Reuters reported yesterday that a heated debate is raging in France after a court allowed an Muslim husband to annul his marriage when he discovered that his wife was not a virgin as she had claimed to be. The husband's lawyer said that the basis for the annulment was not religious, but rather a principle in French law that treats marriage as a contract and permits an annulment "when there is an error concerning essential qualities of one of the spouses."
UPDATE: France's Justice Minister Rachida Dati has ordered a government appeal of the case, according to a June 3 Reuters report. Attorneys for both the husband and wife object, but Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that French law should not be interpreted to allow virginity to be a "key element in consent to marry." Concern over Muslim views being incorporated into French law has been in the background of the heated debate over the ruling.
