'It's an injustice to NOT marry off 10-year-old girls,' says top Saudi cleric

[link to www.mailonsunday.co.uk]

'It's an injustice to NOT marry off 10-year-old girls,' says top Saudi clericBy Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:21 PM on 14th January 2009

Saudi Arabia's most senior Muslim cleric has been quoted as saying it is 'okay' for 10-year-old girls to marry.
Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Baz was quoted as saying those who think such girls are too young to marry are doing them an injustice.
Al-Hayat newspaper quotes Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Baz, the country's grand mufti, as also saying during a lecture on Monday that critics who say women should not marry before the age of 25 are following a 'bad path'.

His comments come at a time when Saudi human rights groups have been fighting to put an end to marriages involving the very young and pressing the government to define the minimum age for marriage.
On Sunday, the government-run National Human Rights Commission condemned marriages of minor girls, saying such marriages are an 'inhumane violation.'

Portuguese Church: 'Think twice about marrying Muslims'

Meanwhile the head of the Catholic Church in Portugal is advising Portuguese women to think twice before marrying a Muslim.
Cardinal Jose Policarpo says Christians should learn more about Islam and respect Muslims.
But he says marrying a Muslim man can bring 'a whole lot of trouble' because Christian women become subject to Muslim conventions.
Policarpo insists the Portuguese church has warm relations with the country's Muslim population of around 100,000.
Policarpo's comments were made at a public debate late Tuesday and were broadcast by local media Wednesday.
There is no recent history of animosity between Christians and Muslims in Portugal, where 85 percent of people say they are Catholic.