July 6, 2002	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 24,1423

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SAN FRANCISCO, July 5: In first substantive decision on Islamic Law, a US judge has ruled that a religious, dowry-style contract signed by two Muslims at their marriage is enforceable upon their divorce.

Superior court judge John Selser in New Jersey enforced the mahr agreement that a Palestinian couple, Houida Saadeh and her husband Zuhair Odatalla, signed on their wedding day, finding that aspects of the religious code were acceptable under “neutral principles of law.”

The agreement called for payment of one golden pound coin and $10,000 in US dollars as mahr mowajjal or postponed mahr.

Judge Selser noted that in addition to the mahr notation on the Islamic marriage contract, the negotiations between the two families before its signing had been videotaped as part of the ceremony, and two witnesses signed the agreement.

Such a detailed record allowed judge to conclude, “All of the essential elements of a contract are present .... the Mahr Agreement in the case at court is nothing more and nothing less than a simple contract between two consenting adults.”

Abed Awad, who represented Houida Saadeh, hailed the ruling as a breakthrough. “It essentially sets the stage for Islamic mahr agreements to be considered valid contractual obligations which are enforceable. And this particular ruling is the most consistent with Islamic Law.”