Lest anyone think I am being despicable inbreeding in the ME is interconnected to the terrorism and violence. Its a vicious cycle. People don't marry outside their immediate families because of the sheer volume and depth of civil war between villages and towns not just countries. Its also fueled by Islam which finds marrying cousins permissible.
Either way its wide spread. No its not widespread in Israel but it is a factor with ultra-orthodox Jews, Amish, certain closed Christian sects but not at the volume of Islamic marriages. Inbreeding stunts intelligence and does not promote creative thinking. For societies to evolve past primal ape pack behaviour that self implodes, as is happening in the ME it needs to move outside its own genetic pool. Its a major weakness in any fundamental society. No one discusses its impact on ME psychology and social psychology.
Its a factor of many conflict zones. Croatia, Serbia, Northern Ireland, The Basque Region, Albania, Chechnya. Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE. Qatar are examples.
I introduce the topic into this thread because it dwells on the same narrow subjective opinions.