Morocco Debates Legality and Societal Impact of Traditional "Al-Fatiha" Marriages

On Friday, the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences (Mohammed V University of Rabat) organized a round table focused on the theme "Marriage by Al-Fatiha in light of theology, law and society". A meeting during which the participants warned against the unfortunate effects of marriage by Al-Fatiha (prologue of the Holy Quran), in particular the difficulty for the spouses to prove their marital union, the loss of the woman’s rights in case of divorce or the conjugal rights in case of the death of one of the spouses, the difficulty for the children to enjoy their civil rights because they are the fruit of an ambiguous union, etc.

"It is high time that sociologists, intellectuals and academics mobilize and propose ways out capable of putting an end to this problem of a social, legal and theological nature," recommended Jamaleddine Hani, Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences. "This type of marriage that frees itself from any judicial control upstream, is closely linked to other scourges such as the marriage of minors, school dropout or even violence in all its manifestations," added Chems Doha Alaoui Ismaïli, President of the Regional Association of the National Union of Moroccan Women.

Citing in support Article 16 of the Family Code which stipulates that marriage can only be proven by an adoulaire act and before specialized courts, Boutaina El Ghalbzouri, President of the Razan Foundation for Family and Society Studies, calls for an end to customary marriage. "We are now facing a multitude of problems on the legal, societal, psychological and also Sharia (Islamic law) levels, including the value and nature of this type of marriage, which requires a revision in order to avoid the disintegration of the family unit and better preserve the interests of the wife and children," she said.