Ben Kitili and his wife are a stark reminder of tribal and religious divides

Ben Kitili has a beautiful wife in the shape of Amina Mude. The pair have weather a rather interesting storm that most would like to convince themselves no longer exist only for it to rear its ugly head: tribalism and religious separatism.

Ben Kitili reacts after Muslims condemn him for marrying their woman 

You see, ben Kitili is a practising Christian and a Kamba. his wife is of Cushitic descent and a practising Muslim. According to the Quran, while it recognizes Jesus Christ (Issa) as a major prophet whose return will indeed signal the end of the world and coming of judgment, Muslim women cannot marry out of the faith. Men however are given guidelines that allow them to marry “watu wa kitab” 

“This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your food is lawful for them. And [lawful in marriage are] chaste women from among the believers and chaste women from among those who were given the Scripture before you, when you have given them their due compensation, desiring chastity, not unlawful sexual intercourse or taking [secret] lovers. And whoever denies the faith – his work has become worthless, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers“.

“Quran and the Bible are foreign books” Boniface Mwangi reins in religious zealots castigating Ben Kitili and Amina Mude

And thems the breaks.

So you can see what it is that informed all the naysayers who spoke up against Amina Mude’s marriage to be Kitili. However, there is conventional wisdom that reminds us that Kenya is, in essence, a secular nation. What this fact means is that we are not beholden to any religious dogma nor doctrine.

In pictures: KTN anchor Ben Kitili exchanges vows with his baby mama Amina Mude in unique interfaith wedding ceremony

This fact alone allowed Ben Kitili and his lady love, Amina Mude to be honest with each other, and start a life together. But what they experienced is actually not new to a lot of Kenyans who found themselves captive to the fact that they are different ethnicities or from different faiths.

It can be argued that while his relationship and marriage was fought on faith-based arguments, Ben Kitili can relate to situations in which Kenyans are told they cannot marry members of specific ethnic communities. And this is not a new or novel situation to Kenya either. this is a reality all across Africa and the world.

Amina Mude’s decision to stand by her man is infact an important decision because it spoke to more than just her situation. It spoke to the pain many find themselves having to endure when faced with the dilemma of either choosing the person they love or their family. I for one am happy to say that in this case, Ben Kitili can say love won out.

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