Melbourne Mosque Holds Wedding of Muslim Man and 14-Year-Old Girl
Former imam Ibrahim Omerdic appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on May 17 where he faces charges of performing the forced marriage of an under aged girl to a man almost twice her age. A video of the simple wedding ceremony from the groom's cell phone was shown at the hearing.
The forced marriage took place on Sept. 29 last year inside Omerdic's office at the Bosnia-Herzegovina Islamic Society in Noble Park. In the video, he was shown presiding over the wedding ceremony between a 14-year-old girl and a 34-year-old man she had known for just a few days.
The footage showed the shy teenager dressed in a light blue headscarf sitting anxiously as her mother watched on. It was learned that the man gave the mother a $1,480 gold necklace in exchange for her daughter. Omerdic, 62, was heard telling the girl she now has a duty to "obey" her husband.
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Authorities got wind of the illegal ceremony and arrested Omerdic and the groom less than a month later. The groom pleaded guilty to taking part in the marriage in exchange for withdrawing his charge of engaging in sex with a minor. The cleric, on the other hand, was relieved from his position by the Islamic Council of Victoria last January.
The Board of Imams issued a statement condemning the incident. "It is true that marriage at a younger age is permitted in other countries and cultures, but this is not a justification for marriage below the legal age or child marriages here in Australia," it said. "As Australian Muslims we are required to observe and respect the laws of Australia," it added.
Omerdic's defense relies on the ceremony's incompleteness, which made the marriage non-binding. The words required to be said by the bride and groom under the law were never repeated, the defense counsel argued. Furthermore, what was issued was a certificate of Islamic marriage instead of an Australian certificate.
