[Sherman Logan]

First cousin marriage is not in and of itself that much more likely to cause genetic harm. Not in the first generation.

But continue it for generation after generation, and bad things happen.

Which is quite odd, because some Muslin communities have had this as routine practice for more than 1000 years. They should have crossed the genetic Armageddon line centuries ago, and that just doesn’t seem to be the case.

[blackdog]

Cousin, goat, cousin, goat, cousin, sheep, goat, cousin.

The typical family tree of Islam.

[PghBaldy]

Jews had cousin marriages, but not such close relations, for hundreds of years too, FWIW. Amish have a problem too.

[Tax-chick]

They should have crossed the genetic Armageddon line centuries ago, and that just doesn’t seem to be the case.

Perhaps there's a point at which all the bad stuff in a particular line has manifested, and so equilibrium is reached.

[PapaBear3625]

First cousin marriage is not in and of itself that much more likely to cause genetic harm. Not in the first generation. But continue it for generation after generation, and bad things happen. Which is quite odd, because some Muslin communities have had this as routine practice for more than 1000 years. They should have crossed the genetic Armageddon line centuries ago, and that just doesn’t seem to be the case.

Animal breeders use inbreeding all the time.

Inbreeding works out ONLY IF the defectives produced get culled or are otherwise prevented from breeding. In Islam, if you don't have the money to pay the bride-price (mahr), you don't get a wife and you don't breed. Conversely, if you are very economically successful, you can have multiple wives.

Combining inbreeding with the Welfare State is a recipe for disaster. I would imagine that in many of our "inner cities", we may have lots of children bred from the same gangsta stud.