For Arab newlyweds, party goes on until police bust in
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES » The party was going strong: traditional music blared, families cheered, throngs of revelers danced. Then, police burst in. Officers kicked out guests, slapped hefty fines — even locked up the tuxedoed groom and singers.
In recent weeks, such unhappy endings to longawaited weddings have become a common story in the Arab world, as resurgent coronavirus caseloads trigger tough police action.
Still, in a region where marriage is the cornerstone of society — the gateway to independence and the only culturally acceptable context for a sex life — couples are plowing ahead, despite the deadly risks. From the Palestinian territories to the United Arab Emirates, officials attribute a spike in virus cases to traditional, large-scale weddings that flout public health measures.
In Jenin, in the northern West Bank, Mustafa Khatib and six of his band members spent two nights in jail for serenading a crowded wedding party this month. Police fined the group $11,000.
“This is not fair,” said Khatib. “People will never stop getting married and will never stop holding parties.”
Mohammed Abu al-Naji, another singer, was released from detention only after pledging to stop singing until the pandemic ends.
“There were some 500 people at the party, with no protection whatsoever,” al-Naji recalled. “I wasn’t happy to be at such a wedding, but I had to,” to make ends meet, he said.
Palestinian authorities have shut down dozens of ceremonies, said police spokesman Loaie Irzekat. Yet the wave of fines, detentions and infections hasn’t stopped determined couples from getting hitched — surrounded by hundreds of their friends.
“You plan to have a small wedding but then all your relatives and friends show up,” explained Qasim Najjar, whose wedding party last weekend in the northern West Bank village of Deir Sharaf was dispersed by police. “This is our custom.”
For Arab families, large and lavish weddings mark social status. For newlyweds, the custom of accepting cash-filled envelopes helps them set up homes. For Palestinians, the ritual may run even deeper.
“It’s an existential thing,” said Randa Serhan, a political sociologist at the American University of Beirut, referring to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation or in exile. “If Palestinians stop marrying and procreating, they’ll cease to exist. They don’t have a nation, but they have family.”