Very Long! So here are a few key sentences from the article:
Yet, Americans know so little about the Middle East that few of us are even aware of one of one of the building blocks of Arab Muslim cultures -- cousin marriage.In Iraq, as in much of the region, nearly half of all married couples are first or second cousins to each other.Extended families that are incredibly tightly bound are really the enemy of civil society because the alliances of family override any consideration of fairness to people in the larger society.
Where will parents find a good match? Often, it boils down to whom you know and can trust."
Another
important motivation -- one that is particularly important in many
herding cultures, such as the ancients ones from which the Jews and
Muslims emerged -- is to prevent inheritable wealth from being split among too many descendents. This can be especially important when there are economies of scale in the family business.
Just as the inbred have fewer unique ancestors than the outbred, they also have fewer unique heirs, helping keep both the inheritance and the brothers together.
Being
inbred increases the chance of inheriting genetic syndromes caused by
malign recessive genes. Bittles found that, after controlling for
socio-economic factors, the babies of first cousins had about a 30% higher chance of dying before their first birthdays.
