For those who identify as agnostic but are considering entering into a Muslim marriage, navigating this path can present some hurdles. There are numerous aspects to take into account.
First, Islam is a faith that places great emphasis on religious laws and rules. Whether you comply with them or not, the result may be an inequitable relationship that is dominated by religion, or it could rule out a marriage altogether.
Legal Issues
Some of the world's nearly fifty Muslim-majority countries have a sharia-based legal system that can be confusing for non-Muslims. In some cases, sharia is the basis for both civil and criminal law, while in others, it is limited to personal and family matters such as marriage and divorce.
In some jurisdictions, a sharia-compliant court has the power to award custody of children and inheritance. The court is also responsible for appointing guardians for those who are too young or unfit to care for themselves.
The islamic judicial system of Abu Dhabi is the logical successor to that of Dubai, which ruled in the 1990s with an iron fist and no mercy. Sharia is still the de facto law of the land in Abu Dhabi, albeit with a few exceptions and exceptions, such as a recent ruling that the government must make a special effort to provide legal services to those who can't afford it.
There are a few things that the islamic legal system has to offer, such as religious liberty and the ability to convert from one religion to another. However, the legal system does not allow for the most wacky of all - a marriage to a kaafir or atheist.
Cultural Issues
Islam marriage agnostic couples often face significant cultural issues when it comes to navigating the religious rules surrounding their marriage. These include challenges with respect to interfaith relationships, education for the couple and their families, and mindful decision-making about how to best navigate these traditions.
For example, a woman who is an agnostic may feel as though her faith is not valued by her spouse or their extended family and may struggle to practice it freely. It may also be difficult for her children to understand her beliefs if they grow up learning about her religious beliefs and practices from their father rather than their mother.
If a non-Muslim man marries a Muslim woman, the marriage is considered to be illegal under Islamic law. According to Islamic jurisprudence, all non-Muslim men must convert to Islam before they are allowed to marry a Muslim woman. In addition, the children of a non-Muslim husband must also be raised as Muslims.
In some Islamic jurisdictions, a man who is not Muslim and refuses to convert his wife is deemed to have left Islam and must be divorced from her. This can have severe consequences for the husband and his children.
As a result, many Muslim parents with adult children who want to marry outside their faith community fear that their son or daughter may abandon their religion and raise their children as atheists or agnostics. These fears are not without basis.
Fortunately, young people in Canada and around the world are moving away from a focus on the unquestioning compliance with religious rules. Instead, they are embracing spiritual awareness and moral principles as an aid to life. They expect their religious practices and traditions to be based on values that promote critical thinking, independence, and responsible action. These values are internal, not externally driven, and can lead to healthy interfaith marriages between Muslims and other religious groups.
Social Issues
The rate of interfaith marriage and individual attitudes toward marriage are important indicators of hostile or peaceful relations between religious groups (Glenn, 1982; Kalmijn, 1991; Lehrer, 1998; Sherkat, 2004). This study examined Muslims' attitudes toward interfaith marriage in 22 Middle Eastern and Eurasian countries.
We asked respondents about their attitudes toward their daughter marrying a Christian woman and their son marrying a Christian man separately in relation to their religion, the percentage of Christians living in the country, and perceived religious similarity between Islam and Christianity. We found that individuals with stronger religious beliefs were more negative about interfaith marriage for both daughters and sons, but less so for those who perceived a lot of commonality between Islam and Christianity.
However, individuals with weaker beliefs were not significantly associated with either attitude. In addition, the interaction between religious belief and perceived commonality was negatively associated with both attitudes.
Moreover, the higher the percentage of Christians in a country, the more negative were the attitudes of Muslim daughters and sons to interfaith marriage for both genders. Moreover, the higher the perceived religious similarity between Islam and Christianity, the less negative were the attitudes for both daughter and sons.
These findings suggest that in non-Western majority Islamic countries where people strongly value religious community life, religious socialization, and family integrity, strong religious beliefs are more likely to negatively influence outgroup attitudes toward interfaith marriage (Pew Research Centre, 2013). The negative association of religious belief with interfaith marriage is also largely dependent on the individual's perception of the differences between Islam and Christianity.
Personal Issues
Among the most common and pressing concerns of many Muslim parents is how intermarriage will affect their adult children’s faith. They are concerned about whether their sons and daughters will be able to practice their religion freely and raise their grandchildren with the same level of commitment that they have to their own religious traditions.
The reality is that, for all the advances made in fostering interfaith marriage, there are still plenty of challenges to face. The most obvious of these is the fact that most couples will not be familiar with their partner’s religious beliefs, practices, or values.
This can have a serious effect on their relationship, and it may even derail their entire life together. It is also likely that they will not be able to find a way to support each other’s interests or share their own views.
Another common concern is the possibility that their children might not be raised in a distinctly Muslim or Islam-affirming environment, and this may lead to serious conflicts later in life. Some Muslims fear that their children could become saboteurs of their religion, and others worry about the negative social perception of their family.
In some cases, the agnostic woman will be tempted to compromise her morality for the sake of the family, and this is not the right way to go about things. The best thing that she can do is to try to learn more about Islam before committing to marriage, and to find a wali who will give her honest and open answers about her personal values and preferences.
A wali will also need to take her into account when making her selection, because he is the one who can make sure that her husband respects her religion and beliefs. If he does not, the relationship will most likely fail and the marriage will be considered null and void.
Getting a good wali is critical to a happy and healthy marriage. However, this can be difficult to arrange. Some walis are so overloaded with other duties that they can’t afford to devote the time necessary to do their job well. The result is often a rush to arrange the marriage before the wali has had a chance to truly get to know the potential wife or groom.
