UK: Muslim men use law loophole to get a harem of 'wives'

[abdulhakeem]

DEBATE

Can polygamy ever work?

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...320100,00.html

[abdulhakeem]

related:

Polygamy in Germany: The Second Wife Is Also Allowed to Stay

[abdulhakeem]

Muslims hoodwink law to remain polygamous

Vijay Dutt
London, October 21

There always is a way out, it seems, for those who want to keep a harem of "wives" and escape prosecution under anti-bigamy laws. A senior religious figure has been quoted saying almost 4,000 Muslim men in Britain have got as many as four wives. They have taken advantage of a loophole in the anti-bigamy laws.

These men go through nikah ceremonies and avoid registering their marriage. These marriages, conducted by an Imam, are legal under the Islamic law. But, they are invalid under British law. Such wives have no recourse to the laws here, under which they have rights to their husband's income or share in the family house if the marriage breaks up.

In some extreme cases women brought from abroad, specially from Bangladesh, to marry a British Muslim man have been, according to the Times report, victims of the so-called honour killings by their families after being sent home when the relationship failed.

The situation has become so grim that seniors in the community here are taking step to reduce the number of polygamous relationships. A guideline issued by the Muslim Parliament advises against weddings ratified only through nikah. "No Muslim should seek to contract a marriage without the full protection of the law of the land."

It cautioned that wives were most likely to be harmed, for they would have the status of an unmarried partner under British law, which is forbidden under Islamic laws. So they would have no recourse to either. Worse, the children would be illegitimate.

Mufti Barkatullah, a judge on the Shariah Council was quoted saying that some mosques had clamped down on polygamy by checking that couples wanting to marry were not already legally married. But even then the Council has to deal with 600 applications every year for polygamous marriage.

Dr Ghyasuddin Siddiqui, leader of the Muslim Parliament cited the case of a man with five wives. The Home Office clarified that it "remains a criminal offence in the UK for man to contract a second marriage while he is lawfully married to his first wife".

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5...2,00430005.htm

[Friend]

How on earth can a man keep up with so many wives. Maybe these women don't need a man as much.


Peace to all...

[dhak1yya]

And why shouldn't men do that??? It's ridiculous that you are not allowed to have a polygamous marriage, when you are allowed to have one wife and as many mistresses as you like, you're allowed to raise children with no father (or mother in some cases) only a string of your lovers, if it's not already legal to have gay marriages, it will be before long (have not kept abreast with this last issue) and you can have as many lovers as you like.......

.......but as soon as a man wants to make an honest commitment to more than one woman, instead of a dishonest commitment to one and no commitment to countless others.......... suddenly it's all wrong

and why exactly do they want to stop polygamy? If they are worried about the rights of women in polygamous marriages they can put in a clause that makes sure the first/earlier wife/wives have given their consent. They can make it legally binding in british law that the maximum number of wives is four, and legally binding that he follows the Qur'an on treating each equally and so on, no-one would have a problem with that (even the church of England has gay vicars, so they can't really moan about polygamy!)

[amal]

Last gay scandal inside of the catholic church happened in Austria, in Wienn, right in the middle of the capital.

[outlandish]

And why shouldn't men do that??? It's ridiculous that you are not allowed to have a polygamous marriage, when you are allowed to have one wife and as many mistresses as you like, you're allowed to raise children with no father (or mother in some cases) only a string of your lovers, if it's not already legal to have gay marriages, it will be before long (have not kept abreast with this last issue) and you can have as many lovers as you like.......

.......but as soon as a man wants to make an honest commitment to more than one woman, instead of a dishonest commitment to one and no commitment to countless others.......... suddenly it's all wrong

and why exactly do they want to stop polygamy? If they are worried about the rights of women in polygamous marriages they can put in a clause that makes sure the first/earlier wife/wives have given their consent. They can make it legally binding in british law that the maximum number of wives is four, and legally binding that he follows the Qur'an on treating each equally and so on, no-one would have a problem with that (even the church of England has gay vicars, so they can't really moan about polygamy!)

The article says they sometimes even have more than four?How can they justify that,it says enough already how sincerely they commit to these marriages as well. Plus how those women are sent back,with no support etc at all,since the law dont recognise them so they come and go as easily. Its rather more being abused than done rightly it seems...
Dont look like much of an honest commitment to me...Even if the UK's laws dont recognise it,Gods laws do. Isnt that enough to fear God and not abuse it and treat those women properly on ur own even. Even if there is such a law,I dont think it will affect these men a lot,they wont register it,like many dont even register one wife in the countries laws..

[Ali_Khan]

I cant wait to work out how to use this legal loop hole to get my own harem of wives. Hopefully they will come complete with bellydancing costumes and come hither looks.

[NoorAlHuda]

as salamu alaikum

i've heard about many muslim men in my own community who've married more than once, it seems to be a trend now, but the thing is it's not like theyre marrying other Muslimahs, the majority are marrying women from Russia and Eastern Europe...and beleive me it is only for 1 thing and 1 thing only, which is hardly suprising. but technically under the law his second wife and the others have no legal rights under the British law, only what was agreed upon in the islamic contract.

[Mary Carol]

I cant wait to work out how to use this legal loop hole to get my own harem of wives. Hopefully they will come complete with bellydancing costumes and come hither looks.

How refreshing to see this other side of you.

Glad to see that not all of your dreams involve death and destruction.

[Mary Carol]

...technically under the law his second wife and the others have no legal rights under the British law, only what was agreed upon in the islamic contract.

Is there anything wrong with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th wife getting her legal rights in the UK incorporated into a civil contract to supplement the Islamic one?

Otherwise I could see a legal quagmire occuring when the other wives and children attempt to gain their due in areas of support, and inheritance.

[dhak1yya]

Is there anything wrong with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th wife getting her legal rights in the UK incorporated into a civil contract to supplement the Islamic one?

That is possible, I believe, so long as the second wife has citizenship or residency in the UK - if not it's not enough to get her permanent residency in the UK the way a legally wedded spouse does by British law, however, her rights with regard to property, protection etc would be recognised. I'm not sure if she'd be next of kin or not (weird legal definitions of that ) but if homosexuals can sort out these issues, then Muslims can too.

The British law is currently set up to prevent the formation of polygamous households, which is :eek2: when you consider how easy it is to have just about any other variety of family setup (or lack thereof)

As for the comments about men abusing their rights by treating their wives badly, or having more than four - sadly there are those who do that kind of thing. It's against Islam "the best among you is kindest to his wives" - Muhammad (saw)....... and Allah will sort out the transgressors on Judgement Day. In the meantime, Muslim women MUST stand up for their rights which are given to us by ALLAH, and also help other women, Muslim and non-Muslim to stand up for their rights. That's the way to prevent men from treating women like this.

[NoorAlHuda]

i dont think it is technically possible, because under British law youre allowed one husband or wife, therefore any other woman a man happens to have a relationship with, whether it be some other marriage contract or not would still be viewed as if she were his mistress so to speak, and therefore apart from the kids she has with him, i dont think she's entitled to anything under the law, apart from what was in her islamic contract.

[Jam]

:salams

I have heard of a couple of "uncles" in the Pakistani community here in the UK who have one wife here and one wife "back home"..

Honestly, I have no idea how these brothers can handle the nagging! Would drive me (j/k sisters :D )

:wswrwb:

[dhak1yya]

i dont think it is technically possible, because under British law youre allowed one husband or wife, therefore any other woman a man happens to have a relationship with, whether it be some other marriage contract or not would still be viewed as if she were his mistress so to speak, and therefore apart from the kids she has with him, i dont think she's entitled to anything under the law, apart from what was in her islamic contract.

You can have a private legal contract drawn up between both parties which can give them a lot of the same rights married couples have, but I don't think it is enough to make them next of kin, and its certainly not enough to apply for permanant residency in the UK

However, good Muslims should not need British law to make them uphold Islamic law. They should do that anyway. Unfortunately there are Muslim men who don't seem to think they have to follow Islamic law, in which case, given that there are over a million Muslims in the UK, I think it would be reasonable to request that the UK government makes legal provision for Islamic marriages........ however, given how long its taking for gay marriages to be recognised, and how long homosexuals have been campaigning for them...... I can't see the government allowing polygamy in the next fifty years....