| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
w1n73rmu7e
n00b
Joined: 20 Jul 2009
Posts: 32
Location: The greatest country on Earth.
|
 Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:02 pm Post subject: Iraq's Cousin Marriage Conundrum |
 |
|
| Steven Pinker wrote: | Cousin Marriage Conundrum
The ancient practice discourages democratic nation-building
Many prominent neoconservatives are calling on America not only to conquer Iraq (and perhaps more Muslim nations after that), but also to rebuild Iraqi society in order to jumpstart the democratization of the Middle East. Yet, Americans know so little about the Middle East that few of us are even aware of one of one of the building blocks of Arab Muslim cultures -- cousin marriage. Not surprisingly, we are almost utterly innocent of any understanding of how much the high degree of inbreeding in Iraq could interfere with our nation building ambitions.
In Iraq, as in much of the region, nearly half of all married couples are first or second cousins to each other. A 1986 study of 4,500 married hospital patients and staff in Baghdad found that 46% were wed to a first or second cousin, while a smaller 1989 survey found 53% were "consanguineously" married. The most prominent example of an Iraqi first cousin marriage is that of Saddam Hussein and his first wife Sajida.
By fostering intense family loyalties and strong nepotistic urges, inbreeding makes the development of civil society more difficult. Many Americans have heard by now that Iraq is composed of three ethnic groups -- the Kurds of the north, the Sunnis of the center, and the Shi'ites of the south. Clearly, these ethnic rivalries would complicate the task of ruling reforming Iraq. But that's just a top-down summary of Iraq's ethnic make-up. Each of those three ethnic groups is divisible into smaller and smaller tribes, clans, and inbred extended families -- each with their own alliances, rivals, and feuds. And the engine at the bottom of these bedeviling social divisions is the oft-ignored institution of cousin marriage.
The fractiousness and tribalism of Middle Eastern countries have frequently been remarked. In 1931, King Feisal of Iraq described his subjects as "devoid of any patriotic idea, ? connected by no common tie, giving ear to evil; prone to anarchy, and perpetually ready to rise against any government whatever." The clannishness, corruption, and coups frequently observed in countries such as Iraq appears to be in tied to the high rates of inbreeding.
Muslim countries are usually known for warm, devoted extended family relationships, but also for weak patriotism. In the U.S., where individualism is so strong, many assume that "family values" and civic virtues such as sacrificing for the good of society always go together. But, in Islamic countries, loyalty to extended (as opposed to nuclear) families is often at war with loyalty to nation. Civic virtues, military effectiveness, and economic performance all suffer. |
_________________
| BoneKracker wrote: | | Sorry for being patronizing. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
drizek
n00b
Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 32
Location: Believe in America
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 6:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I blame the bombs, personally.
_________________
Stand With Mittens |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
pjp
Administrator
Joined: 16 Apr 2002
Posts: 15977
Location: Colorado
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 7:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Classic Star Bellied Sneetches problem, coupled with a touch of North-Going / South-Going Zaxitis.
And these people were supposedly among the more "advanced" pre-Hussein? Wow.
_________________
Safety is my gaol.
US Constitution | Amendments |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
The Earth
l33t
Joined: 22 Oct 2002
Posts: 648
Location: The Holy city of Honolulu
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:08 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Incest does not carry the same stigma in Muslim countries that it does in most other cultures... which actually explains a lot.
_________________
Libertarianism : The radical notion that other people are not your property. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
energyman76b
Advocate
Joined: 26 Mar 2003
Posts: 2005
Location: Germany
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 10:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Chopinzee wrote: | | Incest does not carry the same stigma in Muslim countries that it does in most other cultures... which actually explains a lot. |
Spain - just want to mention that.
_________________
| AidanJT wrote: |
...because pro-lifers (especially the catholic variety) are sick, depraved, satanic ....
|
...'people' - had to clean it up to not be offensive...
"The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia." |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
The Earth
l33t
Joined: 22 Oct 2002
Posts: 648
Location: The Holy city of Honolulu
|
| Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| energyman76b wrote: | | Chopinzee wrote: | | Incest does not carry the same stigma in Muslim countries that it does in most other cultures... which actually explains a lot. |
Spain - just want to mention that. |
_________________
Libertarianism : The radical notion that other people are not your property. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
Off the Wall
