Iraq Sunni-Shia Marriage Payment Program Seeks To Mend Sectarian Divide

The Iraqi government, in an attempt to mend the ethnic, sectarian divide between Shia and Sunni Muslims that has long plagued that country, is offering a $2,000 incentive to those who marry a member of the other sect, Fox News reports. According to the report, the policy is seeing notable success, especially considering the situation in Iraq just a few years ago:

Mixed marriages between the two major Muslim sects were unthinkable at the height of violence that has gripped Iraq since 2005 and exploded following the bombing of a major Shiite shrine in 2006.

Many Sunni-Shiite couples had to separate, as insurgents and sectarian militias threatened their families with kidnapping and death. Mixed communities were ripped apart as thousands were forced from their homes and made to move to areas controlled by militias of their own religious sect.

It should be noted that the Iraqi government pays all news brides/grooms; however, the amount furnished to mixed-sect couples is almost double that of the others, according to Fox.

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