Iraq offers incentive to intermarry ($2,000 "gift")

[sabra]

Source: USA Today

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi has an unusual proposal to mend some of Iraq's sectarian wounds: He offers mixed couples a $2,000 "gift" if they get married.

Before the U.S. invasion, intermarriage between Shiites and Sunnis was fairly common. As sectarian fighting ripped apart the country, intermarriage became a rarity.

Now that the security situation is relatively calm, the Iraqi government wants to nudge couples of mixed sects to get hitched, hoping that will repair the relationship between Iraq's majority Shiite and minority Sunni populations.

"After 2006, we found that mixed marriages had stopped," said Raad Majeed Mohammed, an aide to al-Hashemi, a Sunni and one of Iraq's two vice presidents. "The idea behind this project is that promoting love and socializing between Iraq's people is good for the country."

About a dozen mixed couples will take part in a mass wedding Friday and will receive their $2,000 gifts, Mohammed said. An additional 375 same-sect couples will join the celebration, but they'll receive $750, Mohammed said. The government wants to help those cash-strapped couples in getting their start, he said.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2009-11-23-iraq-wed_N.htm

[Soylent Brice]

1. interesting.

"Mohammed al-Rubaiee, 30, a Shiite from southwest Baghdad, said the money will come in handy as he begins his life with Taghreed al-Samaraee, 21, a Sunni who grew up across the street from him."

"I even noticed some hesitation from my own family," said Aws Saad Abdul Jabbar, 23, a Sunni marrying a Shiite woman this week. "I told them I like the girl, and being from another sect is not a factor. Her way of thinking and morals are more important than sect."

[nc4bo]

2. "Like the girl"? Like? Whoa-boy....

Yea, I'm guilty of picking nits.

What about loving that girl?

[Hekate]

3. That comes later, really. Different culture. At least they weren't strangers in an arranged marriage

[boppers]

4. We totally need this in the US for gay couples.

They seem to have very low marriage rates here.

:evilgrin: