A minister has rightly highlighted the issue of the dangers of marrying ones cousin, a practise especially prevalent amongst those of Pakistani origin in the UK:
A government minister has warned that inbreeding among immigrants is causing a surge in birth defects comments likely to spark a new row over the place of Muslims in British society.
Phil Woolas, an environment minister, said the culture of arranged marriages between first cousins was the elephant in the room. Woolas, a former race relations minister, said: If you have a child with your cousin the likelihood is therell be a genetic problem.
Medical research suggests that while British Pakistanis are responsible for 3% of all births, they account for one in three British children born with genetic illnesses.
This is a problem derived from Pakistani cultural norms, as the minister points out. Sadly, many in the media have chosen to once again make this a Muslim issue; it is not, it is a cultural issue. Those Pakistanis just happen to be Muslims. It is a great shame that the media cannot report such things nowadays without having to crowbar in Muslim or Islam into the title. One might put it down to ignorance, but in fact it is down to sensationalism. Muslim sells papers.
This inbreeding trend is a real problem, and can only be solved by those of Pakistani descent themselves, even if doctors and other professionals highlight the dangers of inbreeding at every opportunity. Making it a Muslim issue will only harden the hearts of those who will suffer most, as their siege mentality with regards to their religion will be reinforced.
Labour MP Ann Cryer, who often talks a lot of sense, supported the minister:
The call for action was also supported by Labour MP Ann Cryer who raised the issue two years ago after research showed British
Pakistanis were 13 times more likely to have children with recessive disorders than the general population. Mrs Cryer, who represents Keighley in West Yorkshire, told the Sunday Times: This is to do with a medieval culture where you keep wealth within the family.
I have encountered cases of blindness and deafness. There was one poor girl who had to have an oxygen tank on her back and breathe from a hole in the front of her neck, she added. The parents were warned they should not have any more children. But when the husband returned from Pakistan, within months they had another child with exactly the same condition.
Research for BBC2s Newsnight in November 2005 showed
British Pakistanis accounted for 3.4% of all births but have 30% of all British children with recessive disorders.
Update: As Bartholomew has pointed out below,
the real problem comes from generations of marrying ones cousins. This should not negate the ministers warnings however, as it is directed at those who are prone to marry their cousins, thus continuing the cycle of babies who are being born with increased chances of disabilities.
Source:
Pickled Politics