By Reuters Fact Check
July 23, 2026
Existing law lets Muslims in England and Wales have a legally recognised marriage in registered venues, including some mosques, despite social media posts suggesting that proposed reforms to marriage law would make Islamic marriages legally recognised in the UK for the first time.
Posts shared the misleading claim after the British government launched a consultation, opens new tab on reforms to the marriage law.
“Islamic Marriage Ceremonies are to be legally recognised in the UK for the first time ever,” said a July 17 post, opens new tab on Facebook, which included a screenshot of a Daily Telegraph article, opens new tab on a consultation about possible reforms to marriage law.
“The overhaul of the marriage law will allow Islamic officiants legally conduct the ceremonies within Mosques.
“The Islamification of the UK continues.”
However, Muslims can currently have a legally valid religious marriage in their registered place of worship under existing legislation, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice told Reuters.
Paragraph 1 (a) of Section 26 of the Marriage Act 1949 says, opens new tab legally recognised marriages can take place in registered places of worship.
There are more than 400 entries for mosques on a government list, opens new tab of places of worship registered to hold marriages in England and Wales, as of June 2026.
But the number of legally recognised marriages involving Muslims is very low, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
There were around 300 each year in the 2017-2019 period, opens new tab, before falling to 122 in 2020, opens new tab, the last year for which the ONS provided such figures.
“Whatever the reason, at present a large number of Muslim marriages are unregistered, and this is problematic as it leaves vulnerable people without legal protection and in the worst-case scenario can trap individuals in abusive relationships,” Javier Oliva, a professor of law at the University of Manchester, said in an email.
The government says, opens new tab its proposed reforms would free up where couples can get married, allowing weddings in a range of locations, if an officiant is present. Currently, for a marriage or civil partnership to be legally binding, it must take place in an approved venue.
Hundreds of thousands of people were celebrating Berlin’s Christopher Street Day when a white van was driven at high speed into a crowd in Tiergarten Park.
The reforms to marriage law in England and Wales – not the UK – are being consulted on and no decision has been taken, the Ministry of Justice spokesperson added.
The Daily Telegraph did not respond to a request for comment.
VERDICT
Misleading. Existing law allows Muslims in England and Wales to have a legally recognised marriage, even if relatively few choose this option. The UK government says its proposed reforms would broaden the choice of where couples in Britain can have a legally recognised marriage.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
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