Islamic Polygamy in Germany

This is an interesting documentary (in German, with English subtitles). In the Middle East, Muslim men can only practice polygamy if they are wealthy enough to pay for multiple brides. In Europe, however, second, third, and fourth wives are not recognized by governments, so these women (married in Sharia ceremonies) are officially single mothers. This allows them to receive government benefits both for their asylum status and for being single mothers. With so much Western money pouring into the family, any Muslim can afford multiple wives. Polygamy, then, is now much, much easier (and more affordable) in Europe than in Muslim countries!

Samatar Mohamed Condemns Muhammad (Again)

Samatar seems to have some trouble writing a comment without condemning his own prophet. In response to my recent post about the deleterious effects of polygamy, Samatar wrote:

Polygamy is necessary in certain instances, like when the number of women are much larger then the number of men due to battles and such. But lets not forget the clear guideline that is in the Quran with regard to polygamy.

Surah Nisa, verse 3

"If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or that which your right hands possess. That will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice."

It is quite clear that the four women should be treated equally in the Quran, and if you fear injustice then marry only one. The Quran actually does prohibit polygamy for the men who cannot treat his wives justly.

On a side note, I think Muslims are contradicting themselves here. How so? Muslims often tell us that Muhammad put an end to the rampant seventh-century practice of female infanticide. According to Muslim apologists, there was an epidemic of parents murdering female babies. Well now, if people were regularly killing their female babies, there would be fewer females than males, wouldn't there? But then these same Muslim apologists, when they defend polygamy, assure us that there were so many women in Arabia, Muslims needed to marry two, or three, or four (or far more, in Muhammad's case) to take care of all the women (and this isn't even counting all their sex slaves). Quite an inconsistency, I think. But there's a more important issue.

Samatar declares, following the Qur'an, that a Muslim must treat his wives equally. Hence, if a Muslim doesn't treat his wives equally, he is sinning. But Muhammad himself didn't treat his wives equally.

Consider this Hadith, which shows Muhammad's wives pleading with him to treat them the way he treats Aisha (who was obviously getting special treatment):

Sunan An-Nasa'i 3396—Aishah said: "The wives of the Prophet sent Fatimah, the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, to the Messenger of Allah. She asked permission to enter when he was lying with me under my cover. He gave her permission to enter, and she said: 'O Messenger of Allah, your wives have sent me to you to ask you to be equitable with regard to the matter of the daughter of Abu Quhafah.' I (Aishah) kept quiet and the Messenger of Allah said to her: 'O my daughter! Do you not love the one whom I love?' She said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Then love this one.' Fatimah stood up when she heard this and left the Messenger of Allah, and went back to the wives of the Prophet. She told them what she had said, and what he had said to her. They said to her: 'We do not think that you have been of any avail to us. Go back to the Messenger of Allah and say to him: Your wives are urging you to be equitable with regard to the matter of the daughter of Abu Quhafah.' Fatimah said: 'No, by Allah; I will never speak to him about her again.'" Aishah said: "So the wives of the Prophet sent Zainab bint Jahsh to the Messenger of Allah; she was one who was somewhat equal to me in rank in the eyes of the Messenger of Allah. And I have never seen a woman who was better in religious commitment than Zainab, more fearing of Allah, more honest in speech, more dutiful in upholding the ties of kinship, more generous in giving charity, and devoted in giving herself in acts of charity, by means of which she sought to draw closer to Allah. But she was quick-tempered; however, she was also quick to calm down. She asked permission to enter upon the Messenger of Allah when he was with Aishah under her cover, in the same situation as when Fatimah had entered. The Messenger of Allah gave her permission to enter and she said: 'O Messenger of Allah, your wives have sent me to ask you to be equitable with regard to the daughter of Abu Quhafah.' Then she verbally abused me at length, and I was watching the Messenger of Allah to see if he would allow me to respond. Zainab went on until I realized that the Messenger of Allah would not disapprove if I responded. Then I spoke back to her in such a way, until I silenced her. Then the Messenger of Allah said: 'She is the daughter of Abu Bakr.'"

So Muhammad showed favoritism to Aisha above his other wives. But this makes him a horrible sinner, according to Samatar.

Muhammad's companion Umar even warned his daughter Hafsa not to expect Muhammad to treat her equally, for Muhammad loved Aisha more than her.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3:648— . . . Then ‘Umar went on relating the narration and said. "I and an Ansari neighbor of mine from Bani Umaiya bin Zaid who used to live in ‘Awali Al-Medina, used to visit the Prophet in turns. He used to go one day, and I another day. When I went I would bring him the news of what had happened that day regarding the instructions and orders and when he went, he used to do the same for me. We, the people of Quraish, used to have authority over women, but when we came to live with the Ansar, we noticed that the Ansari women had the upper hand over their men, so our women started acquiring the habits of the Ansari women. Once I shouted at my wife and she paid me back in my coin and I disliked that she should answer me back. She said, ‘Why do you take it ill that I retort upon you? By Allah, the wives of the Prophet retort upon him, and some of them may not speak with him for the whole day till night.’ What she said scared me and I said to her, ‘Whoever amongst them does so, will be a great loser.’ Then I dressed myself and went to Hafsa and asked her, ‘Does any of you keep Allah’s Apostle angry all the day long till night?’ She replied in the affirmative. I said, ‘She is a ruined losing person (and will never have success)! Doesn’t she fear that Allah may get angry for the anger of Allah's Apostle and thus she will be ruined? Don’t ask Allah’s Apostle too many things, and don't retort upon him in any case, and don't desert him. Demand from me whatever you like, and don’t be tempted to imitate your neighbor (i.e. ‘Aisha) in her behavior towards the Prophet, for she (i.e. Aisha) is more beautiful than you, and more beloved to Allah’s Apostle.

Muhammad's wife Sauda even had to surrender some of her marital privileges to Aisha in order to please Muhammad.

Sahih Muslim 3451—A’isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Never did I find any woman more loving to me than Sauda bint Zam'a. I wished I could be exactly like her who was passionate. As she became old, she had made over her day (which she had to spend) with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) to ‘A’isha. She said: I have made over my day with you to ‘A’isha. So Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) allotted two days to ‘A’isha, her own day (when it was her turn) and that of Sauda.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3:766—Narrated Aisha: Whenever Allah’s Apostle wanted to go on a journey, he would draw lots as to which of his wives would accompany him. He would take her whose name came out. He used to fix for each of them a day and a night. But Sauda bint Zam’a gave up her (turn) day and night to ‘Aisha, the wife of the Prophet in order to seek the pleasure of Allah's Apostle (by that action).

So Muhammad ended up spending more time with Aisha than with any of his other wives, and he ended up spending no time at all with Sauda!

And yet Samatar tells us that Muslims must treat their wives equally. In doing so, he condemns his own prophet. Interestingly, the Qur'an declares that Muhammad is an excellent moral example for Muslims to follow. It seems, then, that Muslims are commanded to follow the example of a man who was a horrible sinner and couldn't even follow the simplest commands of the Qur'an.

***UPDATE*** Samatar can't help himself. In his most recent comment, he writes:

The Quran says to treat your wives equally. When I said equally, I meant in the sense of food, clothing, sex etc... I did not mean favouring one wife over another, Or loving one wife more than another.

So the Qur'an calls Muslims to treat wives equally in regards to sex? But Muhammad spent an additional night for sex with one of his wives (Aisha), and had no sex with a less favored wife (Sauda). So one wife got no sex, some wives got some sex, and Aisha got the most sex. Hence, even on Samatar's modified position, Muhammad still turns out to be a hypocrite and a sinner in rebellion against Allah's clear commands in the Qur'an.

Samatar also wrote:

With regard to Sahih al-Bukhari 3:766, it is quite clear that Sauda gave up her night with the prophet willingly, so there is no injustice their. It would only be injustice if the prophet (pbuh) spent the night with Aisha against Sauda's permission.

Samatar, I beg you, please start reading your sources. Sauda gave up her night with Muhammad because he was going to divorce her, leaving her as an old and starving widow. So she made the agreement in order to survive, and Muhammad agreed because it allowed him to spend more time with his child-bride. If Muhammad were a good moral example, he would have responded, "Sauda, what do you mean you're worried that I will divorce you? I will never divorce you, because I've been commanded to care for all my wives equally. So there's no need to give up your evening with me, for that would result in unequal treatment, which the Qur'an forbids." Instead, Muhammad's response was, "What? You're giving your sex night to Aisha? Great! Okay, you can continue receiving food and shelter, and I'll have double sex with Aisha! Win/win!" And the Qur'an even condones this behavior (4:128-130).

Samatar, do you have the slightest clue what a repulsive hypocrite Muhammad was? He was a thoroughly despicable excuse for a human being, and all you do is defend him. This is what Islam does to people. It forces them to defend the indefensible.

New Study Shows Polygamy Leads to Higher Levels of Crime, Violence, Poverty, and Gender Inequality

Interesting. Islam institutionalized polygamous marriage. Researchers have determined that polygamous marriage in a culture leads to higher levels of crime, violence, poverty, and gender inequality. Hence, Islam institutionalized a practice that led to the problems we now see in Muslim societies: rampant violence, poverty, and gender inequality. Shouldn't Allah have known better?

For those unfamiliar with Islamic teachings, here's a quick review. According to the Qur'an, Muslim men are allowed to marry up to four women:

Qur'an 4:3—And if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan girls, then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three or four, but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (the captives and the slaves) that your right hands possess. That is nearer to prevent you from doing injustice.

Of course, Allah gave Muhammad (and only Muhammad) special moral privileges, namely, the right to marry more women than anyone else (nothing suspicious here!):

Qur'an 33:50—O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makkah) with thee; and any believing woman who dedicates her soul to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her—this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large).

According to Tabari, Muhammad married fifteen women:

History of al-Tabari, Volume IX, pp. 126-7—“The Messenger of God married fifteen women and consummated his marriage with thirteen. He combined eleven at a time and left behind nine.”

Bukhari confirms that Muhammad had at either nine or eleven wives at one time (far more than the standard limit of four):

Sahih al-Bukhari 268—Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven).

Since Muhammad is the highest moral example in Islam (Qur'an 33:21), and Muhammad was polygamous, and the Qur'an allows Muslims to engage in polygamy, this practice has been a part of Muslim society for nearly fourteen centuries. And now for the results of Islamic teachings, in a report by Science Daily:

SCIENCE DAILY (Jan. 24, 2012)—In cultures that permit men to take multiple wives, the intra-sexual competition that occurs causes greater levels of crime, violence, poverty and gender inequality than in societies that institutionalize and practice monogamous marriage.

That is a key finding of a new University of British Columbia-led study that explores the global rise of monogamous marriage as a dominant cultural institution. The study suggests that institutionalized monogamous marriage is rapidly replacing polygamy because it has lower levels of inherent social problems.

"Our goal was to understand why monogamous marriage has become standard in most developed nations in recent centuries, when most recorded cultures have practiced polygyny," says UBC Prof. Joseph Henrich, a cultural anthropologist, referring to the form of polygamy that permits multiple wives, which continues to be practiced in some parts of Africa, Asia, the Middle East and North America.

"The emergence of monogamous marriage is also puzzling for some as the very people who most benefit from polygyny -- wealthy, powerful men -- were best positioned to reject it," says Henrich, lead author of the study that was recently published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. "Our findings suggest that that institutionalized monogamous marriage provides greater net benefits for society at large by reducing social problems that are inherent in polygynous societies."

Considered the most comprehensive study of polygamy and the institution of marriage, the study finds significantly higher levels rape, kidnapping, murder, assault, robbery and fraud in polygynous cultures. According to Henrich and his research team, which included Profs. Robert Boyd (UCLA) and Peter Richerson (UC Davis), these crimes are caused primarily by pools of unmarried men, which result when other men take multiple wives.

"The scarcity of marriageable women in polygamous cultures increases competition among men for the remaining unmarried women," says Henrich, adding that polygamy was outlawed in 1963 in Nepal, 1955 in India (partially), 1953 in China and 1880 in Japan. The greater competition increases the likelihood men in polygamous communities will resort to criminal behavior to gain resources and women, he says.

According to Henrich, monogamy's main cultural evolutionary advantage over polygyny is the more egalitarian distribution of women, which reduces male competition and social problems. By shifting male efforts from seeking wives to paternal investment, institutionalized monogamy increases long-term planning, economic productivity, savings and child investment, the study finds. Monogamy's institutionalization has been assisted by its incorporation by religions, such as Christianity.

Monogamous marriage also results in significant improvements in child welfare, including lower rates of child neglect, abuse, accidental death, homicide and intra-household conflict, the study finds. These benefits result from greater levels of parental investment, smaller households and increased direct "blood relatedness" in monogamous family households, says Henrich, who served as an expert witness for British Columbia's Supreme Court case involving the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C.

Monogamous marriage has largely preceded democracy and voting rights for women in the nations where it has been institutionalized, says Henrich, the Canadian Research Chair in Culture, Cognition and Evolution in UBC's Depts. of Psychology and Economics. By decreasing competition for younger and younger brides, monogamous marriage increases the age of first marriage for females, decreases the spousal age gap and elevates female influence in household decisions which decreases total fertility and increases gender equality.

British Government Funding Polygamous Muslim Marriages

I'm absolutely shocked that Muslims are taking advantage of the British government to further their Islamic agenda. Who could have imagined it?

So here's what's going on in the UK. Many British Muslims are importing numerous wives from Muslim countries. Muslims marry these women in Islamic ceremonies that are not reported to the British government. These women then start having children. Since the women aren't officially married and are regarded as single mothers with multiple children, the British government gives them housing benefits, money, food, etc. In other words, polygamy is being funded by the British government. And while a Muslim man is producing ten or fifteen children through his three or four government-funded wives, non-Muslim British parents are having one or two children. Do the math and tell me what the UK will be like in 50 years.

Of course, government officials are helpless to do anything about these polygamous marriages, because any action against Muslims will be regarded as hate-filled, anti-Islamic, racist bigotry.

United Kingdom--Ghulam is a taxi driver who lives in Blackburn, a once-booming textile town in Lancashire. He has a terrace house near his local mosque (one of 53 in the area), a silver Nissan car and a very complex private life.

For he has so many children that he struggles to remember their names, and five wives from various countries, including Yemen, Egypt, Turkey and his own birthplace, Pakistan.

Ghulam’s latest bride is a shy 20-year-old called Hafeza. He brought her to Britain from Morocco, soon after his 45th birthday earlier this year. They married in an Islamic wedding ceremony called ‘the Nikah’ in her village, with Hafeza’s pleased parents among the guests.

Thirty miles across the Pennines in Yorkshire, pizza delivery driver Wasim, 27, has an equally complicated domestic life.

He lives in a part of Dewsbury called Savile Town, a network of 11 terrace streets dominated by one of the biggest mosques in Europe, where most residents are Asian with origins in Pakistan or India.

Wasim has three wives, the first of whom lives with him and their three teenage sons. His other two wives have separate houses in Savile Town, one down the road and another round the corner. He visits each two nights a week.

The women have had several of Wasim’s children and he hopes the youngest bride (aged 19) will soon present him with another baby.

I learned of Ghulam and Wasim this week while investigating a subject that is taboo in politically correct Britain. It is the huge rise of bigamy (having two wives) and polygamy (more than two) in our Muslim communities.

The issue was recently bravely highlighted by Baroness Flather, a crossbench life peer who was herself born in Lahore, now part of Pakistan.

She warned the Lords (and also wrote an article for the Mail on the subject) about how our shambolic benefits system is being exploited by men hailing from Pakistan and other Muslim nations who indulge in multiple marriages — with taxpayers forced to foot the bill.

As Baroness Flather explained: ‘The wives are regarded by the welfare system as single mothers, and are therefore entitled to a full range of lone parent payments.

'As a result, several “families” fathered by the same man can all claim benefits, as they are provided for by the welfare state, which treats them as if they were not related.’

Lady Flather also lamented the reluctance of politicians to address the issue: ‘It is certainly difficult to discuss this phenomenon of serial marriage and exploitation of the benefits system, with few people in Britain seeming to want to confront the disturbing truth.’

Two years ago, another peer, Baroness Warsi, born in Dewsbury to Pakistani parents, and now a Coalition Cabinet Minister, also voiced her concerns. She said cultural sensitivity was stopping politicians addressing the problem.

Yet this week I found those — from within the heart of the Asian communities — who were prepared to speak out.

Although the Government says there are only 1,000 such bigamous or polygamous unions in the UK, two experienced Lancashire social workers — one of Indian-English heritage and the other with Pakistani origins — told me that, although it’s difficult to be precise, in their estimation the figure is closer to 20,000.

The social workers said the multiple marriages are encouraged by a welfare system which allows a second, third or fourth wife to be treated as a single mother who gets a house and an array of other state payments for herself and her children.

Controversially, it means that a man can take a new spouse (from anywhere in the world), sire any number of children with her, and yet have no responsibility for this family’s upkeep or care.

To avoid breaking Britain’s matrimony laws, the men marry their extra ‘wives’ in an Islamic Nikah ceremony, either in their own homes or a mosque.

These marriages are not recognised officially, so they do not appear in government statistics or have any status under the law. They also do not count when assessing welfare payments. (Read more.)