Mosque leaders should condemn costs of Bengali weddings

Dear Ed, BEGALI weddings are expensive events, which can cause severe financial hardship, but are often not talked about or even discussed in the community. So why on earth the mosque leaders are not raising this issue beggars belief!

Dear Ed,

BEGALI weddings are expensive events, which can cause severe financial hardship, but are often not talked about or even discussed in the community.

An average Muslim wedding in East London costs about �30,000. Tower Hamlets has a large concentration of Bengalis, where all the usual wedding venues are fully booked months in advance. Many couples search for venues elsewhere, which are also booked weeks ahead.

What’s more worrying is that most of the venues’ have been snapped up by Bengali businessmen cashing in the lucrative wedding trade who have hugely inflated the hiring fees.

Wedding costs all pile up—venue hire, food and catering for hundreds of guests, limousine hire, pure gold jewellery set, clothes and not to mention video filming.

When my Somali friends hear about the costs, they nearly faint! Young Bengali couples have to save up as soon as they start working, instead of saving towards accommodation.

They could easily have much cheaper weddings, as Islam discourages extravagant spending.

So why on earth the mosque leaders are not raising this issue beggars belief!

Mosque and community leaders should discourage such extravagant spending caused by social, cultural and peer pressure, which has led to tremendous hardship and debt to families. But it’s mostly kept under the carpet.

The community leaders are more vocal about Gaza than tackling issues at home.

Azad Miah

Old Bethnal Green-road, Bethnal Green