab world has the highest incidence of genetic disorders in the world, with about 1,000 disorders recorded, according to Dubai-based Centre for Arab Genomics Studies (CAGS). Scientists blame the high rate on the common practice of marrying relatives.

Testing is necessary

Pre-marital testing for genetic disorders among couples remains necessary, but should not hinder couples from getting married, which contravenes Islam, say an Islamic scholar.

The UAE has almost 250 genetic disorders on record, according to the Centre for Arab Genomics Studies (CAGS), with blood disorders thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia of the most common disorders affecting 1 in 12 Emiratis. Professor Abdul Nasser Abu Al Bassal, dean for Sharia and Islamic Studies at University of Sharjah, told the audience during the public forum of the Second Pan-Arab Human Genetics Conference, that pre-marital counselling must not be used to prevent people from marrying.

"Pre-marital testing must not create new obstacles for youth to get married, which is why the tests must be free or at low cost" he said.