Some Muslims Circumvented Law Banning Multiple Marriages

October 22, 2004

Source: Yahoo! News

Wire Service: AP

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041022/ap_on_re_eu/britain_polygamy_1

On October 22, 2004 the Associated Press reported, "Thousands of Muslim men in Britain may have exploited a loophole in British law banning multiple marriages by holding religious marriage ceremonies in mosques, Islamic leaders said. Muslim men can contract a 'nikah,' or religious ceremony, in a mosque without going through a civil ceremony, allowing as many as 4,000 men in Britain to have multiple marriages, the leaders said in issuing guidelines warning against the practice. 'We are concerned for the 'women — the second wife or subsequent wives usually find they have no rights if the relationship breaks down,' Mufti Barkatullah, a judge on Britain's Shariah Council, said Friday."