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84 Ind. L.J. 743 (2009)
Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal Theory Behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions

handle is hein.journals/indana84 and id is 747 raw text is: Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal Theory Behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions ALEX B. LEEMAN* INTRODUCTION Leo Barajas was a thirty-four-year-old American contractor from Texas working for the U.S. government managing reconstruction projects in Iraq.1 Though not particularly religious at home, he called on the Almighty often enough during his time in Baghdad. I had to wake up by faith, sleep by faith and do my job by faith, he said.2 In August 2003, Leo met a striking young Iraqi woman named Mariam Ghadeer. In a short time, she had stolen his heart. By the end of 2003, wedding plans were underway. It was not until this time that Mariam told Leo he would have to convert to Islam. Leo refused. After many tears, Mariam concluded, I guess we can't get married.,3 This Note explores the rules in Islam governing marriage, specifically those restricting marriages in which one spouse is non-Muslim. The rules for Muslim women who wish to marry outside the faith are more restrictive than the rules governing Muslim men wishing to marry a non-Muslim.4 Some modem Islamic scholars and commentators argue that the pluralistic nature of modem society justifies a reevaluation of these rules, and that such action is not precluded by Islamic law. Muslim women, they contend, should have marital choice similar to that of their male counterparts.5 Many Islamic countries are facing the challenges of modernity and social change.6 Interfaith marriage is one of many issues currently pitting staunch traditionalists against modem reformists within the Muslim community. The goal of this Note is to identify the sources from which Islamic law is derived and the processes through which it is * J.D. Candidate, 2009, Indiana University Maurer School of Law - Bloomington. Thank you to Professor Timothy Waters for inspiring this Note, and to my wife Katie for her loyalty and support despite the many long hours of neglect she has suffered at the hands of the law school. 1. The story of Leo Barajas and Mariam Ghadeer is told in Christopher Dickey & Jessica Ramirez, Love and War, NEWSWEEK, Oct. 22, 2007, at 28. 2. Id. at 33. 3. Id. Ultimately, Leo agreed to convert to Islam, at least temporarily, so the couple could marry. 4. See infra Parts II.A, II.B. 5. See infra Part III.A. 6. In many ways, forces in the Muslim world are pulling in opposite directions. On one hand, advocates of reform, modernism, and freedom are making gains in many otherwise conservative Islamic countries. See generally Scott MacLeod, Signs of Freedom, TIME (EUROPE), May 14, 2006, at 54, available at http://www.time.com/time/europe/html/060522/story.html (noting that freedom seekers across the Middle East are coming forward with unprecedented determination to demand change). On the other hand, hard-line traditionalists advocate for a worldwide conservative Islamic Revolution similar to the one that occurred in Iran in 1979. See generally Ramita Navai, President Invokes New Islamic Wave, TIMES (London), June 30, 2005, at 37.

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