.... A Muslim man who divorces his wife is supposed to give her a financial settlement but many ignore this; while a woman who seeks a divorce against her husband’s wishes has no financial rights and, worse still, has to pay back the dowry he paid when they married, which may amount to tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars.
Men can use this to effectively blackmail their wives, either to stay in the marriage or to exchange the debt for custody of the children. If the wife re-marries, the husband has control over whom the children live with. While such provisions may be offensive to other Australians, Sheikh Chami says devout Muslims accept them simply because “it’s the law of God.”
The same applies to polygamy, which, despite its illegality, is quite common, the sheikh says. “I know one person – he has three wives, not two. I know many people who have two women and the women are happy with it, they don’t complain.”
Sheikh Chami says he will not endorse multiple marriages in Australia himself, because they are tolerated but not encouraged in the Koran, but a man wanting to take a second wife can readily find someone to approve it. “If I don’t want to do it, another imam will do it.” [MuslimVillage.com] Read more
