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41 Fam. L.Q. 639 (2007-2008)
Interpretation of Islamic Marriage Contracts by American Courts

handle is hein.journals/famlq41 and id is 653 raw text is: Interpretation of Islamic Marriage Contracts by American Courts TRACIE ROGALIN SIDDIQUI* I. Introduction The equitable distribution of assets pursuant to a divorce is often com- plex, but when the divorce is between practicing Muslims, the requisite Islamic marriage contract may complicate these proceedings even further by introducing terms with which U.S. courts are largely unfamiliar. Under Islamic tradition and law, marriage contracts, called nikah agreements, must include a term whereby the husband gives something of value to the wife called the mahr or sadaq, which Americans might commonly call a bride price, a dower, a marriage gift, or a dowry.' Oftentimes the parties agree that the mahr will be delayed until the couple divorces or the husband dies2 so that the wife's financial interests will be protected. Unfortunately, because such a term is foreign to U.S. courts, enforcement of the delayed mahr provisions of these agreements upon divorce has been inconsistent in U.S. courts. Scholars, too, have had difficulty in determin- * Third Place Winner in 2007 Schwab Essay Contest. I. These common translations of mahr, all have connotations that are inaccurate or mis- leading. First, a bride's price or bride wealth is payment to the brides' family, not to the bride. See AMERICAN HERITAGE DICrIONARY (2006), available at http://dictionary.reference. com/browse/bide%20price. A dower is used only for the wife's right to a life estate upon her husband's death and does not apply to divorce situations. A marriage gift, as discussed in more detail below, is given without compensation. See supra. Finally, a dowry is money paid from the bride to the groom or his family, which is the opposite of the mahr. See supra. Because of the lack of an accurate English term, this essay will use the common transliteration of the Arabic term mahr. 2. See Azizah Y. AI-Hibri, Minaret of Freedom Banquet: The Muslim Marriage Contract in American Courts (May 20, 2000), available at http://www.minaret.org/azizah.htm (In the case of death of the husband, the sadaq becomes a senior debt against his estate, separate from the wife's inheritance rights. Thus even if the estate would become exhausted by debt repay- ment, the wife would still get her sadaq first and without delay.).

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