US Embassy and non-Muslim marriages
Ok, so my boyfriend (of 2 years) and I were talking about going the marriage route.... he's Lebanese Muslim (based in Dubai) and I'm American Christian (neither of us are very religious..... please don't get into the topic of the muslim religious thing - I cant keep having that same arguement). Obviously, Im based in Doha.
So he starts checking things out on his end finding it might be easier to marry in Cyprus and I check with the US Embassy here about documentation and legalities and such and this is what they said (verbatim) "You should also be made aware that a non-Muslim marriage (if you are
going that route) is, at present, not recognized by the Qatari government and may present issues to you in the future (travel to the US, visas, etc.). "
What crap is that??? How can Qatar not recognize non-muslim marriages?!?!?!?! How many expats are in this country and they're saying Qatar doesn't recognize their marriages?!?!? I believe that would be correct if the female were muslim and the male Christian but not the other way around.
Shall I curse the person at the embassy at this point for misinformation or can anyone elseprovide insight??? I wasn't able to find out anything on any Qatar websits.
Thanks everyone!
OOPPs, sorry reread the Q again and he's not American but Lebanese so would defiantly make sure he can get a visa first to America before marring. Sorry Kid but the embassy is kinda right in there response, they are trying to warn yo in a nice way..
Brin - First question that comes to mind is, "Are you both American?" Cause it sounds to me that you are but he's not. Hence the response from the embassy. Even if you do marry here and he's not a US citizen just being married does not grant him instant access to visa's and citizenship in US (given that the US and Australia have somewhat similar immigration policies)and his visa can still be rejected, which leaves you were? I have known people who have been down this track before and it's not a pleasant one. Best if he is not a US citizen to apply for his visa and marry in the States if this be the case. As for getting married in far of islands while it seems to be a great Idea most people I know also do the civil thing at home as well just to be on the safe side, knew a couple he was british his wife a british citizen, that married in spain when he went to apply for adoption of her daughter it got ugly as they found out that the marriage in spain was not recognised out of the village they were married in and it cost a lot of time and a lot of money to rectify the whole situation.
i think you should post this in the FORUM topic so all the good & sensible people of QL can help you and give you sound advice. Here in the question tab, you'll lost the thread after a few minutes without getting much advice.
I think what the Embassy was saying is that if you were both Christian, there would not be a problem, but in Qatar, to have a non-muslim and Muslim marry is against the laws and beliefs here. My husband and I are both Americans, Christian and married in the US. We are recognized here because we did not mingle faiths. I think the best way for you to get around it is to convert, or live outside of muslim countries.