Islamic news. Interfaith marriages. An Orthodox Man's Point of View Happy Interfaith Marriages

23.06.2020

“Unfortunately, many lay people derive their notions of marriage from low-standard Western and Russian books and films, where the attitude towards the marriage union is promoted only as a means of obtaining pleasure. When these people get married, they suddenly discover that their new social status is not limited only to this false description of marriage, but that it primarily presupposes a life together, in which both must endure each other day after day, including shortcomings ... This is a burden it seems too heavy to them! Of course, Orthodoxy can try them even before marriage with such basic principles as love and self-sacrifice. "
(From an interview with Alexy II to the magazine "Pari Match")

VKontakte Facebook Odnoklassniki

According to the priests, among other things, this is fraught with serious demographic losses for the country.

Is it possible for a boy and a girl who are truly religious people, but at the same time professing different faiths, to enter into an interreligious marriage?

"What a ridiculous question?" - another secular person will exclaim. In Russia, with its age-old traditions of peaceful coexistence of people of many cultures, nationalities and religions, this is very natural. But in fact, as the website ["REGIONS.RU/News of the Federation"] found out in the course of a survey of a number of Orthodox clergy, the answer to this question is not so simple.

Yes, the difference in cultures and nationalities has never been an obstacle to the high feeling that unites the young forever. But if the world outlook, the outlook of each of them is formed by different confessions (and for true believers these beliefs are very deep and consistent), then in the future, serious frictions between beloved ones are very possible - right up to a break in relations.

For example, Archpriest Vladislav Sveshnikov considers an inter-religious marriage of people for whom religious affiliation is not nominal is unlikely. “A marriage between active, or, as they say now,“ practicing ”representatives (different. - Note. who are above personal relations, and then in the main the spouses will be separated. To preserve a happy marriage, they will have to sacrifice their religious beliefs. If initially religious affiliation is purely nominal, then it makes no sense to talk about interreligious marriage, "says the father" "" Vladislav "" ".

The priest "" "Alexy Agapov" "", the rector of the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk church in the Moscow region town of Zhukovsky, in turn, recalled the hierarchy of matrimonial relations. “Both in Soviet times and in the days of rampant liberalism, the strict hierarchy of matrimonial relations that existed in Orthodox Russia was greatly shaken. But this is the "railings" that allowed men to remain men, and women - women. "

Historically, Orthodoxy has become the most widespread in Russia. However, Islam is quite developed, there are areas where Buddhism and other religions are widely practiced. For hundreds of years, the peoples of our country as a whole have peacefully coexisted with each other and respected religious differences. In this sense, it is Russia that can be a positive example for the so-called. enlightened Europe, in the history of which there was St. Bartholomew's Night. Europe knew the long-term practice of mass burning of heretics at the stake, the Europeans also organized military campaigns directed against people of a different faith. There was nothing of the kind in scale in Russia, although, of course, there were some excesses in our country as well.

In the current period, when the role of religion has decreased in comparison with the Middle Ages, there are many people whose religiosity does not go beyond the formal observance of some easy customs. Therefore, marriages between them can hardly be called inter-religious - they are illuminated only by feeling. However, there are also truly deeply religious people, whose lives are largely determined by religious beliefs, which can really affect relations in interfaith marriage.

The site expressed its attitude to interreligious marriages "" "Maxim Obukhov" "", the head of the Orthodox medical and educational center "Life":

- Interreligious marriages between deeply religious people are fraught with very serious consequences. People who want to get married need to understand that they are not only marrying each other. Two branches of the human race are connected, and therefore, when you marry a young man, then you enter into a kinship with all his relatives. Young people very often do not take this into account, and then events develop in the following ways. First, if they are religiously indifferent, then what they were, they remain so. The second option: one of the spouses will be asked to change his faith, up to coercion. There are also conflicts - for example, they do not want to baptize a child. What I am telling is not read from books, but taken from priestly practice. Young women who have married a Muslim come to me, but I cannot give the go-ahead to convert to Islam and renounce my faith.

In particular, interfaith marriages are part of our demographic loss. Every year, thousands of brides are exported from Russia to Muslim countries, and there they find themselves in very harsh conditions. There are also countries where the practice of Christian rituals is prohibited. In many, if not most, Muslim countries, religions are not equal to each other, and Islam, as a state religion, is given priority. In Afghanistan, for example, there is the Catacomb Christian Church, secret Christians who live under constant threat. And in Saudi Arabia there is a ban on the construction of temples of other religious denominations. Very often Muslim preachers cite figures for the conversion from Christianity to Islam, but this often happens not due to missionary activity, but due to marriage and further indirect coercion to accept Islam.

Interfaith marriages

The marriage union is manifested in its entirety only when there is not only bodily harmony between the spouses, but also spiritual community. Spiritual community leads to a special feeling of closeness of people, it does not age, but only gets stronger over the years. If it is based on the commitment of both spouses to Islam, then, among other things, it helps the husband and wife to quickly overcome the disagreements that arise on various issues of daily life, because Islam is such a guide that should be consulted in all situations, and not only when performing religious rituals.

The Qur'an says: “Do not marry a polytheist until they believe: of course, a believing slave is better than a polytheist. And do not marry polytheists until they believe: of course, a believing slave is better than a polytheist, even if he delights you ”(2: 221).

Thus, Allah Wise gives us a clear knowledge that faith is above the social origin of a person. This also manifests itself in matters of marriage. Islam does not prohibit the so-called mixed marriages, that is, marriages between representatives of different social strata or peoples: “O people! We created you man and woman and made you nations and tribes, so that you might know one another ”(49:13).

However, there are clearly established rules regarding marriages with members of other religions. As can be seen from the above verse, marriage between a Muslim (Muslim) and a polytheist (polytheist) is strictly prohibited. Today, according to the ulema, polytheists include atheists, agnostics, as well as representatives of all religions, except for the three religions of Monotheism - Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

As for marriages with Jews and Christians, they are allowed under certain conditions: "Today you are permitted good things ... And the chaste of the believers and the chaste of those to whom the Scripture was given before you, if you gave them their reward, being chaste, not debauchering and not taking concubines ..." (5: 5).

So, Muslims are allowed to marry chaste Jews and Christians. Muslim women are forbidden to marry all men, except those who profess Islam. This is clearly stated in the verse of the Qur'an: “After all, for an unbeliever she (a Muslim woman) cannot become a lawful wife, just as an unbeliever cannot be her lawful husband” (60:10).

However, when marrying non-Muslim women, one must remember the difficulties that may be encountered. Muslim scholars such as Arif Khan warn us about them:

Joint education of children.

When you marry, your spouse should be aware of the Muslim's obligation to raise children in accordance with the requirements of their faith and should not prevent you from fulfilling this obligation. This may not be easy to achieve, as children may want to follow the example of their mother in matters of faith, rather than that of their father.

Appropriate clothing.

Your spouse should know what Islamic dress requirements are. She should respect them and at least dress modestly. Here, again, a problem arises with children: it is quite natural that a girl wants to imitate her mother in dress, and this must not be forgotten.

Acceptable food.

Today's Christians eat pork and other foods that are forbidden to Muslims. If, as is usually the case, your wife cooks at home, she should know the Islamic requirements in this area and adhere to them when it comes to your food and the food of your children.

Communication with relatives.

Communicating with your wife's relatives can be a serious problem as they will invite your family to take part in a meal where forbidden food, and often booze, is served. If at the same time the mother eats pork, for example, and the children also want to try it, then it will be quite difficult to dissuade them from this without undermining the mother's authority. In addition, you run the risk of being "a stranger among your own" if your new environment does not treat Islam with due understanding or, at least, with tolerance.

Religious holidays.

It is very likely that you will also be invited to take part in various religious festivals, such as the celebration of Christmas. You can congratulate your relatives on this holiday, but you should not participate in it. However, your spouse may express an understandable desire to go to the holiday, and this can create a problem if the family has children who will face a dilemma: whether to visit with their mother or stay at home with their father (strictly speaking, Muslim upbringing requires the latter, however, a missed opportunity to visit for reasons that they do not fully understand can cause children to dislike their father).

The wife's fulfillment of her religious duties.

It is likely that your wife will attend church or synagogue, give alms, and engage in missionary work. You cannot prevent her from following the precepts of her religion, but at the same time, she should not be too “zealous” so as not to harm the family (for example, she should not spend your funds on donations to the needs of the church).

The demographic factor is also important: marriages of Muslims with non-Muslim women to a certain extent reduce the chances of Muslim women to find a co-religionist spouse, forcing them to marry non-Muslims, which is canonically prohibited.

It should also be remembered about those features that further complicate interfaith marriages in Western society (based on this, some Muslim scholars consider such marriages makrooh tahrimi, so undesirable that it almost makes them banned). So, according to the jurisprudence of most Western countries, a child remains with his mother during divorce. You should agree in advance with your future spouse that in matters of family and inheritance law, you will abide by the Shariah. In practice, it is, as a rule, quite possible to do this, using the sufficient flexibility of Western civil and family law.

There is one more circumstance that you cannot ignore. In the conditions of growing Islamophobia, it is becoming increasingly difficult for a Muslim in the West to find that niche in which he would meet understanding and feel safe. If your wife is constantly trying to convert you to her faith or, worse, make all sorts of disapproving remarks about Islam, your family life will turn into a serious test. However, if you have already taken on this kind of task, then remember that your behavior is a contribution to the efforts to forge interfaith dialogue that are being made around the world today. Therefore, you must behave in such a way as to demonstrate Islamic values, including religious tolerance, by your example, but at the same time stand firmly on your religious principles. Remember what Allah Almighty told Muslims: “And do not argue with the owners of the book, otherwise than with something better, except those of them who are unjust, and say: 'We believed in what was sent down to us and sent down to you. Both our God and your God are one, and we surrender ourselves to Him “” (29:46).

At the same time, some ulema classify the marriage of a Muslim with a Christian or a Jew as a forbidden act ( haram), citing various reasons. For example, some Hanafi scholars declare that this kind of marriage is forbidden in the conditions of non-Islamic states.

Arif Khan

From the author's book

Same-sex marriage Not so long ago, same-sex marriage was banned in Germany. The first country to give permission for them in 2001 was the Netherlands. Every year more and more countries are adopting laws that recognize this form of family - including Belgium, Spain, Canada,

From the author's book

Unequal Marriages So slavery is not a fun activity that has nothing to do with pastoralism. And as they enter the documents, the fantasies of those "chroniclers" who do not know how slavery should look like in practice, although they try to tell about it, begin

From the author's book

Strangers Inter-estates marriages - family battles I. The girl is sad, asks for advice: whom she should marry. “I have a boyfriend, and I love him very much,” she tells her older friends, “but over time it became hard for me to be with him. ... Perhaps boring. He is different. He

From the author's book

Russian-Spanish Marriages: Myths and Legends, Life Stories When I was preparing to write this chapter, the first thing I did, of course, was to remember all the Russian-Spanish marriages that I know. Then she asked a question that was born by itself, to all my acquaintances,

From the author's book

Marriages Radishchev in the chapter "Black Dirt" speaks of involuntary marriages and bitterly condemns the autocracy of the masters and the indulgence of the mayors (governors?). In general, the unhappiness of family life is a distinctive feature in the mores of the Russian people. I'm going to Russian songs: ordinary

From the author's book

Chapter 8. Proselytism and mixed marriages among the Jews Jewish race - Mixing during the period of Jewish consolidation - Mixed marriages of the patriarchs and kings of Israel with other races - Mixed marriages during the Babylonian captivity - Ezra's note on the purity of the race -

From the author's book

Mixed marriages between Jews and Christians in the New Time. The legal status of mixed marriages between Jews and Christians - What is a “mixed” marriage? - Number of mixed marriages in Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy, England, Australia and the United States

From the author's book

How do our compatriots and compatriots who marry foreigners solve the gender conflict? When asked if it is possible to be happy in a marriage with a foreigner, most women who married Spaniards said yes. (Former) wives

From the author's book

Russian-French marriages: are there many of them, what do they hold on to and why do they collapse? Russian women are overly obsessed with men. They think too much of them. Even rabid feminists (all the more so) in the depths of their souls dream of a prince, who, as you know, exists only in

From the author's book

CONSOLIDATED MARRIAGES IN RUSSIA "HOW DO I CONCLUDE CONSOLIDATED MARRIAGES?" Practical note by P. Mullov. "Archive of historical and practical information relating to Russia" "Archive of historical and practical information" is one of those publications about which no one can

From the author's book

Interfaith relations The confessional spectrum of Dagestan is represented mainly by Islam, Christianity and Judaism. According to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Dagestan, by May 15, 2000, 234 Islamic, 6 Christian and 4 Jewish religious organizations passed state registration (on

From the author's book

Marriages are made in heaven Photo: RIA Novosti What kind of wedding in Cyprus, it would seem, can we talk about? Indeed, recently this beautiful Mediterranean island was mentioned by the Russian media exclusively in combination with the words "crisis", "offshore", "banks".

Salute to all readers of the site! I read the articles on your site on the topic of interfaith marriages.

I myself am Russian, Orthodox. I was born and live in Uzbekistan. There are Tatar roots. There are Bashkir ones. The name is Russian. The surname is Muslim. In habits - an English lord :-). The character is Nordic, truly Aryan. In my heart - generally a Jew. The best friend is a Muslim. Another best friend is a Jew. The third friend is a Catholic.

Honestly, our country has its own religious specificity. It's even easier for zealous Christians than for equally zealous Muslims. Non-arrogant - do not care :-). The main imam of Uzbekistan and the former ruler of the Central Asian and Tashkent churches are good friends in life, not just colleagues. They constantly meet and play chess, visit each other. In general, it is the same with ordinary people. Religion comes second.

Some will not believe ... but it is. Well, there are plenty of freaks too, but there are some of them among both the Papuans and the Luxembourgers, right? In general, a real friendship between peoples. Do you know the holiday - New Year. On most tables in Uzbekistan, Uzbek pilaf, Russian vodka, Korean salads are obligatory. Especially advanced ones also put Tatar belyashi :-). Ahh, yes! More Soviet champagne !!! And on TV - a Hollywood cartoon! TV, by the way, comes from China 🙂

Okay, now about marriages. Honestly, I'm against it. Deep in my soul. If religion is in fifth or tenth place in the family, then yes, then it is kosher. If this is in the first place - obscurantism, adversary heresy and, in general, garbage. But that is my opinion, and very hidden :-).

So, about interfaith marriages. A very, very close friend from our company is married to an Uzbek. Well, everything is fine. He, too, has joined our company so well. Good friend. They have been together for 4 years already ... They do not get each other on a religious topic at all. Children in two cultures are going to be raised. Well, okay. I remember a couple of weeks ago they celebrated his birthday, they teased him harshly - "Well, a Muslim does not eat bacon"? To which they received an oath promise to put us to sleep and make us
circumcision to the very ears. Kosher situation, good laughs and jokes! Everyone would be so!

In everyday life, they are good. Both work. She is more for the soul. Both are driving. She dresses as she sees fit (in general, there are short skirts, but rarely). A scarf on her head - this is how I saw her only at a funeral. As far as I know, his Rodaks treat her normally like that.

Such Uzbeks of Tajik origin, Soviet temper and knowledge of English - they use 4 languages in the family! Cultured, dear people.

And there is another friend ... they studied together from school, then - at the institute (she was also in our company). Russian. Met with a Tatar guy. Normal, generally far from religion and all that ... On the 4th year I jumped out to marry him. It started right away…. There was a Russian girl Lyuba, a Muslim Laili (even in the passport so, I answer!). She accepted Islam. His rodaks are normal, like…. But they both forced and begged. Doesn't work ... She gave birth to three children. They do not live well. He plows, but somehow he is not particularly lucky. And the family is already decent. 5 mouths, including him with his wife.

Once we heard that she was covered with bruises. Long story, but it turned out - I drank beer in a women's company. The guy was given a hard, old ****** For in general, a woman cannot be beaten, in any case. Well, for self-defense, maybe. And even then - well, twist her arms if she's on you with fists. Show strength this way. No beatings. A fist is best on the table. Here you can very powerfully and with all your might. Respect only. The guy got his lesson.

Right now, neither she nor he communicates with our friendly company. She doesn't want to hear about us at all. You can't do that…. Well, let him endure. Stupid. You can change your religion and views. Changing clothes - no problem at all. I do not approve, but I do not condemn this either. Humiliation - you can put up with them if she so feels that it is deserved and normal. But beatings can never be tolerated, in any religion or nation. In general, violence does not depend on culture and faith. You need to kill for this!

Although if a woman tolerates and admits this, she needs to be beaten even harder. To come to their senses and not tolerate this, never at all. To prevent even the thought of it. It doesn't matter what blood the husband is.

Starting a family is one of the most important moments in a person's life. Everyone wants to create a healthy and strong social unit. As a rule, men and women prefer to marry someone from their country, the same nationality and religion. The commonality of culture, language, traditions and the closeness of relatives facilitate the process of mutual understanding. However, in the modern world without borders, interethnic marriages are becoming more and more frequent.

Causes of interethnic marriages

Many have friends from other countries, the world wide web has erased all possible boundaries. And love is such a thing that no one is immune from. Today, you can meet a foreigner or a foreigner without leaving your home. Looking for:

device with access to the network;
an account on a dating site, on a social network;
a wish.

In addition to the "sensual" reasons for the emergence of interethnic marriages, there are:

Economic... As a result of globalization processes, the number of travelers is growing, and with it the percentage of interethnic marriages. According to UN statistics, approximately half (49.6%) of the 200 million international migrants in 2005 were women. International marriage is an opportunity for a wealthy life for them.
Psychological... Experts say that there are interethnic marriages, the reasons for which are primarily associated with family relationships. Children go against their parents. An example - the father constantly repeats "oh, these Americans, everything is not human with them" and the like. The girl subconsciously develops a reaction mechanism. It is likely that she will grow up and marry an American to prove him wrong to her father.
Social... A man from an economically undeveloped country, but attained a high social status, marries a woman from a developed country, but has not achieved a high status. Or vice versa. Thus, they equalize their positions.
Political... Strategic marriages of kings, heads of state.

Interethnic marriages - psychology

The psychological characteristics of interethnic marriages differ from those inherent in mono-ethnic families. A number of factors affect the psychological climate in such a family:

traditions;
mentality;
religion;
language;
distance from relatives.

Psychologists believe that in an interethnic marriage, it is important to decide to what extent each of the spouses is ready to join a new culture. They distinguish four types of integration, the second and third are the most successful for harmonious:

implanting your own culture and completely ignoring the traditions of your spouse;
rejection of their culture, full integration into a new one;
partial integration, acceptance of specific cultural aspects;
rejection of both your own and the culture of your spouse.

Interracial marriage - genetics

Children from interracial marriages are less susceptible. For example, the gene responsible for the inherited disease sickle cell anemia is a recessive gene (suppressed by a dominant one) in Africans. If an African woman gives birth to a European, then their child will not have this disease. The same goes for other inherited defects. Diseases from interracial marriage are dying out. Scientists believe that for strong offspring, interracial marriage is a good option.

Appearance is another matter. Mixing races does not always lead to an excellent result. However, some of the most beautiful people appear in mixed marriages. Famous descendants of interracial marriages are an example of this:

Canadian singer Shania Twain was born from the union of a Canadian and an Indian aborigine.
Beyoncé, father of African descent, mother - Creole (her family included French, Indians and African Americans).
Mariah Carey, mother is Irish, father is Afro-Venezuelan.

Interethnic marriages - Orthodoxy

The Orthodox Church has a negative attitude towards inter-ethnic marriages. They are a threat to the Orthodox faith. Often interethnic marriages are interfaith marriages. Back in the 7th century, at the next Council in Constantinople, the attitude of the Orthodox Church to this issue was voiced. Interfaith marriages were prohibited. Modern priests have not changed this point of view. In their opinion, interethnic marriage eradicates Orthodoxy. It is difficult for a woman who has married a man of a different religion to instill in her children the Orthodox faith.

Interethnic marriages in modern society are a widespread phenomenon. Mixed marriages have their pros and cons. Marrying someone from another country has a number of advantages:

immersion in other traditions, expansion of cultural boundaries;
destruction of racial and ethnic;
the opportunity to learn a foreign language in a natural environment;
such marriages teach tolerance and understanding, which make them more durable;
it has been proven that children born to representatives of different nationalities (races, nations) are healthier and more talented.

Along with these advantages, there are problems of interethnic marriages:

change of the "mental" and legal space;
separation from relatives;
often parents of both husband and wife oppose such marriages due to conservative views;
loss of the traditions of their country and the obligation to follow new traditions;
communication difficulties;
disputes regarding the upbringing of children;
the inability to take the child out of the country in the event of a divorce.

Interracial Marriage Films

Filmmakers love the topic of “informal” relationships. A film about interracial marriage is both a drama and sometimes a comedy. Vivid pictures reflecting interethnic marriage:

"Loving" American director Jeff Nichols. The tragic fate of Richard and Mildred Loving, sentenced to prison for interracial marriage.
Sayonara- American melodrama by Joshua Logan, released in 1957. An American military man who condemns interethnic marriages falls in love with a Japanese dancer.
"Crazy Wedding"- a sparkling French comedy from Philippe de Chavron about the peculiarities of interracial and intercultural interaction within the family.

Celebrity Interracial Marriages

Celebrities are also people, and they are also influenced by the processes of globalization. And love. The most famous interethnic marriages:

- You do not seem to approve of interfaith marriages?
- It happened that an unbelieving husband was sanctified by a believing wife. It happened that both the husband and their children were converted through a Christian wife. But that was when our faith was strong.
Today in such marriages the Russian woman is a weak side. She herself does not know her faith.

But first, let's look at secular interfaith marriages, i.e. as for international marriages. Let's look at them without religious motives. Just socially. According to the "Darwinist".

Biologically, Russians are the owners of a recessive set of genes. White hair and blue eyes are suppressed by "dark" ones with dominant genes in the event of a fusion. Northern Europe is rapidly turning black in the second half of the 20th century. Protecting the polar bear population is considered permissible. Why should we rejoice at the disappearance of anthropological diversity? Geneticists have calculated that the last blond on our planet will be born in a century and a half somewhere in Finland.
Back in the early 70s of the twentieth century, the song "Rain on the Neva" performed by Eduard Khil sounded on the Soviet stage. There were such words: “The rain is streaming like a river on the asphalt. Rain on the Fontanka and rain on the Neva. I see my family and wet faces: Blue-eyed in the majority! ". And then it was perceived naturally. Today and in fact it is not so, and it is already dangerous to sing something like that ...
I am not saying that blondes are somehow better than brunettes (I myself am in the middle between them and in general is a bearer of either a Tatar or a Chechen surname). But I would like this paint to not disappear from the human palette. In 16, an Arab traveler, Pavel Aleppsky, came to the "land of the Cossacks". He saw this picture: “Nothing surprised us so much as the beauty of little boys and their singing. Our minds were amazed at the sight of a huge multitude of children of all ages. In the house of each person there are 10 or more children with white hair on their heads, for their great whiteness we called them elders. They are the same weather and walk one by one by a ladder "(Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo. The journey of Patriarch Macarius of Antioch to Russia in the first half of the 17th century, described by his son, Archdeacon Paul of Aleppo. M., 2005, SS. 124-126 and 144).
I hope that for the fact that I want Russia to continue to please foreigners with the same pictures, they will not accuse me of fascism ...
Caucasians today are "more passionate" than Russians. And I'm used to protecting the weak. If an employee of the Institute of General Genetics. Vavilova predicts that "the gene flow along the father's line will lead to a change in the anthropological appearance of the population of the Moscow region" (Komsomolskaya Pravda. August 31, 2007), why should I be happy about this?
I am not proposing any legislative or police measures. But to notice the existence of the problem, you can solve it yourself! I am not a president or a deputy. Is it possible to express your personal attitude or not?
Israel has a ministry of religious affairs. And this ministry keeps a record of mixed marriages: “According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, an average of 50 young Jewish women in Israel convert to another faith every year. Thus, over the 52 years of the state's existence, Jews have lost about 2,600 of their daughters. Considering that a woman in an Arab family produces on average 8 children, we conclude: there are approximately 20,000 Halachic Jews living in the Arab environment! It's scary to think: some of them, perhaps, belong to terrorist organizations, are notorious enemies of the Jewish people, and do not know about their Jewish roots! The poll shows that it is mainly girls who marry Arabs who have not received enough parental warmth in their time, which is inherent in Jewish families. These women do not have a clearly expressed national self-identification and therefore turn out to be easy prey for skilled foreign gentlemen. It is not surprising that the conversion to another faith is the lot of girls from purely secular families: in the ultra-Orthodox and national-religious environment such cases have not been heard ”(Bartzon B. How Israeli women convert to another faith // Vesti, 1.5.2000. Tel Aviv) ...
I would really not want such a ministry with a similar range of interests to appear in Russia. My only suggestion is to stop singing such marriages. Like, this is the source of geniuses.
If this were so, then Latin America would be completely inhabited not just by mestizos, but by geniuses. If this were so, then the Kuban (this is where the Cossacks have long been united with the Circassians) at least once every five years, but would give birth to a Nobel laureate. And why, then, is the super-mixed US importing brains from all over the world ready-made?
In fact, it is the adherents of this strange thesis that carry the pastoralist principles into the world of human thought. The measure of a child's talent, probably, nevertheless, to a much greater extent depends on the level of culture of his parents and on the school he attended, and not on the fact that his mom and dad belong to different nations.
There is a propaganda myth about Russia that, they say, all the ethnic groups that it took into itself, it has preserved all of them. This is not true. Where are Perm and Vyatka (not as cities, but as peoples with their own languages)?
Therefore, in the phrase “interethnic marriages of Russians and Caucasians threaten the existence of the Russian people”, let's replace the word “Russian” with “Veps” or “Mansi”, and the word “Caucasian” with “Russian”. Now, if I were a poet from the Siberian Mansi people, and would ask my youth to think about preserving their people, faith, customs and language, would ask her not to be seduced by the lights of big cities and marriages with Russian geologists and gas workers ... They would also call them a fascist and a bastard ? But already every fourth marriage in Moscow is interethnic (and more and more not with Ukrainians, but with Caucasians). No problem?
I'm not saying that a Russian girl should be stopped at the doorstep of the registry office if she has a fiance of the wrong nation. How they fell in love and met each other is their own business. But there is a personal life, and there are socially and culturally significant consequences of this seemingly completely personal life. And you can talk about them. And it is hardly necessary to determine in advance that the assessment of the prospects must only be approvingly optimistic.
Further, from the biological level of discussion of the topic, we move on to the psychological one. In the same selection in Komsomolskaya Pravda, which included a few lines of mine, quite secular psychologists talked about this:
“Olga Makhovskaya senior researcher at the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences: - It's another matter that after the wedding everything changes dramatically. A Muslim man does not tolerate objections, he can forbid his wife even to leave the house! Our women in such marriages very often suffer ... If you are offered to go to the homeland of the groom, for example, to Azerbaijan, do not agree! This is a completely different culture and tradition. Our women, as practice shows, simply cannot withstand such a test ”(Is a migrant the best groom for a Muscovite? // Komsomolskaya Pravda. August 31).
At the time of falling in love and courtship, the girl, probably, is not very inclined to look far into the future. Moreover, the groom confidently assures: “We met at a disco, not in a mosque! I am a secular person, I do not know the laws of Sharia and I will not impose anything on you and on your children! "
But the years go by, the spouse himself and his entourage are changing. Over the years, a person becomes more conservative. And the question of self-identification cannot be avoided in any way. And so his friends begin to wonder: why is your wife ... and why your children ... And if at first the Russian wife raised his status in the eyes of acquaintances, now the "unfaithful" wife has become a problem for him. So, to the usual family problems in mixed families, there will be added the problems generated by their mixed, "multicultural" composition. And what - to warn the girl about this is pre-pulsation and fascism? However, if the family is "multicultural" then these problems will not be significant. But if each of the parties enriches its life with its own lack of culture, then it will not seem a little. That is, the marriage of an Azerbaijani student of Moscow State University and a Russian girl from the same walls will most likely not be burdened with national problems (the common field of European culture will help them understand each other). But if the acquaintance took place on the market ...
There is also a cultural aspect. And will any organism survive the infusion of donated blood? After all, there are such diseases and conditions when only hemodialysis is possible: transfusion of the patient's own blood ... The stomach of a soldier can even digest nails. And over the years it is still better to switch to diet food ... Well, Russia is not young already! It's time to get rid of teenage feelings. Don't consider yourself a tough pepper. We are not like that anymore. There is no time for new acquisitions. To survive, to be saved ...
Yes, Russia could absorb other peoples. But from the fact that something succeeded in the old years, it does not follow that the record will be repeated by the same person after half a century ...
In addition, in the old days the answer to the question “what does it mean to be Russian” was simple: to believe according to the Orthodox and lay down our lives for the Russian Tsar ... I hope we will not have military consolidation, and the country will not have to go into battle for Medvedev-Putin ...
And now the “old-timers” of Russia do not have a peaceful, intelligible and uniform “symbol of faith”.
And what, then, will be able to unite the "aborigines" and "guest workers"? To jointly root for Dima Bilan, Zenit and the national hockey team? Isn't this "sporty-pop" self-identification on the ruins of the "Third Rome" too shallow and blasphemous?
Finally, there is the religious aspect. The Orthodox Church has NEVER approved of interfaith marriages. And it has never been a secret. Today's Russian girls themselves do not know the Orthodox faith, and even more so in a foreign cultural and religious environment, they will not be able to transfer the faith they lack to their children. The Church cannot influence the choice of life path by unbelievers. But to our own people, to the church people, we can also say about the religious consequences of one or another of their choices.
Once the Church recommended and imposed interethnic marriages as a means of mission (“from the same newly baptized (Tatars) to the widowed to marry old Russian, and their second and third sons to marry old Russian women, for general Christian benefit from neighboring villages to transfer old Russian peasants to them several families to the village, and instead of them from the same New-baptismal village, a small number of them to the houses of those withdrawn peasants ") 1740), p. 363). "This is necessary that newly baptized with the Russians renew their friendship among themselves, and especially for the fact that having a son-in-law or daughter-in-law of Russians in their house, they will be afraid of things that are repugnant to Christian law in their homes." Orthodox confession. T. 10, St. Petersburg., 1911, No. 3590 (dated October 6, 1740), p. 434).
But today the ideas of Russian girls about their national culture and about Orthodoxy are too weak to see them as a factor of possible missionary influence ...

- Is there an ethical aspect of interethnic marriages?
- I do not see. Falling in love with a person of another nation is not a sin. People entering into such marriages are by no means sinners or criminals. Children born in such marriages, all the more, can not be condemned by anyone for this. It's just that the words “sin” and “crime are not the same. And the words "sin" and "threat" are also not equal. There is no sin in interethnic and interfaith marriage. And there are threats - and I have partly listed them.

- But there is neither a Hellene nor a Jew ?!
- Thank you for reminding. A misunderstanding of this phrase can kill an external mission altogether. In Christ - yes, it is precisely and only “in Christ” that there is neither a Hellene nor a Jew. For Christ there is no difference between the Greeks and Jews who believed in Him. Christ is ready to give equally immeasurable gifts to both. But what has this to do with a Muslim who does not even think of asking from Christ for the gift of grace, for example, the "tearful gift"?
From the point of view of the grace-filled drink, the nationality of a Christian is not important, but we are not Christ, but people. And we are not only Christians. And even Greek Orthodoxy has peculiar features that distinguish it from Russian or Moldavian Orthodoxy. As for interfaith marriages, the attitude towards them is unambiguously negative both in Orthodoxy and in Catholicism and Islam and Judaism. These marriages are not illegal, but not desirable.

- Even in churches in Russia Muslim migrant workers are already building!
- There is a good side to this: a Muslim who built a Christian church will not then consider him something completely alien and hostile to himself. If he and his children stay here, they will consider this temple “almost theirs”. If he returns to his homeland - and there he will look at the local Christian churches with a kind eye, and the enthusiasm of the Kosovars blowing up Serbian churches will be alien to him.