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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, thanks for your question and we earnestly implore Allah to guide us all to the best both in this world and in the Hereafter.
It is the role of Muslim governments and Muslims in general to try their utmost to ease the social plight of all oppressed peoples in the world. One of the solutions to end the problem of social imbalance in the Aceh region is that Muslim men there are encouraged to expand the marriage circle to include different tribes and ethnic groups in order to strengthen the social ties, cooperation and communications among Muslims.
Responding to the question, Dr. Sano Koutoub Moustapha, professor of fiqh and its principles, International Islamic University, Malaysia, states the following:
Thank you for your kind question. Let us pray to Allah Almighty to accept those beloved brothers and sisters who passed away in that disaster.
Islam does recommend Muslims to be open-minded and take Islam as a basic criterion for marriage, and taking into account the vast number of Muslim women in the world, we do not assume that there will be the so-called gender imbalance. Certainly, the neighboring provinces such as Jawa and others did not suffer from this disaster. Accordingly, there is no harm for men in Aceh to get married to women from other parts of great Indonesia.
Moreover, Islam strongly recommends marriage from different tribes and ethnic groups to strengthen the ties and cooperation and communications among Muslims. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Whenever a dignified man comes to you and seeks marriage, marry him. Otherwise, there will be so many disasters in your places.”
This confirms the stance of Islam about intermarriage among Muslims and the necessity of going beyond boundaries and geographical set-ups. The piety and religiosity of the person should be the main factor to reject or to accept whoever is looking for marriage. The race, color, social status, country, nationality, and other irrelevant hindrances do not have any values in the eyes of Islam. Thus, they are all man-made set-ups and Islam doesn’t recognize them at all.
All in all, beloved brothers in Aceh should not limit themselves to the Acehnese women but they are strongly recommended to go farther and marry those whom they feel comfortable with.
It is a duty upon Muslim governments to encourage intermarriage and facilitate it. They should assist and facilitate things those young people willing to marry. Thus, a higher rate of marriage will lead to lower rape and social ills, and a lower rate of marriage will certainly lead to higher rate of rape and social ills. You can also read:
How to Face Gender Imbalance in the Aceh Region
Gender Imbalance After the Tsunami
Gender Imbalance Poses New Challenges
How Religious Organizations Can Help Disaster Victims
The Philosophy of Marriage in Islam
Helping Disaster Victims (Live Fatwa)
Helping Disaster Victims
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write back!
May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to that which pleases Him, Amen.
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