No marriage without consent in Somalia

"May I have the honor of ruining both mine and your daughter's life?"

Islamic leaders on Monday banned Somalis from marrying without the consent or knowledge of their parents, saying such unions violate Islam.

Islam takes away everything, can't even...well, actually, this one ain't so bad. So you have to ask permission first. No big deal. But what is a big deal is that this usually leads to the banning of other personal freedoms like listening to music, dancing, free speech and the right not to be beheaded at halftime during the football match.

The group also has banned live music, the viewing of films and sports, and the use of qat, the leafy semi-narcotic plant, in areas it controls.

See.

Mohamedek Ali, a 21-year-old Somali, said the costs were prohibitive and would prevent many marriages. "They cannot ban what our forefathers practiced," he said. "All of us, including the mullahs were born from elopement marriage."

My forefathers owned black people. Some practices and traditions need to go sometimes.