By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon — On April 25, history was made in Lebanon, when the Lebanese Ministry Interior registered the marriage contract of Kholud Succariyeh, a Sunni Muslim, and Nidal Darwishon, a Shia Muslim.  The registration of their contract was regarded as the first civil marriage contract “made in Lebanon.”

Prior to then, Lebanon, a country with more than eighteen different religious sects, had no institutional civil marriage.  The contract was finally registered after a year-long campaign took place in the country to grant such unions.  Institutional civil marriages were banned in Lebanon since 1936, when a French mandate granted religious communities to govern personal matters, also governing marriage.

Just over four months ago,  Succariyeh and Darwishon initiated their campaign to promote institutionalized civil unions to the Lebanese government.  Religious clerics attempted to prevent their marriage, who, on January 28, 2013, issued a fatwa saying: “Every Muslim official, whether a deputy or a minister, who supports the legalization of civil marriage, even if it is optional, is an apostate and outside the Islamic religion.  [Such officials] would not be washed, not be wrapped in a [burial] shroud, would not have prayers for their soul in line with Islamic rules, and would not be buried in a Muslim cemetery.”

After Succariyeh and Darwishon’s union was registered, religious activists quickly denounced the move.  Sheikh Sharif Tutayo of the Islamic Labor Front , considered the Interior Ministry’s approval a “blatant defiance of Islamic and Christian religious references.”

Regardless of the outspoken criticism by clerics and politicians, the couple garnered support for their cause by many public figures, including President Michel Sleiman.  Sleiman even took to Twitter to support the two on their marriage.

Lebanese law never prevented Succariyeh and Darwishon from the registration of their marriage, but since religious communities are in charge of governing the marriage, a legal problem may arise in terms what party or sect will govern the couple’s affairs with regards to inheritance, adoption, and divorce.  Lebanese spouses that come from different sects typically chose to marry outside of Lebanon, and later register their marriage with Lebanese authorities.  Therefore, when conflicts arose, Lebanese courts would settle disputes by applying the personal status law of the country they were married in.

Darwish said of the registration, that it was “the first victory for the civil state in Lebanon, the state we all dream of.”  Sukkarieh added that, “this is Lebanon’s first historic step towards institutionalizing civil marriage.”  Sukkarieh and Darwish’s marriage registration might seem like a small step for a secular Lebanon, but advocates believe it had a major impact.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera — Lebanon Civil Marriage Raises Hope for Change — 2 May 2013

The Voice of Russia — Lebanon’s First Civil Marriage Registered — 30 April 2013

The Daily Star — Qortbawi Lauds Charbel for Civil Marriage Move — 27 April 2013

Al Arabiya — Lebanon’s First Civil Marriage Registered, Agency says  — 25 April 2013

Al-Monitor — Lebanon’s First Civil Marriage A Sign of Change — 25 April 2013