After heavy backlash on social media regarding the development that Muslim adherents should be allowed to marry more than one wife, the Russian Muslim Clerics have agreed to disallow Polygamous practice, pointing out that Russian law prohibits polygamy.
The decision that led to the withdrawal of the contentious document came after heavy criticism trailed the development on social media.
The contentious document, which was issued by the Council of Scholars of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia on 17th December 2024, pointed out conditions for Muslim men to practice religious marriages with up to four women.
The document pointed out several conditions including providing equal material support, separate living spaces, and devoting equal time to each wife.
The document also stressed that the main condition for allowing polygamy is the fair and equal treatment of all wives by their husbands.
It further emphasized that “religious Islamic marriage is not recognized by the state and creates no legal consequences,” stressing that the fatwa “does not replace the norms of Russian marital law.”
However, the development stemmed criticism among netizens who are outrightly against the ruling. According to Kirill Kabanov, a member of the presidential Human Rights Council, the DUM is attempting to impose Sharia law and brazenly disrespecting the Russian Constitution.
The head of the parliamentary family affairs committee, Nina Ostanina, said that the fatwa undermines Russian secularism, while polygamy goes against our core morals and traditional values.
The mufti of Moscow, Ildar Alyautdinov, denied that the document legalized polygamy and undermined the constitutional principle of secularism. He insisted that the ruling merely “clarified” Islamic canons and reiterated that “religious marriage has no legal power in Russia.”
According to RT, several Russian news agencies on Monday reported that the Prosecutor General’s Office notified the DUM that the fatwa is illegal under Russian law and goes against “the state family policies.”
The DUM announced the withdrawal of the fatwa several hours later, citing the notice from prosecutors and “the reaction of the Russian public.”
“It is God’s will. The Council of Scholars sees no sense in joining a debate on the matter,” the council’s chairman, Shamil Alyautdinov, wrote on Telegram.
