Man, 33, Marries Woman, 104

Status: Strange, but true (I think)
image Muhamad Noor Che Musa met Wook Kundor while he was a lodger at her house. Soon love blossomed, and the two have now gotten married. Sure, she's 104-years-old, and he's only 33, but let's wish them the best anyway. (I guess kids are out of the question.)

This is the kind of news story that makes you wonder, right away, if it's true. But as far as I can tell, it is. A picture of the newlyweds ran on the front page of Malaysia's Berita Harian newspaper (with, as the Telegraph puts it, "Wook holding the marriage certificate in her gnarled hands"). And a number of reporters seem to have interviewed the couple. Anyway, the idea of a very old person marrying a relatively young person doesn't seem that far-fetched to me. What does seem more questionable is the woman's age (can she prove that she's 104), and the claim that this will be her 21st marriage. That would mean she's married a new husband every 4 or 5 years. Possible, but pretty rare for a Muslim woman.

Sex/Romance

Posted on Wed May 03, 2006


Comments

That new husband every 4 or 5 years is for her entire life. If she waited to marry the first time until she was mature (by whatever definition you use for "mature"), then this interval gets even shorter!
Posted by RiverStone  on  Wed May 03, 2006  at  06:10 AM
Well if she murders her husband every year or so, I can see that it would work.
Posted by Citizen Premier  on  Wed May 03, 2006  at  07:18 AM
Alex, Islam provides for fixed duration marriages. It is not uncommon for men to pursue these because of limited financial resources on the one hand, and the desire to have religiously acceptable intimate relations with a woman on the other. Also, it is very easy for Muslim men to divorce their wives. It is not inconceivable that she has been married 21 times at all. Even if she were only 60.
Posted by BugbearSloth  on  Wed May 03, 2006  at  10:04 AM
Some Muslim traditions allow for a man to divorce his wife just by saying he divorces her three times. Like a reverse Beetlejuice I suppose, say it three times and the crazy person leaves your home. I seem to recall one of these "zany human interest" stories from only a few months back when a Muslim man said he was divorcing his wife three times in his sleep, when the woman asked her friends if that made it so, the "authorities" got involved and declared it a legal divorce. Maybe her marriage figure is too low. Imagine that, Muslim men and rock stars have something in common, they like to pass the candy around but no one really wants to keep bag after it's been around.
Posted by Lonewatchman  on  Wed May 03, 2006  at  01:14 PM
How can blame that guy. She's a looker!
Posted by Daniel  on  Wed May 03, 2006  at  06:40 PM
There is a way for muslims to marry temporarily, a weekend, a day or so, to have sex legally and moraly. They have temporary marriages. So maybe grandma got around?
Posted by Angie  on  Wed May 03, 2006  at  08:56 PM
Islam provides for fixed duration marriages? I'm no expert myself, but I seriously doubt that. A cursory search on google found plenty of sites which specifically stated that fixed-period marriages were prohibited in Islam, just as they'd be in Christianity.

Sources?
Posted by Neil  on  Thu May 04, 2006  at  04:07 PM
Remember, there are different sects of Islam. It's like Mormons, Roman Catholics, and Baptists, who all consider themselves to be Christians, yet their beliefs and rules differ greatly.
Posted by Accipiter  on  Thu May 04, 2006  at  08:45 PM
"Temporary marriage (Muta'), which was of limited duration, for a fixed fee, and was practiced by travelers or soldiers while away from home for extended periods. It is, however, still considered a valid form of marriage by the Shi'ah sect."

The Shi'ah are the second largest sect in Islam.

http://www.zawaj.com/articles/marriage_reem.html
Posted by BugbearSloth  on  Fri May 05, 2006  at  03:31 AM
I probably responded in haste - it was just the sweeping nature of the assertion that Islam allows for temporary marriages that bothered me.

Like Accipiter said, there are many sects of Islam - and the Shia consist of, despite being the second-biggest sect, less than 10% of Muslims.

Anyway, I think I'm getting off the point now. I'm just surprised no-one has mentioned the Anna Nicole Smith motive yet. Has any reporter checked under the old lady's mattress for cash?
Posted by Neil  on  Fri May 05, 2006  at  12:29 PM
I don
Posted by nitedrive  on  Sun Jul 30, 2006  at  08:11 AM
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