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December 28, 2003 

Your Advocate

This week your advocate is M. Moazzam Husain of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. His professional interests include civil
law, criminal law and constitutional law.

Q: My religion is Hindu but I love a Muslim girl. We would like to get married without converting our own religions. So my question is what is the legal procedure in our country if a Hindu person would like to get marry a Muslim woman. Means should we register at the court (if yes pls. me know from which court & how) or through Notary Public?
Shamol,
Uttara, Dhaka.

Your Advocate: In view of the prevailing laws governing the area I find it extremely difficult to devise for you a way out. All is fair in love and war. As a young man you may fall in love with a young girl. Quite natural. But the family, society and the laws sometimes stand on the way. In the Muslim law there is a clear restriction on a female to contract a valid marriage with anyone other than a Mohammedan. According to some scholars marriage of a Muslim female however, with Christian, Jew, an idolator, i.e., Hindu or a fire worshipper, is merely irregular, not void. But the overwhelming majority of the view is that such marriage is void. So is the case with Hindu law. As a Hindu you cannot contract a valid marriage with a Muslim.

The personal and secular laws now prevailing in our country do not really cover the issue you have raised. That is, you cannot legally marry a Muslim girl maintaining her as well as your faith. In the peculiar circumstances, if you both still stick to your views you ultimately lead yourselves to a live-together. Nothing more. As adults and sui juris you can do that. Laws will not bother you. But you will suffer in terms of your status as husband and wife and in terms of legitimacy of your children. If you prefer to avoid socio-legal complications and want to give your marriage a legal shape, in my opinion, you have two options: a) both of you can renounce your respective faith and declare that neither of you profess any religion and thereby facilitate the marriage to be solemnized in accordance with the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1872, b) and the second is you can embrace Islam and get your marriage solemnized according to Muslim shariah law. In any case it would be advisable for you to consult a lawyer.