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Here is a subject on which i really need to have your opinnion.
Many states in USA forbid cousin marrages,and it is not thought to be right in the UK,i don't know what the law says here.
I tried to find why cousin marrages are considered all out "Taboo"
Many consider it being equivalent to marraiage between brother and sister.The technical definition of brother and sister should be that they have either both common parents,or have one common parent.

The rest can't be considered as brothers and sisters,technically speaking.

Religion first, we look at christianity.....

Well all that I can say is that the bible... doesn't say a lot on "Cousin Marriage" !
Anyway, the most important will be found, I guess, in LEVITICUS 18, which tells you all the relation ship you should not have with your relatives, but nothing about cousins !

In GENESIS 24:15, 48, 67, we learn that Isaac married his "first cousin once removed", Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, wife of Nahor, brother of Abraham.
Ok, it can sound a little fuzzy, so I invite you to have a look to the Genealogical tree.
Oh, just a precision, Isaac is Abraham's son !

In GENESIS 28:2; 29:10; 29:28, we learn that Jacob, son of Isaac married his FIRST COUSINS, Leah and Rachel, (yes both of them !)
Rachel & Leah, daughters of Laban, brother of Jacob's mother Rebekah.
Fuzzy again ? See the Genealogical Tree.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were all blessed by God himself.
By reading more attentively those chapters, we realize that God has given Rebekah to Isaac, and Rachel & Leah to Jacob.
God wanted all that to happen, it was GOD'S WILL !

The Bible AND God, ALLOW marriages between cousins !

Now we see islam...

In Quran:::

Allah Prohibited to you (for marriage) are: your mothers, daughters, sisters; father’s sisters, mother’s sisters; brother’s daughters, sister’s daughters; foster-mothers (who breast-fed you), foster-sisters (who breast-fed from the same woman as you); your wives’ mothers; your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives with whom you have consummated marriage, no prohibition if ye have not consummated; (those who have been) wives of your sons proceeding from your loins; and two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time, except for what is past; for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Research downplays risk of cousin marriages

By Richard Willing, USA TODAY

Marriage between first cousins, long a major legal, social and religious taboo, is far less likely to produce abnormal children than is commonly believed, a study by leading genetics researchers says.

"Stigma still attaches to these unions," says Robin Bennett, a genetics counselor at the University of Washington and the study's lead author.

"But there's no good social or biological reason that should be. There's a lot of misinformation out there that is really holding back some cousins who want to try to have children," Bennett says.

Bennett's team, which included researchers from Stanford University and the National Society of Genetic Counselors, spent more than two years studying health statistics on the offspring of first-cousin marriages in North America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The researchers concluded that children of marriages between cousins inherited recessive genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs disease, in 7% to 8% of cases. For the general population, the rate was 5%.

The study suggests that doctors and genetics counselors not discourage cousins from procreating. Instead, it says, they should take family disease histories and offer ordinary genetic services such as fetal and newborn disease testing.

The study is in the April edition of the Journal of Genetic Counseling.

Despite the findings, some genetics specialists say they will continue to urge caution.

"A 7 to 8% chance (of genetic disorder) is 50% greater than a 5% chance," says Philip Reilly, geneticist and author of Abraham Lincoln's DNA, a popular history of human genetics.

"That's a significant difference. People counseling first cousins who want to marry need to be very careful and clear on this," Reilly says.

Scientists say there are at least 5,000 diseases caused by inherited mutations called recessive genes. Possessing a single copy of the mutation is often harmless, but if a copy is inherited from each parent, the result can be death or chronic disease. Because first cousins share a pair of grandparents, the chances are greater that each will pass a copy of a "bad gene" to their child, triggering the disorder.

Cousin marriage has been widespread in rural societies, where it serves to keep money and property within families. The practice is still popular in much of the Muslim world, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Genetics researcher Alan Bittles estimates that 20% of marriages worldwide are between relatives who are first cousins.

Genetics counselors say there are no exact figures for the USA, but experience suggests that about one marriage in 1,000 is between first cousins. Jewish and Christian traditions discourage cousin marriage. The Roman Catholic Church requires cousins to get special permission before they marry.

In Brooklyn, N.Y., a rabbi maintains a database that allows Jews to see whether a potential marriage partner carries the recessive gene for Tay-Sachs, a fatal enzyme disorder that is prevalent in Jewish families.

Apart from the slightly higher risk of handing over one's genetic disorders to the off springs,there are no evils related to cousin marrages.
These genetic disorders may or may not happen,not sure.
These days when people think that gay marrages are ok,and are campaining for it.I don't think that there is anything bad in cousin marriage.

There are no contemporary studies that indicate cousins have children with significantly higher than normal birth defects. Fears of cousins who marry having children with birth defects are indeed exaggerated. Simply marrying within your own race increases the odds of birth defects. Marrying within your own town further increases your chances. Cousin couples have only a slightly higher incidence of birth defects than non-related couples.

Fact: 26 states allow first cousin marriages; Most people can marry their cousin in the US.

Fact: US prohibitions against cousin marriages predate modern genetics. Hmmm.

Fact: In the first quarter of 2000, two delegates in Maryland introduced a bill that would prohibit first cousin marriage. This bill passed in the House of Delegates (82 to 46), however did not make it past the Senate Committee. Please remember Delegates Heller and Barve in the next election. The sponsors of the bill claim that a large ratio of out-of-state couples come to Maryland to get married – perhaps cousin couples. Their bill would have stifled revenues from marriage licenses while imposing ridiculous marriage restrictions.

Fact: No European country prohibits marriage between first cousins. It is also legal throughout Canada and Mexico to marry your cousin. The USA is the only western country with cousin marriage restrictions.

Fact: Children of non-related couples have a 2-3% risk of birth defects, as opposed to first cousins having a 4-6% risk. Genetic counseling is available for those couples that may be at a special risk for birth defects (e.g. You have a defect that runs in your family) In plain terms first cousins have at a 94 percent + chance of having healthy children. Check the links section for more information on genetic counselors. The National Society of Genetic Counselors estimated the increased risk for first cousins is between 1.7 to 2.8 percent, or about the same a any woman over 40 years of age.

Fact: Second cousins have little, if any increased chance of having children with birth defects, per the book "Clinical Genetics Handbook”– courtesy of the March of Dimes.

Fact: The frequency of cousin marriages in the USA is about 1 in 1,000

Fact: The frequency of cousin marriages in Japan is about 4 in 1,000

Fact: It is estimated that 20 percent of all couples worldwide are first cousins. It is also estimated that 80 percent of all marriages historically have been between first cousins!

Fact: In some cultures, the term cousin and mate are synonymous.

Fact: The range of consanguinity in Saudi Arabia is between 34 to 80+ percent. A study has been done on birth defects resulting from consanguineous marriages in this country. Read about it.

Fact: Albert Einstein married his first cousin. And so did Charles Darwin, who had exceptional children.

Fact: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the longest serving US president in history married his cousin (not a first cousin, however they shared the same last name).

Fact: The first Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. MacDonald married his first cousin.

Fact: Leviticus 18 lists all forbidden sexual relationships. Cousin relationships are not included.

Fact: God commanded many cousins to marry, including Zelophehad's 5 daughters, Eleazar's daughters, Jacob (who married both Rachel and Leah, first cousins), and Isaac and Rebekkah (first cousins once removed). All were ancestors of Jesus Christ.

Fact: Current studies indicate that cousin couples have a lower ratio of miscarriages -- perhaps because body chemistry of cousins is more similar. The verdict is still out.

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