Fatwa Opposes Lebanese President's Call For Legalizing Civil Marriage

In Lebanon, when couples of different religious affiliations wish to marry, they must travel outside of the country to do so.  Last Sunday, the country's President, Michel Sulaiman , indicated that he would support legislation to create civil marriage inside Lebanon. As reported by Gulf News this week, a day after the President's statement, Grand Mufti Shaikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani, Lebanon's top Sunni Muslim authority, issued a fatwa stating:

Any Muslim with legal or executive authority in Lebanon who supports the legalisation of civil marriage is an apostate and outside the religion of Islam.