Author: Vijay Dutt
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: October 21, 2004
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".
