Flickr.com/photos/adinges A Muslim Bride Shows of Her Hennah Decorations image:41611:1::0

It was a proper Muslim wedding ceremony in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India. But the groom was thousands of miles away in Kuwait.

The groom, Safikul Islam ,works as a labor supervisor in Kuwait. He was unable to afford to go back home to get married. His parents and the bride’s family instead arranged the marriage ceremony with the help from Muslim clerics via telephone.

The entire Indian village watched the ceremony with the clerics, who put the mobile phone on speaker mode so everyone could listen. The couple then exchanged their wedding vows via telephone.

Maulana Alamgir, a cleric who solemnized the marriage told Reuters, India:

They said qubul (I do) thrice and the marriage was complete.

Alamgir said the ceremony doesn’t violate any Islamic laws.

The newly wed Irin Biswas has become a local celebrity with the Indian news and is giving numerous interviews about her special wedding.

She told the reporters that she has met Safikul only once when he was home for the holidays last time. She said she is able to talk to him daily now.

Safikul will be visiting India later this year in October.