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‘Civilizational Concern’: White House Slams Starmer Over His Refusal to Ban First-Cousin Marriage

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First-cousin marriage (aka consanguineous marriage) across the Middle East and North Africa, has now made its way into Western world via migration. The practice is accepted in Islam. As usual, Keir Starmer, like other leftist leaders, makes unreasonable accommodations to Muslims, heedless of any adverse consequences to the interests of the people as a whole. “US slams Keir Starmer over refusal to ban cousin marriage as a ‘civilisational concern,’” by Conor Wilson, Express, January 12, 2026:

The White House has launched a scathing criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to ban cousin marriage. Donald Trump’s free speech Tsar, Sarah Rogers, shared a clip of a debate in Parliament on the practice of first-cousin marriage, to illustrate concerns the US Government had previously expressed over civilisational erasure in Europe.

Responding to a video on X, Rogers said: “I’ve received some questions about what we mean, in our National Security Strategy, when we invoke ‘civilisational’ concerns. So I’m tweeting a relevant news item.” Last month, President Trump warned that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” as he questioned the reliability of the country’s longstanding allies.

The video shared by Rogers showed a Conservative MP speaking during PMQs as he warned of the health implications endured by the offspring of cousin marriages.

He said: “On Friday, this Government has a chance to let my bill go through to ban first-cousin marriage to committee stage. Will the Prime Minister think again before instructing his whips to block this legislation?”

The Prime Minister replied: “We’ve taken our position on that bill, thank you.”….

Sarah Rogers wrote:

Starmer’s opponents are taking him to the woodshed:

Muhammad is the model for first-cousin marriage; he married his maternal cousin Zaynab bint Jahsh, and arranged the marriage of his daughter Fatima to his own cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib. The latter marriage was and is regarded among many Muslims as a “sacred bond,” as explained in the piece: The First Family: The Beautiful Marriage of Ali and Fatima, by the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research.

First-cousin marriage adds to a host of other problems for the West that have also been imported via mass unvetted migration, including illegal migration. While it is generally refreshing to see Starmer criticized yet again, America has some sludge to clean in its own backyard. As the Telegraph stated: “In the United States, marriage to your first cousin is completely legal in over 15 states, with more allowing it in certain circumstances. Mr Trump has not moved to ban it.” Yet Trump hasn’t opposed a ban, as has Starmer.

According to Newsweek, “First-cousin marriage remains completely legal in these 17 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.” Other states do “allow first cousins to get married in some specific circumstances.” The Tennessee legislature however, in April 2024 overwhelmingly (75-2) passed a bill in the House to ban the practice.

The Institute for Family Studies notes that America merely “tolerated first-cousin marriage in law during colonial and founding times,” but it “was never the norm” that it is in the Islamic world. But now, pressure is mounting in America and elsewhere “with increasing frequency” to legalize first cousin-marriage, due to Muslim migration. Now it’s time for change in America due to, as Sarah Rogers put it, “civilizational concern.”

Marriage between relatives such as first cousins doubles the risk of birth defects, ranging from “extra fingers or toes through to more life-threatening problems such as holes in the heart or brain development disorders.” And that’s just for starters.

Richard Holden, the Conservative MP campaigning to outlaw the practice of first-cousin marriage, warned of its “significant”impacts “on health and women’s rights.” He also “accused Labour of ‘turning a blind eye’ to cousin marriage by refusing to support his private member’s bill on the issue.”

In the UK, the Pakistani population is over 1.6 million, constituting the second-largest ethnic minority, concentrated in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester. It’s no secret that members of Muslim rape gangs were disproportionately from a Pakistani background, and now that this demographic is burgeoning in numbers, so is the risk of birth defects, concomitant with the Pakistani community’s acceptance of first-cousin marriage.

An article from the Genetic Literacy Project entitled Cousin marriages: ‘If you ever want to see some fascinating genetic disorders, you should all travel to Pakistan’ notes that over 60% of the Pakistani population carries out consanguineous marriages (inbreeding, often first or second cousins). The report addresses risk of genetic abnormalities among such  offspring.

The left-leaning BBC ran a report last year featuring a Birmingham Pakistani couple defending first-cousin marriage amid calls for a ban. Yet the BBC also ran another article on the very same day revealing “worrying new data” about the health of consanguineous  offspring, following the largest study of its kind from the Pakistani community in Bradford. The researchers recruited 13,000 babies, where one in six children in the study had parents who are first cousins. The longitudinal study followed the children from infancy to adolescence. The data findings “caught the attention of lawmakers across Europe,” which led to Norway outlawing first-cousin marriages, with Sweden following.

Yet three months ago in Britain, the NHS pulled a “controversial” blog on first cousin marriage, despite it being  “factually based,” thus displaying (again) the pervasive nervousness over offending Muslim groups — which has come to define Britain and all leftist-ruled countries.

An article from the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, The Case for Banning Cousin Marriage, sums up nicely the cumulative case for banning first-cousin marriage, and concludes:

Thus, having given full consideration to the medical, social, and geopolitical context of cousin marriage, we can finally answer the documentary-makers’ questions posed at the beginning of this article:

  • Should one marry one’s cousin? No.
  • Should others be allowed to marry their cousin? No.
  • Should we abolish stigmas and laws against cousin marriage? No.
  • Is cousin marriage really that bad? Yes.
  • Can we ban cousin marriage? Yes.
  • Should we ban cousin marriage? Yes.

Keir Starmer has proven himself unwilling to stop the steady flow of mostly Muslim illegals invading Britain via the English Channel; how can anyone expect any backbone from Starmer in standing up to an accepted Islamic practice, and one which Muhammad himself modeled? Starmer has already sold out Britain to dhimmitude.

Of his own accord, Starmer will likely do nothing, but public pressure sometimes budges the hardest cases. In the meantime, let’s hope, too, that America gets more serious in confronting this “civilizational concern” of inbreeding among the states where consanguineous marriages are still legal.

Comments

  1. Not that I’m for cousin marriages, but why is the White House at all bothered about what is essentially an internal matter for the Brits? We didn’t like it when the Brits and Europeans were all into what we were doing in Trump’s first term (maybe this is payback?): we’d ask them to mind their own business. This is Britain’s problem, and something they have to sort out themselves. Our interfering there is as illegitimate as Justin Trudeau trying to interfere w/ Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ policies

  2. Cousin-marriage leads to a much higher number of babies being born with congenital defects – very expensive to treat over a lifetime –and it is the British taxpayer who foots the bill for the National Health Service. One more way that the Muslim.presence in the U.K. is costing the indigenous peopl enormous sums. Of course it should be outlawed.

    • Of course congenital defects don’t occur disproportionally when the first cousin marriages occur in US states where first cousin marriage is legal.

      • And to which ‘states’ in the U.S. do you refer to say first cousin marriages are Legal”?

      • when you list those few, also note the physical and mental issues with the people in those states.

        • Read the above article. The 17 states where its completely legal are listed. Apparently its legal in some limited way in some other states.
          How’s Uncle Dad?

        • I don’t trust Newsweek and saying “completely” legal. Many have restrictions on who, ages, etc.

          And, you didn’t list the health, mental issues in those states.
          Take Florida, for example. Just a few pages of news per day show a lot of people murdering, abandoning, torturing their kids and spouses murdering their partners.

          Now, find out how many are the result of “first cousin” marriages. It would take a whole lot of research….and paying for records….to find out.

          I am totally against first cousin marriages. Second cousin is still too close for me.

          You should know how your “uncle dad” is.

  3. Since the UK has nuclear capability and is still supposedly an ally of the USA I guess the White House is keeping an eye on the Islamification process here.
    Apparently the White House has also given instructions to it’s Embassies in Europe to monitor freedom of speech clampdowns also.
    I am grateful for this interest,and also for the continuing attention of Jihad watch.

    I have not looked into first cousin marriage in third world countries who are NOT Islamic.
    That would be interesting. I wonder if it is common practice in other countries and cultures?
    We have colonies of foreigers throughout Britain.
    Banning first cousin marriage here may have a further reaching effect.

    • “still supposedly an ally of the USA”

      Too many in the U.S. with this attitude: “don’t care, they deserve what they get, none of our business.”

      While the UK and other European nations are our allies, the ever expanding Muslim population is slowly, diligently eroding those nations’ civilizational identities from within.

      Given Starmer’s Islamopandering, it’s not difficult to imagine a future in which that trustworthy status will be suspect.

      • Absolutley agree PRCS.
        That trustworthy staus must be suspect already.
        The UK Government must be seen by the US as a threat to your own National security. You cannot confidently share information our leaders.
        If you cut ties with Islamic Britain then that is to be expected.
        Pity that ordinary British folk are going down with it.
        Of course we can also see that the US is having it’s own problems controlling Islam.
        And Mr Spencer is not allowed to lecture your military about it.

        That is why Jihad Watch is so important.

  4. If it’s good enough for royalty, why not for all? Isn’t inbreeding wonderful?

  5. These inbred wogs in the UK cost us a fortune.

    It was only last year the totally usurped NHS was stating how wonderful this practice was.

    • It sure does sum up everything, England Invaded. Thanks for the link even though it was painful to watch this useful idiot participate in his own moronic way in the destruction of one of the greatest nations in the history of man. As an American, I am sickened by what has happened to England and all of Britain and I don’t wish to visit that magnificent island anymore because of its descent into suicidal destruction. Frankly, if common sense and what is right still prevailed in Britain this policeman would be, at the very least, dismissed from his job; at best he would be tried for treason.

      • This of course is the Chief Constable in charge of the West Midlands Police who were taking instructions from ‘slims last year to stop an Israeli football team’s fans coming to Birmingham.

        Here speaking about the protests in 2024 where Brits were jailed for protesting while the muslims were escorted around to make threats. Police even asking them to put weapons back in their mosques.

        Not matter what happens, the police take ‘advice’ from the muslims, granting just about any demand from them.

        Fully exposed as an apologist and sympathiser to the muslims, right now still in his post.

        The Police and Crime Commissioner who could remove him a proven islamo-leftist also fully in bed with the invading carpet kissers in that part of the England.

        We have so many who should be prosecuted for treason. This one still hanging in there so he keeps his large pension.

    • By “communities” he means muzzies? And by “far-right protests” he means infidels?
      And by “elders” he means muzzies?

      • The police always capitulate to their overlords and those community elders not matter what happens.

        Of course the infidels are just ordinary folk sick of their country being invaded and usurped.

    • England Invaded,

      Thanks for the link.

      A very important – yet profoundly disturbing – video.

      • You should see his performances over the last week or two. With the investigation in to why the fans of an Israeli football team were described as a violent hooligan risk to stop them attending a game in Birmingham.

        The real reason as everyone knew at the time simply because the ‘slims don’t want Jews in their town.

        The dishonesty and stupidity this Chief Constable has been exposed for in the last few days is astonishing.

        He even claims he made the decision due to what he found after a google search. He also used AI to make reports.

        Most police forces now have this mentality.

        • England Invaded,

          AI can be a useful tool in some instances.

          For example, ChatGPT – like Wikipedia – is great for assembling clearly objective data, e.g., specs on a ’68 Plymouth Road Runner, the results of the 1987 Masters Golf Tournament, etc.

          But it takes a very hard left turn when it is asked anything political.

      • Also note that in the video where he was asking the muslims to let the police deal with British people protesting, the police did and usually do the opposite.

        A year and a half ago while British folk got jail for speaking out, the police were escorting muslims around even asking them to return weapons back to their mosque.

        Capitulating to community elders who asked for no policing in their areas so they could do as they pleased.

        This always happens. The authorities may pretend to challenge the muzzies to a small degree while actually protecting them.

        This of course took place and is still taking place with the child rape by muslims across the UK.

        Took place with the Israeli football team issue a short while ago last year.

  7. First-cousin marriage is an “exercise” in genetic roulette. Shame on any polity or sub-division polity that allows it.

    • Wellington,

      Yes, it is an “exercise” in genetic roulette.

      And genetic abnormalities are even more common after multi-generational first cousin marriages.

      • To me, James, this should be obvious these days. It’s often when a child is having some kind of medical issue, doctors will ask and test for ‘genetic’ or genes that may be mutant or otherwise at fault.
        Every time one of my kids visits a new doctor, they want to know what kinds of things I and other older relatives have…they note my Lupus and other autoimmune disorders and test for those in my children.
        When I was taking courses, one was biology and I wrote a paper on genetic traits such as Blacks (sickle cell anemia) and Jews ( Tay-Sachs disease) carry, which other groups don’t.
        Those carrying these traits, marrying others closely related….disaster for the kids.

        People who ignore this sort of thing….so important for health and happiness….are evil or stupid. Or maybe, both.

        • somehistory,

          Yes, and this hits home pretty hard.

          I had two sisters died from a very rare genetic disease: epidermolysis bullosa.

          My first sister died only several days after birth, and the doctors were not sure at the time with the disease was until the second case.

          My second sister who died lived to be 4 1/2 years old. She had been hospitalized for about one year and spent her last three and half years with the family. We got to know her and loved her. At the time, when she had died, that was the very worst day of my life.

          I also have a disease-free brother and sister – all three of us had a 25% chance of getting the fatal disease. My brother became an attorney, and my sister became an RN.

        • James, I’m so sorry. One never gets over such losses.
          Jesus promised, “There will be a resurrection….'” “Everyone in the Memorial tombs will hear His voice, and come out.”
          We can look forward to that day and seeing our loved ones again.

  8. This is sick. First cousin mariages lead to physical defects and mental defects.
    It would help explain shy many Muslims are so crazy;
    This has been going on for generations of Muslims.
    WHY on earth would anyone NOT want to ban that?
    imagine your replacement population composed of that?

  9. “You want me to marry a stranger?” Also, consider the Royal families of Europe-this is where the “family tree” looks more like a vine.

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