Egypt: Fatwa on Misyar Marriage

The man and woman do not live together and it is up to the discretion of the man to decide how often they meet meanwhile the woman remains in her parents' home. These marriages involve a contract and are legal solely on the condition that the guardian agrees in spite of knowing that the man can easily divorce without consequences or legal responsibility to the woman.

ECWR sees this kind of fatwa as despicable to both men and women, leading to the erosion of family values in Egyptian society.

Furthermore, this type of marriage promotes the trafficking of women. It is despicable to men because it turns men into sexual objects and limits their role to the mere fulfillment of such desires. It is despicable to women because it deals with women as bodies, without human and spiritual dimensions. It does not recognize women's legal rights or need for stability in an appropriate social environment. Therefore, it erodes family values by encouraging infidelity and immorality and facilitates multiple marriages built on secrecy and lies. Misyar marriage will lead to a deterioration of the family by opening the door to second marriages dissociated from the structure of the family. In addition, these marriages are detached from the personal, financial, and family duties of both parties and are at the expense of the stability of the first/previous family.

This fatwa opens the door to more extreme religious interpretations encouraging the dissemination of different forms of sexual relations outside of marriage by claiming that it is a type of marriage (e.g.: secret marriage, ‘chocolate’ marriage, ‘blood’ marriage, etc). These types of sexual relations open the door for immorality and the deterioration of family values facing the youth in Egyptian society. They know nothing of marriage except base relations, with no responsibilities and without efforts to affirm home values, friendship, and compassion, a price which women and children pay. Furthermore, the condition of guardian consent does not constitute protection, but rather legitimizes the control of a woman’s guardian over her to a great extent, which may lead to an increase in trafficking in women.

According to United Nations' reports, Egypt is a transit point for human trafficking. The most significant form of trafficking is marriage to minors (early marriage) and "tourist" marriage, a “short-term marriage between an Egyptian woman and non-Egyptians for the duration of the summer.” All these types of marriage are conducted with the consent of the guardian. Young girls are thus prevented from gaining education and are forced into marriage in accordance with the guardian’s financial interests. Therefore, permitting misyar marriage allows a variety of kinds of marriage to be used to justify “tourist” marriage. It degrades women and places on them a heavy personal and psychological burden and contributes to producing children without families, an issue that contradicts the basic principles of human rights and the aims of Sharia law as well.

Thus, we call upon the Dar al-Ifta’ to rectify the fatwa and set high scientific standards for fatwas and those who issue them. Furthermore, fatwas should not be issued individually, but rather by assemblies that combine religious, as well as legal, social, and scientific specialists, who deliberate on matters, adequately study their social and human dimensions, and the prioritize interests and legal aims over religious interpretations despicable to both men and women, as well as to Islam itself. We also demand that all those responsible for challenging such fatwas to give religious sermons respecting the dignity and rights of the person in general and of women in particular.

April 2009

By Nehad Aboul Komsan

Source: ECWR