Russian Muslim clerics reverse polygamy ruling

The chief Islamic body originally endorsed having multiple wives, which is not legal in the country

Russia’s top Islamic body has withdrawn a controversial document permitting Muslim men to have multiple wives. The decision was made following backlash on social media and from officials who noted that Russian law bans polygamy. 

On December 17, the Council of Scholars of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia (DUM) issued a fatwa outlining the conditions and circumstances under which Muslim men are allowed to have “religious marriages” with more than one woman. 

According to the document, a man can have up to four wives if he provides each wife with “equal material support” and a separate living space, as well as devoting “an equal amount of time” to them.  

“The main condition for allowing polygamy is a fair and equal treatment of all wives by their husband,” the document said. It acknowledged 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.”

The ruling was criticized online. Kirill Kabanov, a member of the presidential Human Rights Council, accused the DUM of attempting to impose Sharia law and “brazenly disrespecting” the Russian Constitution.

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Nina Ostanina, the head of the parliamentary family affairs committee, said the fatwa undermines Russian secularism, while polygamy “goes against our core morals and traditional values.”

Ildar Alyautdinov, the mufti of Moscow, has 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.” 

On Monday, several Russian news agencies 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.” 

Several hours later, the DUM announced the withdrawal of the fatwa, 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.

Around 10% of Russians are Muslims. Muslim-majority regions include Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia in the North Caucasus, and Tatarstan and Bashkortostan in western Russia. Many large cities have a sizable Muslim minority, some of whom are migrant workers from Central Asia.