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| 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wedding |
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| ahmer |
| 05/18/02 at 08:41:38 |
| SHAH ALAM 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wedding by Azura Abas azuraa@nstp.com.my GRAND MASS WEDDING ... Dr Khir doing the blessing ritual on the 22 couples during the unique wedding May 12: Twenty-two Muslim converts tied the knot with their Muslims partners in a grand mass wedding at the Menteri Besar's official residence in Bukit Megawati today. Dressed in colourful baju kurung songket with glittering accessories for the finishing touch, the brides looked radiant beside their grooms who wore the traditional baju melayu with `tengkolok' (head dress). Four of the couples performed the akad nikah (solemnising of marriage) today, whereas the others had theirs few weeks ago. After the akad nikah, they went into the colourful decorated hall for the bersanding ceremony where they would sit on the stage decorated with roses. Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo led the merenjis (blessing) ceremony accompanied by his wife Datin Seri Zaharah Kechik. The mass wedding was organised by Balkis with the help of few agencies namely the State Religious Affairs Department (Jais) and the Malaysian Islamic Welfare Organisation (Perkim). Also present was State Jais director Datuk Mansur Ramli. Earlier in his speech, Dr Mohd Khir urged the newly married couples to support each other and told them that they were always welcome to visit the State Religious Affairs Department and Perkim should they have any inquiry about the religion. At a Press Conference, he said, the State Government would monitor the progress of the newly cojverted Muslims who married today and would keep in touch with them via the relevant agencies. http://www.nstp.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/NewsBreak/20020512181102/Article/ |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| jannah |
| 05/18/02 at 22:00:43 |
| well that's nice ma'shallah for them...i guess on any given day a number of people are getting married, so why not get together and share expenses :) but kinda weird.. unfortunately this reminded me of those weird cult things!? |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| bhaloo |
| 05/18/02 at 22:38:03 |
| [slm] I've actually heard that this is becoming popular among Muslims in the far east. |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| Marcie |
| 05/19/02 at 09:56:59 |
| [color=Teal] [slm] I think that they have also done this in Palestine and Egypt, because people can't afford to have their own weddings and have to wait to get married. :-* I don't understand why we feel that weddings have to be these extravagent celebrations. Who cares about the wedding as long as the marriage is good. Just my two cents (stopping before I really get going.) But I do agree with Jannah the way that this article is written up it reminds me of a cult. :P [wlm] Marcie :-) [/color] |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| Kashif |
| 05/19/02 at 19:41:05 |
| [quote author=Marcie link=board=lighthouse;num=1021725698;start=0#3 date=05/19/02 at 09:56:59][color=Teal] [slm] I think that they have also done this in Palestine and Egypt, because people can't afford to have their own weddings and have to wait to get married. :-*[/quote] Yeah man - these sister need to lower their mahrs! *smile* jk. Sometimes though the extravagant weddings and mahr are strongly pushed by the families of the couple-to-be, who themselves, may just want a simple wedding and be able to start a new life together. Kashif Wa Salaam |
| NS |
| 05/19/02 at 19:43:18 |
| Kashif |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| mwishka |
| 05/19/02 at 22:31:23 |
yep, this sure sounds a lot like a big moonie wedding. but then two thoughts immediately come to mind: the moonie marriages are all arranged, the to-be-spouses have often not even met until they marry. if this wedding of 22 couples was not of that sort, then it's less weird sounding. but, at the same time, doesn't it fit into the context of following the practices of non-believers, or is there really a precedent for it? i don't know about the multiply-performed weddings in egypt, but in palestine there are some, um, very very good reasons why a one time wedding for as many people as possible makes sense - it might be the only day without attack for who knows how long.. and these "group" marriages are not huge, at least not the ones i've read about. does anyone know if this can be considered a proper muslim practice or not? i personally think it's weird, but what i wonder is if it's right or wrong for any reason. i've come to understand that in islam marriages may happen for reasons other than the ones i'm used to, so i don't feel informed enough to understand such a practice in relation to islam. mwishka |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| jaihoon |
| 05/20/02 at 02:08:55 |
| [slm] In India, especially I am from, mas weddings are common of those brought up in orphanages. The best part is both the partners are brought up in similiar lifestyle. So conflicts are reduced. But the sad fact is that the 'dowry' exceeds the mahr and is a social evil. Yet one thing's for sure. Divorce rate is far tooooo less than western societies, and so is the number of 'single parents' |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| Shahida |
| 05/20/02 at 08:06:32 |
| [slm] About mass weddings in Palestine, well, I know that the Islamic Movement organises an annual "mass wedding"...they pay for the whole thing, and all the people have to do is show up. It lightens the financial burden on the marrying couple, and they can use their money for other *more* important things. It is a lovely gesture, and encourages the young people to get married, especially if they cannot afford the huge wedding banquet. Of course, everything is done islamically correct, alhamdulillah, and usually one of the high ranking sheikhs will actually "perform" the Nikaah. Just my 2 pfennig (hey, no pfennig anymore??? what are the *cents* in Euro called?) Salam Shahida |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| M.F. |
| 05/20/02 at 08:40:15 |
| [quote author=Shahida link=board=lighthouse;num=1021725698;start=0#7 date=05/20/02 at 08:06:32] what are the *cents* in Euro called?) [/quote] They're called cents :) Funny it didn't sound like a cult thing at all to me, it just sounded like a great way to save money! ;D Jaihoon's orphanage marriages do sound a little cult like though. Marry two poor people together so there's no conflict? I dunno. Unless of course they're fine with it. I don't think there's anything wrong with mass wedding per se Islamically except here it sounded like everyone could see the dazzling radiant brides in all their finery. |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| Barr |
| 05/20/02 at 09:04:06 |
| Assalamu'alaikum :-) It doesn't sound very cultish to me too. What was good in the article, I think, is the follow-up that the State Religious Affairs government provides. I'm not sure what sort of follow up that they intend to have. But if it's enrichment courses, support groups and such, then, this would certainly help, inshaAllah. Statistics (from where I come from) did show that there is an increasing trend of divorces amongst inter-ethnic marriages. And it has increased up to a 58.8% high in a 10 year period. And that is very high if compared to marriages amongst those of the same ethnicity. Since most marriages of converts to Islam are with those of a different ethnicity, perhaps, this follow-up is something that is very much welcomed. [quote]But I do agree with Jannah the way that this article is written up it reminds me of a cult:P[/quote] Hmm, it's the [i]merenjis (blessing) ceremony[/i] that does it, ain't it? I'm quite surprised that they actually have it, coz... that is the thing that the more practising Malay Muslims are doing without, as it has influences from the hindu culture, and hmmm... dangerously stepping on the boundaries of shirk. As far as I know, this [i]merenjis[/i] ceremony includes throwing of rice, encircle an egg round the face of the bride & bridegroom and sprinkle some sort of a water on them, hoping these will help give the newlyweds blessings and fertility. Allahua'lam. I'm not well versed with the Malay traditions, but these things are just pretty dodgy to me. Wassalam :-) |
| Re: 22 Muslim converts ties knot in grand mass wed |
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| Mohja |
| 05/20/02 at 13:41:20 |
| assalamu alaykum [quote] Yeah man - these sister need to lower their mahrs! *smile* [/quote] It's a sad situation but there's more than mahr issues that is preventing young people in the arab world from marrying early- at least in egypt's case. In fact the mahr issue is nothing but a symptom of the bigger issues (namely unemployment and lack of apartments). The average waiting period for a couple to get an apartment is something like 5 years (the lucky ones) which is why lately we've seen the alarming trend of increasing mahrs because parents figure that if a guy can pay such a sum then he'll be able to get an apartment and the couple will be able to marry off much sooner *and* most likely it won't be necessary for the girl's family to provide the furniture since the groom will be rich enough to get everything taken care of. The custom is that the man has to find an apartment or a house and the woman has the responsability of furnishing it (which is quite a burden). the problem of course is compounded by the lack of suitable apartments in the cities because of the explosion of the population(anyone who's been to cairo can tell you how extremely overcrowded it is), unemployment (even when they do find employment the wages are not enough for one person let alone a family), and the fact that most parents already have four or five kids that are waiting to get married which makes the option of residing with parents after marriage out of the question. as far as i can tell rural areas don't have as big a problem as in the cities, but then again unemployment is even higher in the rural areas. One thing to remember is that the major part of egypt's land is actually desert. People live on the banks of the nile which i believe amounts to less than %10 of total area of the country. to alleviate the problem the government in the last couple of years has been working hard at undesertifying parts of the desert to build new cities. They then rent out the apartements in these cities at a discount rate to young people who are wanting to get married but can't because of economic reasons. It's a slow process but i think it's working. just my 2 cents- based on what i observed from my stay in egypt. wassalam |
| 05/20/02 at 13:43:45 |
| Mohja |
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