Proof of marriage - problem with disclosing religious content on marriage cert

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jrewing

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I was married in a Catholic church a few years ago. My marriage cert gives the location as "The Catholic Church of ....." and says that the marriage was conducted "according to the rites and rituals of the Catholic Church".

Now, I need to conduct some business in a Muslim country, for which I need a marriage cert, and I have been warned not to produce this Irish marriage cert. Being an Islamic republic, this country will not accept this marriage and this has the potential to put me on a black list.

So, I have spoken to the General Registration Office in Roscommon who tell me there is no way to have the Marriage Cert altered, nor can they think of an alternative way for me to prove I am married.

Does anybody have suggestions of how I can get a proof of marriage which does not show the religious content of the ceremony ? Surely I have the right to a certificate showing that I am civily married....
 
Could you possibly request a copy of your Marriage Cert as Gaeilge,...and hope you don't come across any fluent Irish-speaking natives in whatever country you are visiting?
 
U2Fan said:
Could you possibly request a copy of your Marriage Cert as Gaeilge,...and hope you don't come across any fluent Irish-speaking natives in whatever country you are visiting?
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Good idea - but can you do this retrospectively? I didn't think so...
 
Good idea, they may however ask for a translation. As far as I recall, the cert itself is already in both languages (e.g. Name / Ainm, Address / Sloinne etc.), but the information is all given in English.

Definitely a possibility worth investigating...
 
Would a certified or notarised copy of the entry in the Registry do instead of an actual certificate? I don't even know if such a thing is possible but it might be an avenue to investigate.

As an aside (and if this brings the thread off topic then maybe it should be snipped) I thought that the Qur'an was broadly tolerant of "people of the book" (eg Jews, Christians, etc) and Islamic Law accorded them protection and equality; or is that a gross oversimplification / misunderstanding / not the point?
 
I can't comment on the specifics of your case but I have some experience of the Middle East. Are you certain of the advice you received that you should conceal your religion and that you were married according to christian rites? I ask because my experience was exactly contrary in Saudi Arabia - marriage certs needed to be produced for expats to avoid accusations of "living in sin" ;) Remember in the Middle East as a Westerner you will be presumed to be a christian (in fact secular atheist is not exactly flavour of the month)

My advice would be to check with the Irish Embassy in the country concerned and be guided by them.
 
Unless you yourself are a muslim there will be no problem. I have provided marraige certificates for the middle east in various countries. They are well aware that people living in predominantly christian countries will be generally married in christian churches
 
Caveat said:
Good idea - but can you do this retrospectively? I didn't think so...
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I thought that you could - see here.

I also find it hard to believe that there would be a problem with such a certificate in a "muslim country" and would establish this allegation as fact before worrying about it.
 
Like Mr Toad, my experience in Saudi Arabia was that you should claim to have some christian religion even if you have none, as apostates (denyers of god) are viewed quite poorly.

The fact that you have a christian marriage (as opposed to a registry office one) will probably stand you in good stead.

What country do you have concerns about?

Ah, I've just read the OP - Islamic Republic, that would be Iran, wouldn't it? Hmmm, always has been a bit different since the Shah took the last plane out!
 
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Without giving away too much information, my wife is from that country, and officially should not have taken part in such a ceremony. She cannot produce this is proof that she is married, for renewal of passport etc.

We did not realize that this information would be on the cert.

We are sure of the consequences of trying to use this cert, as a friend of hers has had similar problems, leading to her child not being recognized as legitimate etc. Unfortunately the country in question does not have an Irish Embassy to which we can refer.
 
jrewing said:
Without giving away too much information, my wife is from that country, and officially should not have taken part in such a ceremony. She cannot produce this is proof that she is married, for renewal of passport etc.

We did not realize that this information would be on the cert.

We are sure of the consequences of trying to use this cert, as a friend of hers has had similar problems, leading to her child not being recognized as legitimate etc. Unfortunately the country in question does not have an Irish Embassy to which we can refer.
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Ah, that is a little different. It is forbidden in Islam for a Muslim woman to marry a non-muslim man under sharia law. I can't see that any form of marriage certificate would help you though? The prohibition seems to be on the act of marriage, not on the religion of the partner?

You couldn't go to Gretna Green/Vegas and lie and get remarried in a civil ceremony?
 
Should you not be discussing this problem on a more discreet basis with, perhaps, the Dept of Foreign Affairs?
 
On my cert it says that we were married "under the provisions of the Marriages (Ireland) act 1844", no mention of any religion.

Contact the General Registars office in Dublin for advice.
 
Moral Ethos, did you sign the register in a registry office or a church ? Mine says "in accordance with the rites and rituals of the Catholic Church".
 
Moral Ethos said:
On my cert it says that we were married "under the provisions of the Marriages (Ireland) act 1844", no mention of any religion.
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That is the text from the civil marriage cert. I have one already. I was married by the Mormon Church but since the state don't recognise them as a valid religion I had to get a civil job done too.
 
See http://www.corkandross.org/html/sacraments/marriage/premarriage_papers.jsp (here). It seems to say that there is a difference between the church certificate of marriage and the civil certificate of marriage and that both should be available to you. It suggests that if you need a civil certificate you should go to the local registrars office. As per Carey above, my civil certificate says nothing about my religion.
 
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