Mixed (civil) marriage in Morocco

Hello Samiom,

I've moved your post to the English speaking forum of Marocco for better interaction with the other members.

Regards,

Sarah

Hi Samiom~

I am an American, married to a Moroccan man, I am of the understanding that in order for a Moroccan Muslim woman to marry, her fiance MUST first convert to Muslim. I wish I could help you out, I don't know who you should talk to about it except maybe someone from the court or your Muslim faith. It is unfortunate that the rules are different for men and women there. As a Christian woman, I had no problems except signing a sworn statement that I am a Christian. I wish you well, don't give up, have faith!

It is possible give me your phone number to explain or call me

Hallo

I guess you have your reasons for not wanting to get married in Spain - but believe me getting married in Morocco is a bureaucratic nightmare for non-Moroccans.  I have done it so I know!

I just reread your message and see you are Moroccan so I can understand why you want a Moroccan wedding.  If you really wanted to have a Moroccan wedding you could probably do the ceremonial after getting married abroad.

Hazel

dear samiom,
you said you are muslim, so you should know that any muslim woman should marry muslim and only muslim, it mentioned in quran, so that why moroccan government ask for this islamic certificate for men wanted marry moroccan girls, you can get this certificate from odool office, u cant do moroccan mariage mixte without this document.
to get more informations about the process and the documents requested you can get the full list called -mixed mariage in morocco- from court or via internet.
good luck

Samiom, needless to say, please don't post your phone number publicly or give it to people you don't know.

Having said that, I have been told that Muslim women may only marry Muslim men in Morocco, Muslim men may marry Christians or Jews. If you want to marry in Morocco, this will present a problem to you.

RAEzWORLD: thank you for encouraging me.. I will never give up inshallah
Hazel, the first reason to have a moroccan wedding is not the ceremony (obviously, that doesn't need any administrative approval) but to safeguard my rights as a moroccan citizen (and for my "future kids" inshallah so that they can have my moroccan nationality, for example).
Basmaroc, Laduqesa: thank you both for ur responses.. I'm aware about what the holy Quraan says, but we can't really control heart matters
Once again, thank u all
Samiom

Good Luck to you both!

My Moroccan wife and I (USA) went through this.  A Moroccan/Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman as the children's religion follows the man, but not vis-versa = your/my case as the religion would follow the non-Muslim man.  With the new constitution this is unconstitutional, but no one has challenged the existing law on constitutional grounds, so the law stands.

Being a practical sort, I just said the Shahada and got the certificate and got married.  :-)   Why not?  Islam embraces Christianity, so one is not really giving up much.  m2cw   m

Salaam

If you have children together will you want them to be brought up as Christians?  In a normal family the man is the leader of the house so any future children with your boyfriend would most likely be brought up as Christians or in a state of confusion. You said you can't control matters of the heart and this will probably be the same if you have children,  then you will be in a situation.  Really I don't see the point in 'marrying' under morocan law like this because if the marriage is not accepted by Allah then firstly what's the point and secondly morroco makes it very difficult for non morocan's to marry morocan's.  Sorry to be blunt but you should just marry a Muslim and spare yourself problem after problem

You are quite wrong, of course. In a "normal" household, marriage is regarded as a partnership. This is even the case under  the Moudawana in Morocco where men and women are joint heads of household and family.

In addition you have no right to tell anyone whom to marry or not to marry, especially on spurious religious grounds. So much the better if the offspring are "confused". Maybe they would emerge as whole, rounded, mature individuals who do not need the crutch of pre-medieval cults.

It' s a simple process.  "ADUL" will do the conversion of your future husband into Islam and at the same time prepare the marriage certificate but before going to ADUL, you and your husband will have to meet the judge at "Justice de la famille" where your husband will be asked a few questions. One of the questions will be whether your husband is circumcised.  You have to let your husband reply to that question or else you will be trapped if you attempt to answer the question on his behalf as there is no intimate relation before marriage in Islam. (Moderated: Inappropriate posting)

I recently went through the process and it is not simple or easy,  and I am a Muslim, not pretending to be one. You need permission from the police and he will have to be interviewed and of course they will question him on his Islamic knowledge,  sheiks and scholars he knows/follows. Morocco is trying to move away from being a corrupt country where everyone needs to be bribed so I advise against this. I'm not wasting to much time responding to 'that' reply any more than that as Muslim's we are one people,  we should be constantly giving each other good advise and the correct and good advise is that there is no marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-muslim man. My advise is to practice Islam,  tell your boyfriend you can't have a relationship with him as he is not a Muslim and put your trust in Allah and see what doors He opens for you.

gold87 wrote:

I recently went through the process and it is not simple or easy,  and I am a Muslim, not pretending to be one. You need permission from the police and he will have to be interviewed and of course they will question him on his Islamic knowledge,  sheiks and scholars he knows/follows. Morocco is trying to move away from being a corrupt country where everyone needs to be bribed so I advise against this. I'm not wasting to much time responding to 'that' reply any more than that as Muslim's we are one people,  we should be constantly giving each other good advise and the correct and good advise is that there is no marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-muslim man. My advise is to practice Islam,  tell your boyfriend you can't have a relationship with him as he is not a Muslim and put your trust in Allah and see what doors He opens for you.

The only part of that reply I can agree with is the bit that says that no one should try to bribe officials. Morocco is changing and bribery can be swooped down on very harshly.

Once more, I find it incredible that anyone could purport to offer advice that the OP should dump her S African partner on spurious religious grounds. That the ravings of a fairy tale could be substituted for sound judgement, the longings of the heart and happiness seems to me a complete perversion, especially in this day and age. When people had no knowledge of the world or of science centuries ago, people had an excuse to believe in these poetic ways of attempting to explain the world. There's no excuse now.

I did not have to go before any police or to answer any questions regarding my knowledge of Islam or circumcision.  We did NOT have to bribe any officials.   I did have to say the Shahada in Arabic (I had it written out phonically in Roman script, and rehearsed with my wife).  The Medical exam was a joke, as the doctor, just looked at me and pronounced me 'healthy'.  The whole process was NOT difficult, just time consuming.  Follow your heart and don't let religion or bureaucracy get in your way.  Do what's necessary to get married and get on with your life with the person you want to live with.    Also  you can, influence/alter what the Adul wants to put in the marriage contract.  I favor you children CHOOSING what religion they want, rather than having religion forced on them.  It's nice to have choices.  m2cw

Your mentality is that this life is the only life, so of course your views will be centered around making the best of it and pursuing your desires.  BUT the sister stated from the beginning she is a Muslim which obviously means she believes in a creator and a life after this one. I don't know why you have to insult her beliefs like you have done. Just because you don't belive in what the sister believes in doesn't give you the right to insult and mock her. Maybe you shouldn't comment any more because the lady said she is a Muslim which is obviously a belief you can't respect

gold87 wrote:

Your mentality is that this life is the only life, so of course your views will be centered around making the best of it and pursuing your desires.  BUT the sister stated from the beginning she is a Muslim which obviously means she believes in a creator and a life after this one. I don't know why you have to insult her beliefs like you have done. Just because you don't belive in what the sister believes in doesn't give you the right to insult and mock her. Maybe you shouldn't comment any more because the lady said she is a Muslim which is obviously a belief you can't respect

Oh dear. Yes, she's a Muslim and one who has the sense to know what she wants, alleged strictures of religion notwithstanding. It ill behoves you to tell her what to do or what not to do. Are you implying that your faith or your Islam are better than hers?

As for respect, I respect the right of anyone to have whatever beliefs they wish. I'm under no obligation whatsoever to respect those beliefs in themselves however, just as you plainly have no respect for mine.

The OP stated that she will marry this non-Muslim man. Stop being so unhelpful and let her get on with it. Stop telling her she should marry a Muslim instead. She loves the S African, not someone else. Why should she be miserable with another?

Yes, I agree with laduqesa's post.  I disagree with  Gold87:  Islam is NOT  monolithic,  there are millions of variations of Islam/Muslim thought.  The idea that "my Islamic beliefs are the 'real' Islam and all others are infidels only leads to bloodshed.  Interest is allowed in Morocco, Beating ones wife is unlawful. Limits on Polygamy, and Pedophilia.

Try reading the Moroccan constitution, it overrides much of what is in the Koran.  Article 3 (translated) Guarantees to everyone the free exercise of religion.  Islam is only the STATE religion.  Article 10 gives the freedom of opinion to any opposition.  Article 19 gives equal rights to men and women.  Article 25 (my favorite) gives "Freedom of thought, opinion, and expression are guaranteed in ALL of it's forms."  There are many others.  Yes, life is only life. I'm not insulting anyone, I'm in favor of "Freedom of expression in all of it's forms".  That  means the right to marry who(m) one wants without regard to race, color, creed or national origin.  Blacks can marry whites, Muslims can marry Jews.  Love concurs all!    m

dear friends, I absolutely agree with Mr. gold87 our religion ISLAM is not a game, the girl who asks is Muslim, while only Muslims have priority and knowledge to answer, do you know why, because you know nothing about our religion and QURAN, we were not on earth to do what we want with complete freedom, we have a heart, but we have a brain as  well
she asks because she confused. request ALLAH to guide you on the right track, and insist you'll see the answer. the choice is difficult, but the priority is always given to our religion.
for gentleman who say ASHAHADA without wanting to be muslim, you started your life with a lie, life is short.
good luck for all

So much for Critical Thinking.  If Allah is omniscient, omnipotent, & omnipresent, then Allah is guiding my hand as I write this.  Nothing happens that is not the Will Of Allah, this includes my posts.  :-)

basmaroc wrote:

dear friends, I absolutely agree with Mr. gold87 our religion ISLAM is not a game, the girl who asks is Muslim, while only Muslims have priority and knowledge to answer, do you know why, because you know nothing about our religion and QURAN, we were not on earth to do what we want with complete freedom, we have a heart, but we have a brain as  well
she asks because she confused. request ALLAH to guide you on the right track, and insist you'll see the answer. the choice is difficult, but the priority is always given to our religion.
for gentleman who say ASHAHADA without wanting to be muslim, you started your life with a lie, life is short.
good luck for all

Look. She doesn't want advice about Islam, she wants to know how to marry her non-Muslim boyfriend.

What is the matter with you people? She's not confused about a single thing. The last thing she wants is advice from a load of obscurantists telling her how evil and/or misguided she is. What she wants is to know how to follow her heart so that her life can be fulfilled. Thank goodness she's not in hock to her religion like some are. Some people sound as if they are afraid to live.

mwstebbins wrote:

So much for Critical Thinking.  If Allah is omniscient, omnipotent, & omnipresent, then Allah is guiding my hand as I write this.  Nothing happens that is not the Will Of Allah, this includes my posts.  :-)

And this is what they cannot see. I had a chat with a neighbour when he said that Allah decides the moment of death of every living being. No one can prolong their life for even an instant. All I had to do to nonplus him was to point to his bicycle and say that he had prolonged his life dozens of times today. "Oh how?". "By using your brakes, you idiot, when you go onto a main road from a side road, for a start". I mean, what's the point of using the brakes if one's moment of death is fixed? Utterly ridiculous. He didn't have an answer.

As I said, I respect anyone's right to have whatever belief they want. I don't have to respect the belief itself and I have a perfect right to fight the application of that belief if I see it as harmful.

mr.mwstebbins and mr.laduqesa
we are not here to insult people or to show and disseminate ideologies of atheism, you are out of topic, that means that you are not here for help of people, if you have other targets, there are many forums u can meet people who can discuss this with you and show you how much wrong you are.
we are proud to be muslims, ALLAH is the only one who has the absolute control on our lives, he has guide us to make our life easier by sciences, technology and everything, but our brain is still nothing in front of his power. so  please sirs, stop exploit the helpless and unknowledge of people.

No. You and your co-religionists are off topic. She doesn't want advice on Islam, she wants advice on how she can have a mixed marriage in Morocco and if it's possible to have a civil marriage.

You obscurantists are the ones who are off topic by telling her she is immoral and that she should dump her Christian boyfriend. I'm simply contradicting you. You back off and I'll back off.

i have never ask here to leave her friend, you can even have look at my reply since she post her question.
we have many mixed marriage in our family alhamdolilah, success ones, the process is always same, they ask for his religion bcz the certificate of islam is necessary to get the authorization to make mixed marriage in morocco....simple.
obscurantists..nice word

One of your co-religionists told her to dump the guy and marry a Muslim  instead. Just like that!

Dear All,

Can we please get back to the original title of this discussion?

The initiator of this thread needs advice on mixed marriage in Morocco.

Some posts are off topic and I would like to remind you that debates on religion are not welcomed on Expat.com.

Thank you for your understanding,

Hasnaa

salam,
i am happy that people get back to the original topic.
let give something benefic for people who want marry moroccan girls.
i have live that experience bymyself bcz my sisters did mixed marriage in morocco.
concerning documents u need to get in your country as a foreigner before coming to morocco, they are 5 principal documents:
1- certificate of good conduct from police office or high court.
2- certificate of work.
3- document prof you annual or monthly income.
4- document shows marital status : single, divorced, widower, married( need authorization from first wife)
5- certificate of birth (new one)
- dont forget to get appointment from ur embassy in morocco before u come to get document called- elligibility to marry-

when u come morocco,  i will post the rest tomorrow inshallah, bcz the process is long.

dear xb23, the original topic is - mixed (civil) marriage in Morocco-
[Moderated: off topic]

Samiom. Let's cut to the chase. If you still want to marry your non-Muslim boyfriend (and I strongly think you should after reading what you say) then see if he will just pretend to be a Muslim for a day. He could cross his fingers behind his back while reciting the shahada, which renders it meaningless.

It looks like the only solution.

Hi everybody,

Some off topic posts have been removed from that discussion.

Let me remind you that the initial subject of that discussion is mixed (civil) marriage in Morocco. The initiator ( a muslim moroccan woman) is in fact asking how she can obtain a recognized mixed marriage in Morocco if her boyfriend is a Southafrican christian man as it seems that a civil marriage in Morocco cannot take place. Her question concerns basically the formalities and procedures. Hope that it is more clear now.

It will also be great if everybody can talk without animosity here please !

Thanks,

Priscilla

In Morocco, it is not possible for Mixed marriage. Many do marry, having falsely claiming to have accepted Islam and preparing documents.
Or you can denounce Islam and say you are a Jew or christian, In which case you will not be spared for either.
Most Moroccan Women in particular want to marry in Morroco as means to gain some benefit (Meher, in case of divorce to claim huge compensation etc) as Moroccan woman want to marry foreigners only for a short period to achieve a specific objective.
What can be recommended to you is to go to South Africa and Marry him.

Read your contract you did at ADUL.  There is the DOWRY mentioned and then there is something either money or other things in kind, like 50 camels that you have to give as compensation in case of divorce. I did not agree on the latter and I did dictate the contract.

I am okay so far, thanks God.  The rules of Thumb in Morocco is that women seek their protection financially in case something goes wrong down the road.  This idea is nurtured by their parents and friends.  The bottom line is that most women even in other part of the world think about their security, in other words they think about divorce first then marriage. I have met other people where their Moroccan wife insist to buy an apartment in Morocco. What they have got in mind is that in case the husband dies, she could go back and have a roof over her head. So you have to know when to put your foot down.  Regarding your marriage contract, they will go according to the conditions stipulated in the marriage contract. The dowry, I believe is history.  You did learn the hard way but remember what the Quran says *trust nobody except God for you will be deceived* *Your wife and children will be your enemy*.

"*trust nobody except God for you will be deceived* *Your wife and children will be your enemy*."

What a loathsome pair of injunctions. I'm glad that they didn't apply to my parents who trusted each other all their lives and loved each other till the end. And, although I disappointed them in many ways, we were never enemies, indeed, I looked after them both until they died.

No, you shouldn't. But these injunctions are general. Don't trust anyone at all, especially not women. As we have seen, it's only some women who can't be trusted.

And for me, as an atheist, it's laughable to "trust" something that doesn't exist

Hi everybody,

Again we are off topic here !

I will advise you to open a new thread with a title like " divorce with a morrocan girl" if you want to discuss about an another topic please.

Thank you all,

Priscilla