The Ruling on the Marriage Contract in a Non-Muslim Country and Who Assumes the Guardianship

Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh! A questioner says: Is it permissible for a person to perform the marriage contract abroad in a non-Islamic country with a Muslim woman, simply by the presence of two witnesses and her saying, "I accept"? Does the marriage become valid in this way, given that she has no guardian? And does the imam of the mosque become her guardian, knowing that there are no Shari'ah courts or laws governing this, and there are laws of disbelief?

Answer:
If Muslims are in foreign lands, they refer to the Islamic centers, because there are Islamic centers. They refer to the centers, and the head of the center, or the one responsible for issuing fatwas in the center, is the one who performs the contract for her and becomes her guardian if she has no guardian. He is in the position of a judge who performs the contract for her. So they refer to the Islamic centers to document this marriage, write it down, and complete its procedures. As for the hidden contract that is not known, this is a matter of concern and doubt.