ABSTRACT
This chapter will look at the way that urban youth negotiate local norms concerning premarital relationships and courtship practices in contemporary Syria, focusing on how they are stretching the limits of gender interaction in order to find a suitable person to marry. In the past five decades the everyday life of youth in Syria has been affected not only by internal influences, including modernization programs and rapid urbanization, but also by external influences such as globalization. In addition, discourses inspired by the Islamic revival have gained more influence, and the role of Islam as an important social and ideological force in Arab societies such as Syria has been rising (Sparre 2008, 3; Khatib 2011). These varied influences have impacted local marriage practices, and young people are increasingly upholding the companionate marriage ideal and finding their own partners (Hamon and Ingoldsby 2003; Tekce 2004; Hirsch and Wardlow 2006; Hart 2007; Padilla et al. 2008).
