Introduction
After watching the movie Fatima, and based on my personal reaction and the reaction of my colleagues regarding questioning how come she had ‘urfi marriage yet everyone knows. I realized that the only explanation behind this dilemma is that the definition of ‘urfi marriage changed. ‘Urfi marriage, which refers to customary or registered marriage in Arabic, has always existed in Egypt. Even though its literal meaning refers to customary marriage, the term 'urfi marriage is more likely to be perceived as "secret" marriage from the contemporary Egyptian socio-cultural context. This change in definition occurred in 1931 when Egypt imposed the requirement for marriage registration. This paper explores the historical and modern definition of ‘urfi marriage, how ‘urfi marriage is portrayed within Religion, State and Media, and what are the reasons and consecquences of ‘Urfi marriage in Egypt.
Historical Definition of ‘urfi Marriage
Starting by the historical definition of ‘urfi marriage Shahreena Shahrani, author of The social (re) construction of ‘urfi marriage, discussed that prior to 1931 ‘urfi marriage described all marriages in the Egyptian society. However, in 1931 when the requirement for marriage registration was imposed, ‘urfi marriage was redefined. Since the late twentieth century, ‘urfi marriage has been re-imagined as a feasible alternative to legal marriage by those who find the modern marriage tradition socially or financially impossible. (Shahrani,
Marriage is important in human society. Marriage is “the customs, rules, and obligations that establish a special relationship between a sexually cohabitating adult male and female, between them and any children they produce, and between the kin of the bride and groom” (Arenson, and Miller-Thayer 520). Most of the cultures are used to seeing only female and male getting married but looking deeper into the society; we can see there are more to it. There are many different types of marriages. In an ethnography called, Guest of the Sheik, by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, she talks about her experiences in a small rural village of El Nahra in southern Iraq. Ethnography is “comprised of the writings of the anthropologist, detailing the life ways of a particular culture, investigated by means of direct fieldwork” (1). As she gets accepted by the women of the villages, she gets a more inclusive view of the culture.
Marriage is described as two people as partners in a personal relationship. There are two typical ideas of marriage that we know today. The first one that comes to mind is the one we all know, based on love, but there is another one that some may not even know of and its arranged marriages. Arranged marriage is not typically in our culture we know but in different cultures arranged marriages are their normal marriage. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the importance of realizing cultural diversity and how we apply the perspectives we gain from cross-cultural comparison to our own experience using central concepts about marriage to compare and contrast marriage in several cultures.
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Cherlin concludes that although today’s society focuses on the ideas of independence and institutionalized what marriage once met, the symbol for marriage is just as significant as it was before. Marriage is now “something to be achieved through one’s own efforts rather than something to which one routinely accedes” (50). Cherlin’s overall tone is genuine, in search of an answer to explain the social change. It is informative to the fact that people should understand the change that occurred because of the social norm
Marriage celebrated in the Persian culture ceremonial wise, as well as its values has been proven to be different to the western ideals of marriage in its traditional sense. For a questionnaire response, participants were asked if the tradition, concept and values of marriage were changing for the Persian women who migrate to Australia. 69 of the 81 (85.18%) respondents believed so and the remaining argued against.
I start reading my book and worry about Fatima. I want to do something to help Fatima because she saves my life. I just wish I could save her. I hope she has escaped and is just hiding. It has been over a month since Loki took over Silver City. Jason and Victor cannot do anything. Loki and King James are already getting an army together to take over Crystal City. Jason says that they could not enter Crystal City without a starring from Crystal City. I hope Jason was
In recent years, marriage has become not only a relationship with one man and one woman, but in America same sex couples and men who have multiples wives are able to wed as well. Indian and Japanese men and women are able to wed through an arrangement of both families. In ancient China, Chinese couples also had arranged marriages, but in modern times the tradition has faded. Although the way people get married is different a woman’s role in the marriage is similar culture to culture throughout ancient India, China, and Japan, divorce is a common practice in American now, but thousands of years ago there were still laws and criticisms among couples in Indian and Chinese Civilizations preventing such action, and life after a death of a
“...the basis for marriage has changed considerably over the course of history, and the changes in the ages at which people marry merely reflect these shifting foundations.” In the past, a person gets married on the basis of religion and the parents have to search a couple for their child. But nowadays, a person is more likely to pay attention more to social and economic equality and be more selective to choose a couple. Why does it happen? Because of social changes which require the community to grow to meet the needs of the economy, entering this category is a necessary condition that must be fulfilled to build a family. But not everyone is like this, there are still some people who retain the old tradition and use the basis of religion, for example, the son of ustadz Arifin Ilham, Muhammad Alvin Faiz, at the age of 17 married to Larissa Chou (she convert to Islam), a
One hundred years ago, in Fatima, Portugal, Our Lady appeared to three children. For the next six months, on the thirteenth day, she would visit them; giving them advice and performing miracles. By following the message of Fatima, their spiritual lives were elevated to the heights of sanctity.
In fact, marriage and having a family is an important notion in Middle East, and according to her 95% of people in the Middle East marry at least once. Because of the importance of this concept in the Middle East not only men love their wife, they also so their best to keep them happy. She argues that arranged-marriage is not a form of forced marriage, in fact it is based on the fact that couples would develop companionship and romantic love over time. In addition, she debates that polygamy, which is also another issue targeted by West, is not prevalent in the Middle East and only 5% of the population practice polygamy. These are all important features that show the traditions of the Middle East are changing. Although the couple, Hatam & Huda, are both
Weddings are a cultural manifestation of marriage. Lebanese marriages are directly related to their religious sectors and geographical placements. For example, a Christian Catholic couple will get married in a Catholic church and a Muslim-Sunni couple will get married at the Sunni Islamic court. In this article, I will elucidate the basic rituals of the traditional Lebanese Islamic wedding in Beirut. Then, I will expose socio-cultural burdens in this event within the Durkheimian sociology and Evolutionism. I will conclude by highlighting the simple version of an Islamic marriage.
Marriage is a union that has been around for as long as humans have walked the earth. The human race depends upon the union of its members, and as such, the subject of marriage has been an issue that receives more intense scrutiny and attention than many would likely believe. In today's day and age, with humanity continuing to move in a modern direction, many argue that marriage is a union that should be entered into freely and should be based exclusively on the love between two people. However, I argue that arranged marriage, which has taken place throughout the ages and throughout the world, is a union that offers its observers a marriage based in support, longevity and love, and is an institution that should not be frowned upon.
Starting with the historical definition ‘urfi marriage prior to 1931 ‘urfi marriage described all marriages in the Egyptian society. However, in 1931 when the requirement for marriage registration was imposed, ‘urfi marriage was redefined. Since the late twentieth century, ‘urfi marriage has been re-imagined as a feasible alternative to legal marriage by those who find the modern marriage tradition socially or financially impossible. (Shahrani, 51) With simple linguistic shifts, both similarities and differences of
The Islamic Golden age represents an era of time in which the Muslim world experienced an intellectual flourishing. At the very heart of this civilization is it’s constant pursuit of learning, as prophet Mohammed said: “the best form of worship is the pursuit of knowledge.” People from different ethnic backgrounds, religions, and even gender came side by side to participate in this vast intellectual movement. Unlike Europe during the Middle Ages, women played a major role in the field of education in the Islamic Golden Age. Rather than being seen as second-class citizens, women had a great impact in public life, particularly in the field of education. One of the many influential participants in this civilization was Fatima Alfihri, in which she reflects the role and contribution of Muslim women during that period of time.
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