Genetic disorders in the Arab world

British Medical Journal ^ | October 21, 2006 | Lihadh Al-Gazali, Hanan Hamamy, Shaikha Al-Arrayad

[AdmSmith]

Available data suggest that genetic and congenital disorders are more common in Arab countries than in industrialised countries; recessively inherited disorders account for a substantial proportion of physical and mental handicap. Several factors may contribute to the high prevalence of genetically determined disorders:

High consanguinity rates 25-60% of all marriages are consanguineous, and the rate of first cousin marriages is high. In addition, isolated subpopulations with a high level of inbreeding exist. Furthermore, in many parts of the Arab world the society is still tribal. This has made the epidemiology of genetic disorders complicated, as many families and tribal groups are descended from a limited number of ancestors and some conditions are confined to specific villages, families, and tribal groups, leading to an unusual burden of genetic diseases in these communities (table B on bmj.com)

The high prevalence of haemoglobinopathies, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, autosomal recessive syndromes, and several metabolic disorders (fig A and table C on bmj.com)

The rate of children with Down's syndrome in some Arab countries exceeds the 1.2-1.7 per 1000 typical for industrialised countries. This may be related to the relatively high proportion of births to older mothers in the region (up to 50% of children with Down's syndrome in the region are estimated to be born to mothers aged 40 or over)

The lack of public health measures directed at the prevention of congenital and genetic disorders, with inadequate health care before and during pregnancy, particularly in low income countries

Services for the prevention and control of genetic disorders are restricted by certain cultural, legal, and religious limitations, such as the cultural fear of families with genetic diseases being stigmatised within their community and the legal restrictions on selective termination of pregnancy of an affected fetus.

[rightazrain]

" . . . . that would make a woman unmarriageable and largely undateable in any normal society." Betcha that applies to men too. Forced marriages --- ugly/malformed men marry just fine if they have the dowry.

[Kenny Bunk]

....why Muslim men want to convert Western women to Islam...

The fact that Islam fosters a poor genetic pool is certainly no secret to the health authorities in Islamic countries. Saudi Arabia, for example, actively encourages the importation of brides from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, The Sudan, Libya, Turkey, Syria, and especially Lebanon. The very wealthy recruit in Bosnia.

However, there is no sadder segment of the Saudi population than the American women trapped there. They meet some charming Saudi at AZ State, and marry him, little suspecting that he is already married to a cousin or two back home, i.e., until she returns with him after grad school, to "meet the folks," and "introduce the children."

Once inside the Kingdom, that American girl loses all rights and cannot leave without her husband's permission. There is even less chance to take her American citizen children. She will be housed and fed, given an allowance, and she will be divorced, chaperoned and shadowed, for the rest of her life in exile.

I am amazed that the obnoxious feminists who populate every campus do not know this, and make it known to American co-eds.