| Allah and the Dangers of Inbreeding The link between inbreeding, reduced mental acuity and increased risk of physical (genetic) abnormalities (disorders) was probably not understood in the Prophet Muhammad’s time, at least not by the desert tribes of the Arabian peninsula. This may account for Allah not placing any restrictions on a man marrying blood relatives, except for the traditional taboos against a man marrying the daughters of a sibling, his sisters, his aunts, his own daughters or his mother. 4:23 Unlawful to you are your mothers, your daughters, your sisters, your paternal and maternal aunts, your brother’s daughters and sister’s daughters, your foster-mothers who gave you suck, your foster-sisters, your wives’ mothers, your step-daughters who are in your custody, born to your wives whom you have lain with. But if you have not lain with them then, then you are not at fault. [It is also not lawful to marry] the wives of your sons who are of your loins, or to take in two sisters together, unless this has already happened. Allah is truly All-Forgiving and Merciful! The knowledge of the dangers of inbreeding has not stop marriages between close relations in traditional Muslim societies governed by the Koran such as Saudi Arabia. “In some parts of Saudi Arabia, particularly in the south … the rate of marriage among blood relatives ranges from 55 to 70 percent … according to the Saudi government. Widespread inbreeding in Saudi Arabia has produced several genetic disorders Saudi public health officials said … (New York Times, Saudi Arabia Awakes to the Perils of Inbreeding, May 1, 2003)”
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