Young British Muslims are increasingly opting for Sharia marriages – sparking fears of a rise in ‘secret polygamy’, it was claimed last night.
Around 100,000 couples are living under such arrangements, which are not recognised under UK law.
Because the practice bypasses register offices, it is feared men are taking more than one wife without the authorities’ knowledge.
Islamic family lawyer Aina Khan said she was seeing a ‘huge’ increase in issues with polygamy as a result of such ‘secret’ marriages.
She said: ‘Probably a quarter of all couples I see involve polygamy issues. There has been a huge rise in recent years because people can have a secret nikah (Islamic marriage) and no one will know about it.’
It has been estimated that there are as many as 20,000 polygamous Islamic unions in the UK. [Daily Mail] Read more
