LEBANON: COUPLES ARE OVERCOMING THE PROBLEMS OF GETTING MARRIED IN A COUNTRY DOGGED BY REIGIOUS AND SECTARIAN STRIFE
Record ID:
432076
LEBANON: COUPLES ARE OVERCOMING THE PROBLEMS OF GETTING MARRIED IN A COUNTRY DOGGED BY REIGIOUS AND SECTARIAN STRIFE
- Title: LEBANON: COUPLES ARE OVERCOMING THE PROBLEMS OF GETTING MARRIED IN A COUNTRY DOGGED BY REIGIOUS AND SECTARIAN STRIFE
- Date: 1st January 1998
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (RECENT) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF WEDDING OF LEBANESE SINGER RAGHEB ALAMEH AND HIS BRIDE GEHAN ALALI 2. GUESTS AND CAKE BEING CUT 3. AYMAN MROUEH AND DELPHINE IN THEIR HOME 4. RAGHEB ALAMEH SAYING IF THEY WANT TO KICK ME OUT OF THE MOSLEM RELIGION I DON'T GIVE A DAMN. AS MUCH AS MY WIFE BECAUSE IT IS OUR LIFE. I'M NOT GONNA WAIT FOR THE MUFTI OR SHEIK TO DECIDE FOR ME. THEY ARE SPEAKING ABOUT FREEDOM, LET'S GIVE THE PEOPLE THEIR FREEDOM (ENGLISH) 5. PRESIDENT AND CABINET MINISTERS AROUND TABLE 6. SABINE SEDANI AND WALKING DOWN STREET 7. SABINE SEDANI SAYING WHEN YOU HAVE BOTH RELIGIONS IN ONE FAMILY THE CHILDREN WILL LEARN TO THINK MORE THEY WILL BE MORE OPEN TO BOTH RELIGIONS AND IT WILL STOP RELIGIOUS CONFLICT BETWEEN LEBANESE (ENGLISH) 8. CARDINAL NASRALLAH SFEIR, MARONITE CHRISTIAN LEADER GIVING SERMON 9. CARDINAL NASRALLAH SFEIR, MARONITE CHRISTIAN LEADER SAYING CIVIL MARRIAGE STRAYS FROM THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH AND THOSE WHO GET MARRIED ON THAT BASIS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THAT WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE CHURCH (ARABIC WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION) 10. MUFTI MOHAMMED RASHID KABBANI SAYING WE WILL NOT BE LENIENT IN THIS MATTER WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY CHANGE IN THE WAY ISLAMIC LAW IS IMPLEMENTED ON OUR MOSLEM BOYS AND GIRLS ... IT IS THE RIGHT OF ALL RELIGIOUS SECTS TO TAKE THIS POSITION. WE ARE UNITED ON THIS (ARABIC WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION) 11. STUDENTS 12. PROFESSOR PAUL SALEH, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT, SAYING I THINK IT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY WHO GROW UP TOGETHER IN THE SAME COUNTRY HAVE THE SAME FUTURE AND THE SAME NATION. IT IS A BASIC RIGHT THAT THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO TO LIVE TOGETHER AND RAISE FAMILIES TOGETHER (ENGLISH) 13. LEBANESE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST CIVIL MARRIAGE Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 16th January 1998 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BEIRUT, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Reuters ID: LVA5FH1UOCLHXK11BAAD3IU61P8E
- Story Text: Couples in love and planning to tie the knot in
Lebanon are overcoming problems thrown up by a country
dogged by religious and sectarian strife.
It's the Big Day for top Lebanese singer Ragheb
Alameh and his bride Gehan Alali.
After a Moslem marriage service, they're celebrating their
wedding with a traditional banquet for more than 500 guests,
many of whom are also celebrities from the entertainment
industry and only too happy to sing for their supper.
But in a country with 18 different religious groups, getting
married isn't always as simple as it might seem.
Civil weddings are banned and married couples of different
religions like Moslem Ayman Mroueh and his Christian wife
Delphine have to get married abroad.
CAPTION: RAGHEB ALAMEH
"IF THEY WANT TO KICK ME OUT OF THE MOSLEM RELIGION I DON'T
GIVE A DAMN.AS MUCH AS MY WIFE BECAUSE IT IS OUR LIFE.I'M
NOT GONNA WAIT FOR THE MUFTI OR SHEIK TO DECIDE FOR ME.THEY
ARE SPEAKING ABOUT FREEDOM, LET'S GIVE THE PEOPLE THEIR
FREEDOM." (ENGLISH)
In a bid to reconcile the nation and end two decades of
religious and sectarian strife, President Elias Hrawi and 21
cabinet ministers last month backed a bill which would allow
couples of different religions to get married in a civil
service.
For some Lebanese like Greek Orthodox Christian Sabine
Sedani and her Shiite Moslem fiancee Rheda Hamdan, such a
law would not only allow them to get married in their own
country but also stimulate the search for a common national
identity.
CAPTION: SABINE SEDANI
"WHEN YOU HAVE BOTH RELIGIONS IN ONE FAMILY THE CHILDREN
WILL LEARN TO THINK MORE THEY WILL BE MORE OPEN TO BOTH
RELIGIONS AND IT WILL STOP RELIGIOUS CONFLICT BETWEEN
LEBANESE" (ENGLISH)
Christian leaders haven't gone as far as some Shiite Moslem
clerics who believe legalising civil marriages is
"legalising prostitution" but in a rare show of unity,
religious leaders of all faiths have united against the
proposed law.
CAPTION: CARDINAL NASRALLAH SFEIR
MARONITE CHRISTIAN
"CIVIL MARRIAGE STRAYS FROM THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH AND
THOSE WHO GET MARRIED ON THAT BASIS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM
THAT WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE CHURCH." (ENGLISH)
The country's leading Moslem cleric Mufti Mohammed Rashid
Kabbani is in no mood to compromise with the interests of
secular politicians.
CAPTION: MUFTI MOHAMMED RASHID KABBANI
"WE WILL NOT BE LENIENT IN THIS MATTER WE WILL NOT ACCEPT
ANY CHANGE IN THE WAY ISLAMIC LAW IS IMPLEMENTED ON OUR
MOSLEM BOYS AND GIRLS...IT IS THE RIGHT OF ALL RELIGIOUS
SECTS TO TAKE THIS POSITION.WE ARE UNITED ON THIS."
(ENGLISH)
For students at the American University of Beirut, the
prospect of marriages authorised by the state rather than a
religion opens up a whole new future.A future in which love
would come before religion.
CAPTION: PROFESSOR PAUL SALEH
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT
"I THINK IT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY
WHO GROW UP TOGETHER IN THE SAME COUNTRY HAVE THE SAME
FUTURE AND THE SAME NATION.IT IS A BASIC RIGHT THAT THEY
SHOULD BE ABLE TO TO LIVE TOGETHER AND RAISE FAMILIES
TOGETHER." (ENGLISH)
Yet while young Lebanese are generally in favour of a change
in the law, a recent survey showed that 69 per cent of all
Lebanese are against civil marriage.
No date has yet been set for the bill to go before
parliament but until it does conservatives of all religions
have vowed to do everything in their power to ensure that
permission to marry remains in the hands of religious
leaders rather than civil servants.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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