December 20, 2024

• By Merhat Sharipzhan

Russia’s top Islamic body has approved a religious edict that allows Muslim men to practice polygamy, which contradicts Russian law that prohibits individuals from entering multiple registered marriages simultaneously.

The Council of Islamic Clerics of Russia’s Spiritual Administration of Muslims (DUM), issued a fatwa on December 18 that allows a Muslim male to enter up to four marriages at the same time as long as certain conditions are met.

Russia’s Family Code explicitly prohibits a person from entering a registered marriage with someone who is already married. But it comes as the Russian authorities are grappling with a dire demographic situation amid a population decline exacerbated by emigration, low birthrates, and high mortality.

While the full text of the fatwa has yet to be published, reports from Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti revealed key provisions in it that allow Muslim men to enter into multiple religious marriages.

The fatwa stipulates that a man can engage in polygamy only if he ensures equitable treatment for all wives. This includes equal material provision, separate housing for each wife, and spending equal time with them according to an agreed schedule.

If a man cannot meet these requirements, he is prohibited from entering multiple religious marriages unless a bride “voluntarily waives” her rights to them.

Other circumstances under which polygamy is permitted by the DUM include cases where the first wife cannot conceive due to health issues, lack of desire, or age; in situations of “sexual incompatibility” between spouses; or when a man wishes to provide social and financial support to a single woman and her children.

The DUM has acknowledged that women in purely religious marriages lack legal protections, which critics argue may leave women in polygamous religious marriages vulnerable.

The conditions for such a marriage, they say, place a significant burden of proof on religious institutions or individuals to ensure compliance. How these provisions align with Russia’s secular legal framework and broader societal norms is yet to be determined.

Russian officials have yet to comment on the fatwah.

The government, however, has been looking for ways to spur Russians to have more children as the declining population ages, a problem worsened by the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, which experts say has seen hundreds of thousands of Russian men die.

The Russian government has actively promoted policies to encourage women to have more children, with financial incentives for larger families and efforts to discourage abortions. The Russian Orthodox Church has been assisting the government to promote such policies.

With reporting by TASS and RIA Novosti

source https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-islam-polygamy-muslim-men/33246937.html

• Europe & Russia,
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Russia’s Islamic authority revokes polygamy ruling after legal pushback

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December 25, 2024 at 10:22 am

Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation and the Council of Muftis of Russia Sheikh Mufti Ravil Gaynutdin (2nd R) speaks during the 19th International Muslim Forum at the Moscow Central Mosque in Moscow, Russia on December 12, 2023. [Sefa Karacan – Anadolu Agency]

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Russia’s Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) has revoked a fatwa permitting religious polygamy following objections from the Prosecutor General’s Office and public backlash.

The fatwa, issued on 19 December by the Council of Ulema, allowed Muslim men to marry up to four wives under specific conditions, such as a wife’s inability to have children due to health or age, or refusal to bear children. The ruling required all wives to be informed of one another’s existence, granting women the right to divorce if this condition was violated.

The council defended the fatwa, claiming it aligned with Islamic traditions and focused solely on religious relationships, not formal civil marriages prohibited by Article 14 of Russia’s Family Code. Deputy Chairman and Moscow Mufti Ildar Alyautdinov argued that it aimed to support women and children in religious unions without conflicting with state laws on marriage registration.

However, on Monday, the Prosecutor General’s Office formally requested its annulment, citing conflicts with Russian legislation and state family policies that promote traditional values. An unnamed Interfax source stated, “The state respects the internal regulations of religious organizations if these regulations do not contradict the legislation of the Russian Federation.”

The source also recalled that in accordance with Articles 38 and 72 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the family and the institution of marriage is defined as “a union of a man and a woman are under the protection of the state.”

Faced with legal and public criticism, SAM reversed the ruling. Chairman Shamil Alyautdinov, who is the brother of Ildar, announced the decision via Telegram, attributing it to the prosecutor’s intervention and societal reaction.

“This is God’s will, and the Ulama Council of Russia’s Spiritual Administration of Muslims sees no reason to start an argument over this,” he stated.

READ: Russia’s top Islamic authority permits polygamy for Muslim men

source https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241225-russias-islamic-authority-revokes-polygamy-ruling-after-legal-pushback/

Editor’s Note: ??? What is now final ???