ABSTRACT
In the United Kingdom, unregistered but religiously sanctioned marriages appear to be a new cultural trend among young Muslims. This chapter focuses on a couple’s seemingly autonomous decision to enter into an unregistered marriage; the underlying motivations behind such decisions; how such a family arrangement is constructed vis-à-vis the practices in wider society, namely cohabitation; and the implications of legal intervention for personal autonomy. In both religious marriages and cohabitation arrangements, complications arise when one or both spouses labour under the false belief that their union is recognized by the state and therefore enjoys the protection of statutory family laws.
