Talk about here comes the bride, er brides!

This article at the Jerusalem Post caught my eye only because this is something that you would never see any government in the West promote or attempt to emulate in any way:

Has Hamas discovered the power of love? On Thursday night, the militant group organized a mass wedding for 452 couples in the sports stadium in Nablus. Attended by many Hamas leaders in the West Bank, the ceremony is believed to be the biggest mass wedding of Palestinians ever held.

In a culture where appearances count, Arab weddings can be horrendously expensive. Over the past decade, many Islamic countries have adopted the practice of collective weddings. As one of many gifts given during the month of Ramadan, Egypt hosts mass weddings for low-income and physically handicapped couples. Other countries where mass weddings have become a norm include Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Pakistan and Sudan.

For many poverty-stricken Palestinian families, the mass weddings mean marriage ceremonies can take place without the crippling expense of a mahr (dowry) or a private party, which can run to tens of thousands of dollars. Most of these grooms are sons or relatives of Palestinians killed in the violence over the past four and a half years.

The role of the mahr in Islamic marriages has sometimes been interpreted as a bride-price. For many Muslims, it is purely symbolic, just as white dresses, diamond engagement rings and gold wedding bands are symbols in traditional Western marriages. However, in many cases, the mahr serves as an insurance policy, payable to the woman in full if her husband remarries or divorces her.

Hamas, whose name means Islamic Resistance Movement, is clearly using the ceremonies to further promote its image as a positive institution in Palestinian society. Palestinians have long maintained that one of the main reasons for Hamas's soaring popularity, particularly in the Gaza Strip, is the fact that the movement continues to provide a vast network of social and economic services to the needy. Hamas is not the only group to organize such events. Earlier this month, Islamic Jihad sponsored a similar ceremony in the Gaza Strip, but for "only" 222 Palestinian couples. Tens of thousands of people attended the mass wedding in Gaza City, which was financed by several Palestinian companies and institutions.

Khaled al-Bahtini, one of the organizers of the gathering, said each couple received a gift of $200 – $300 in cash, in addition to wedding rings and bedroom and other furniture. Islamic Jihad leader Nafez Azzam said the event was aimed at demonstrating that his group was interested in all aspects of life, especially on the social level.

When even terrorist organizations recognize the importance married family life; why do all we in the West continue to undermine the state of marriage and hold it in so little regard? Of course, maybe I shouldn’t crow too soon – Hamas is not yet enlightened enough to sponsor any gay unions.