In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, families are celebrating the marriage of a young couple. Well, one of the couple is young by any measure. A 14-year-old girl, Siti Maryam Mahmod, has been married to a 23-year-old man in what we would classified as a case of obvious pedophilia in the United States. However, in Malaysia, intimate relations with a 14-year-old girl is called marriage rather than pedophilia.
This is of course only the latest such marriage under Sharia law involving a child bride. Malaysia allows such marriages for Muslims but not non-Muslims. Non-Muslim females must be at least 16 and non-Muslim males must be 18 to marry.
All that is required for Muslim girls is the consent of the family, which is easy given that most of these marriages are arranged and involve the payment of dowry to the family.
Siti Maryam Mahmod is quoted as saying “It has been hard trying to juggle two roles — as a student and a wife — but I am taking it in my stride.” “School” would be middle school in the United States.
Source: Times
Jonathan Turley
Truthfully I find it disgusting, but in America our past history the Mormons were married to young children before they knew what love was, it was strong back then, but times has changed and some of us Americans found it wrong and created laws to protect the child, as in 3rd world countries they have their beliefs and laws and we have no right to tell them what to do, but what we can do is set a good example and teach them its not good and maybe in time the 3rd world will catch up with us, its sad i know but there is nothing we can do at the moment but educate them, and the best way is starting to teach it in schools, they must learn what they are facing in future times and what they can do about it. as they grow to be adults its then the seeds have grown, its getting no where with adults especially the ones who think its ok. I think if Islam wants to win hearts they need to think about whats humanely right or not..no religion is innocent of this matter. God bless and pray for wisdom in all..Thanx
Tony S.,
lol, I ruled out swimming in that gene pool long ago!
Buhddha, thanks. I *think* that makes you ineligible because of consanguinity to marry anybody in Louisiana!
Oh yeah….now whats the legal age in Arkansas? Oh yeah, birth and parental consent…..thats all folks…and we complain….
Tony S.,
Actually Jerry Lee Lewis was born in Ferriday, Louisiana. It’s a small town in Concordia Parish not far from Natchez, Mississippi. His cousin, disgraced pastor Jimmy Swaggart, was also born in Ferriday. They were running mates along with their other cousin, country star and bar owner Mickey Gilley, but he was born in Natchez.
The only reason I know all of this is I have relatives (including a couple of musicians) in Ferriday.
This is a delicate matter, but I believe it is the case that a judge may waive the minimum age for marriage in several American states, and the minimum age itself is sometimes a year or two under the state age of consent for sexual relations. Although Jerry Lee Lewis saw his career implode because of his marriage to the 13-year-old daughter of his first cousin, I do not believe the legality of the marriage was ever in question. They stayed together for 13 years and had two children.
She was as it happens, his third wife. I believe he attributed the failure of his first marriage to a 17-year-old to age differences–at 14 he felt he was too young to marry.
I assume this was under the law of the state of his birth, Mississippi.
“…in what we would classified as a case of obvious pedophilia in the United States. However, in Malaysia, intimate relations with a 14-year-old girl is called marriage rather than pedophilia.”
Pedophilia is the attraction and sexual preference for the prepubescent. This incident has nothing to do with pedophilia.
Look at the wiki entry under marriage age of consent and you’ll see that the US has pretty low ages too (12 for MA, and 14 for many other)….
This is an atrocity and an example when radical religious ideas are allowed to be the law in any country!
I find this sort of thing to be a really bad idea for obvious reasons. That said, we don’t know how “enthusiastic” the groom was. It’s entirely possible that as an arranged marriage, the groom is less than happy with the family/societal expectation that he should have sex with (and spend lots of time with) a 14 year old girl. My point is that it’s possible that this guy is not a “pedophile” but, rather, a guy who got pushed into this by his family and now knows far more than he ever wanted to about Justin Beiber.
Old enough to go to the store, old enough to get bred don’t you know.
It’s stunning and I find myself speechless…
these marriages are arranged and involve the payment of dowry to the family.
It’s a small nitpick, but you mean “bride price”. Dowries are paid by the family of the bride, not to them.