tuesday2me said:
I live in Macomb Michigan and was married the Muslim way and receive a marrige lisc. by a muslim "priest"....I called our local marriage dept. in Macomb county and they informed me that the marriage is not accepted as a real marriage....and that we have to go to a city clerk....Isn't this discremination against religion.....If we were married in a catholic church they would see it as a real marriage...Is there anything that has to be done diffrently to have this marriage looked upon as a real marriage?
tuesday
My response:
MICHIGAN MARRIAGE LAW
License: The parties intending to marry must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk in the county in which one of the parties lives (or, if both parties are non-residents, in the county where the marriage is to be performed), and deliver it to the person who is to solemnize the marriage, before the marriage can be performed. MCL 551.101; MSA 25.31.
Waiting Period: The parties must wait three days after applying to receive their marriage license, which becomes void if the marriage is not per-formed within 33 days after application. The county clerk can waive the 3 day waiting period for "good and sufficient cause shown." MCL 551.103a; MSA 25.34.
Solemnization Authority: Marriages may be solemnized by any of the following: (a) federal, probate, district, and municipal judges, and district court magistrates, in their court area; (b) mayors, in their city; (c) Wayne County clerks; (d) ministers of the gospel, anywhere in the state, "if the minister is ordained or authorized to solemnize marriages according to the usages of the denomination, and is a pastor of a church in this state, or continues to preach the gospel in this state"; and (a) non- resident ministers of the gospel, anywhere in the state, if the minister is authorized to solemnize marriages by his or her state's laws. MCL 551.7; MSA 25.7. Does the phrase "minister of the gospel" include a rabbi? There is no known Michigan law on the subject.
Certificate: After the wedding ceremony the person who solemnizes the marriage fills in (typed or legibly printed) the certificate with the time and place of the marriage and the names and residences of the two witnesses, and signs it. The part marked "duplicate" is given to the newlyweds, and the original must be mailed to the county clerk that issued it within 10 days. The clerk records the information in a registration book, and mails it on to the the state registrar. The person who performs the marriage must also keep a record ''in a book used expressly for that purpose." MCL 551.104; MSA 25.35. The license, when fully filled out, thus serves a "double purpose" and becomes the certificate.
IAAL