Imam bridges a wedding divide
Oxford Times - June 6, 2009
Muslim women and their Christian fiancés from across Europe are travelling to Oxford to get married because imams in their own countries refuse to perform the ceremonies. Dr Taj Hargey, chairman of the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford, said he had performed about 36 marriages in the past two years between Muslim women and non-Muslim men. More imams are happy to marry Muslim men to non-Muslim women. Couples from Spain, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, France and Norway have all come to Dr Hargey after failing to find someone locally prepared to carry out the service. Most had spent months looking for an imam, and many found Dr Hargey after contacting American Muslim leaders via the Internet. Dr Hargey, who believes he is the only imam in the UK who openly performs the mixed marriages, said: “We do it because there is no prohibition in the Koran. “Islam allows Muslim men to marry non-Muslim women and such marriages are common, but I am one of the only people who will do it the other way round.” He said couples had to sign up to five non-negotiable conditions protecting the woman’s faith, and agree to counselling before he would perform marriages. Muslim Sana Majeed McMillion, 27, and Christian-born Andrew McMillion, 32, were married by Dr Hargey last night in Abingdon — a 1,500 mile round-trip from their home in Oslo. Mr McMillion, an account manager for an IT company, said: “Generally speaking it seems to be totally accepted for men to marry non-Muslims, but not women. Fran Bardsley reports.