In principle and based on rights, the principle of equality among people is recognized and consecrated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Discrimination on the basis of religion, race or nationality is no longer acceptable. Yet the notion of mixed marriage from the legal viewpoint is founded on precisely the recognition of the existence of these differences.
This difference, played out socially through inherited concepts and claims, finds justification in diverse and pluralistic societies under the pretext of preserving culture, specificity and homogeneity, a claim often concealing – even mixed with – sectarian, religious and ethnic biases.
In practice, we are faced with a challenge from the onset. How can we differentiate between the "objective problems" arising or expected to arise from mixed marriages and the similar objective problems arising from homogenous marriages if we adopt non-sectarian, non-religious and non-ethnic variables such as differences and discrepancies in cultural, social and family levels, employment, housing, and the social environment and customs?
No fair and honest researcher would deny that problems and disputes happen and will continue to happen in all types of marriages. All one has to do is visit one of the religious courts specializing in the affairs of religious groups to see the extent of the problem, which is linked to variables that go beyond religion, denomination and nationality. Therefore, we will always find both successful and failed cases in any form of marriage, with each case having its own causes and determinants, without any of these forms, such as mixed marriages, being necessarily doomed to failure. The marriage institution is a world filled with private matters, disputes and secrets. However, can any broad concepts and factors be identified as determinants of success or failure?
The leading argument against mixed marriages is conflicting reference values between the different religions and various nationalities, and that their cultures would inevitably lead to conflicts and disputes between the parties to the marriage. The love relationship uniting the couple and shielding it from reality at the beginning of the marriage soon fades when faced with the facts of life and the demands and requirements of the environment in terms of family, customs and traditions. And problems rear their ugly head inside the marital home.
Some of these problems and disputes are objective, such as all the disputes that usually arise inside the marital home. Some of them are related to the nature of mixed marriages, are linked with other elements and entail certain responsibilities.
Mixed marriages between people of different nationalities:
There are several problems that occur in this type of marriages. On the one hand, there is the legal aspect of obtaining a nationality (how difficult or easy it is, children’s nationality, denying the Lebanese woman the right of conferring her nationality on her children, a topic covered by many media campaigns and at the heart of political tensions involving fear-mongering about refugee resettlement). These are all issues widely debated in the civil and political communities. The legal aspect also includes the problem of inheritance that is applied on the principle of reciprocity between States.
Some speak of conflicting values that soon arise between spouses of different nationalities, an issue that is open to debate in light of cultural globalization. If the system of reference values was as conflicting as is claimed, the couple would have not tied the knot in the first place and would have not united under a shared roof. However, the idea is that this cultural difference is likely to find catalysts in the social environment of the spouses, as the notions of personal freedom, commitment to family and social rituals, the values of family relations, the relationship with children and their upbringing, and sacrifice differ in eastern societies from those in the Western culture of individualism.
Recently, with the increasing number of Syrian refugees, there has been ever more talk of the phenomenon of Lebanese men marrying Syrian women. It is an old and historical phenomenon between the two countries that takes on today a different character, as it is accompanied by talk of marriage with minor girls. There are no accurate statistics, but UNICEF figures show that 32% of marriages registered with it between Syrian refugees is with girls under the age of 18. This figure reflects the number of marriages among Syrians and has nothing to do with non-Syrians. It is a figure related to the early marriages prevalent in rural Syria, and has only risen with the displacement as a result of poverty and the need for security and stability. Syrian displacement and the ensuing misfortunes of exploiting minor girls in marriage with Lebanese or non-Lebanese men poses an additional challenge today.
Mixed marriages between people of different religions:
Coexistence between people of different denominations and sects in diverse societies can undoubtedly bridge the gaps between their basic reference values. But this is not the natural result. On the contrary, it can also lead to hatred, competition and intolerance. The issue is primarily related to the ability of the public system to promote a culture of tolerance, justice and equality among its citizens. Only then can coexistence generate shared reference values based on the culture of citizenship rather than that of sect or denomination.
However, the reality is different, as mixed marriages exacerbate differences legally and socially in light of the sectarian system in Lebanon, which is governed by established laws and customs. From the legislative point of view, the personal status laws allow polygamy and unilateral divorce for Muslims. This further reinforces male values, especially that marriage is viewed as any other contract that can be terminated at the will of one of the parties, an issue that greatly differs from the legislation on Christian marriages. The differences are even starker when it comes to inheritance laws where Christians are subject to the civil law of 1959 that guarantees equality between men and women. On the other hand, Islamic law enshrines different laws for inheritance with a bias for men. Legal loopholes are quite popular nowadays to circumvent these rules, such as changing one’s religion or denomination for Christians to be able to obtain a divorce, or gifts and joint bank accounts for girls to ensure they get an equal share of the inheritance as the boys. Therefore, the legal rule is not as important as its intellectual, cultural and values-related impact.
One of the most important problems that may face this type of mixed marriages is "religious education" for children, which most parents resolve by adopting a "secular culture" to bring up their children. Even if they are successful in this effort, they soon run against a sectarian culture protected by law and armed with longstanding institutions besieging them and their children everywhere they turn.
Mixed marriages between people of different denominations and sects:
These marriages no longer provoke the same reactions as before in the Christian or Muslim communities, despite some cultural dregs that still play a role among a few who adhere to dated concepts. It is noteworthy, however, that they have regained a footing recently among Muslim Sects (the Sunnis, Shia, Druze and Alawites) as tensions and disputes escalate.
To overcome the problematics of traditional marriages, some are resorting to civil marriage, a contract that has no legal effect if concluded on Lebanese territory but recognized by civil courts in light of article 25 of decree LR60 if concluded outside of Lebanon in compliance with the foreign country’s laws. Therefore, there has been a growing number of couples travelling to Cyprus, Turkey and Greece among other countries to enter such marriage contracts and there are specialized agencies facilitating these arrangements.
Despite all the difficulties and problems, some sociological and statistical studies show a significant increase in the number of mixed marriages in general, yet they remain very low between Christians and Muslims. A recent study conducted by International Information found that there are 173,883 mixed marriages in Lebanon, representing 15% of all officially registered marriages. They are distributed as follows: 32,231 contracts between different Muslim branches, 118,250 between different Christian denominations and 10,797 between Christians and Muslims. It is thus clear that marriages between different Christian denominations are three times higher than those between Muslim sects (68% compared to 18.5%), while the rate of marriages between Muslims and Christians remains very low, at only 6.2% of all marriage contracts.