Saudi religious police officer accused of having six wives (two over limit)

A 56-year-old Saudi religious police officer from the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has been accused of having six wives, which is two over the limit.

Muslim men can keep up to four wives at a time under sharia, or Islamic law, which is applied in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi accused of having six wives (BBC) (via Arbroath)

Previously on Boing Boing:
• Blackwater owner requests Shari’a law to avoid paying lawsuit

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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deep9x

I think this only becomes confusing when the guy claims he divorced two of them, and therefore isn’t over the legal limit. Does he just not have any records of this? Is divorce even legal there? Truly, marriage is a minefield.
zuzu

Line marriages?
tellner

A few things are worth noting…

The Quran specifically says that polygyny is not recommended but is PERMITTED if a man just can’t bring himself to charitably provide for widows and orphans out of the goodness of his heart. The Prophet Mohammed(pbuh) was monogamous with and devoted to his first wife until she died. The women he married afterwards were all widows, orphans or in one case the daughter of a close friend.

Having a lot of wives didn’t seem to make him all that happy. He was frequently found hiding in the quarters of a Christian servant woman. He wasn’t having sex with her. He was trying to get some peace and quiet away from all the those wives. Most Muslim and Mormon men I know who have or had several wives act pretty much the same way, often sneaking from one wife to another, dodging jealousy all the time. When the wives don’t like each other it is pure hell. They don’t often like each other.

The Noble Quran says that a man can have four wives. It says nothing about a woman having more than one husband. Custom forbids it. The particular variety of male supremacist porker who inhabits KSA couldn’t imagine it – usually they say “It’s ridiculous, a person wouldn’t know who his father was”. But the Book also says “Do not permit that which We have forbidden or forbid that which We have permitted.” Just saying…

Of course, picking up after ONE man is more than enough for most women, so polyandry isn’t going to be popular any time soon.
Custodian of the Two Holy Balls

Here is some more information from a – in this matter – more credible source than the BBC. Arabnews.com is not bad at all if you want to learn something about life in KSA.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=112308&d=1&m=8&y=2008

All I know is that divorce is fairly easy and frequent, which is of course always a major setback in the life of the woman. Not really thrown away, but it is not easy to find another man and it is a lot of social and financial stress for the family of the woman. Let alone the psychological aspects of a divorce.

To have and finance four (or even six) women is in contrast much more difficult. Not only you have to pay the families a nice sum of money, also you have to feed and dress and keep happy your women, which are demanding just as much as western women. Having so many women is not frequent nowadays and you need to have a high social status. It is requested from the man to treat all women equally well.

A woman cannot have more than one man (at a time).

The Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is an influential institution in KSA overseeing that the strict rules are followed and it would be a big scandal if this news was true, which I am sceptic about.

It is probably more like paying back to a man who has criticized others for not behaving decently and maybe have caused their punishment.

I am btw. a European staying temporarily in this country for work.
IamInnocent

I don’t get it: this fellah (that’s Arabic for fella) has SIX wives and he still need to be punished?!

Jean
prom77

Anyone else worried for the safety of the wives? The last two he married could easily be accused of adultery. And we know what happens then.
DragonVPM

I’m all for religious tolerance, but it seems like a lot of the elements in the more fundamental Islamic faiths are hideously unfair (the same can be said for some elements in various Christian faiths). I don’t care how many wives a man has, but it seems only fair that a woman should be allowed to have the same number of husbands. A woman has to wear a burkha? Then so should a man. etc… The way a lot of men choose to interpret and enforce Islam just seems terribly misogynistic (note I didn’t say Islam is misogynistic, I’m laying all the blame for this on the guys making the rules)

I dunno, I have no problem with individual people choosing to have relationships with a non-equal power structure (e.g. D/s, S&M, whatever the kink may be), but government mandated inequality just bothers me. Same goes for government mandated censorship actually (yet another reason I’d best avoid living in an Islamic country).

“Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”

*cringe*
Takuan

I thought the deal for muslims was you could have as many wives as you could properly look after?
Saskplanner

What a cartoon religion and a wicked country
Takuan

Freedom From Religion is a basic tenet of any democratic society. We have to extend this to global society. Perhaps diplomatic relations should not be extended to religious dictatorships as well as overt political dictatorships. How is North Korea different from Saudi Arabia?
Custodian of the Two Holy Balls

#9:
“for this man to have been abiding by Islamic law he could not at any time have been married to more than four women, and that exceeding this number is a major sin”

#8:
Right if it turns out to be true. And it doesn’t make the life safer for number 5 that she moved to Yemen. Number 6 is just 22 years old…
holtt

Don’t you mean “Freedom OF Religion”? As in – you get to choose? And of course “None” is one of those choices.
jahknow

In other Saudi news, Court upholds flogging researchers.
Antinous

Four is the max at one time. I’ve met princes who had more than a hundred siblings by several dozen mothers, serially married and divorced.
TimmerCA

> Up to four wives are OK, but six are not.
> Hmmm. I wonder how severe the punishment
> is?

I’d say having 6 wives is sever enough punishment. *grin*
EH

Up to four wives are OK, but six are not. Hmmm. I wonder how severe the punishment is?

Two more wives! ba dum bum.
Ugly Canuck

#7: Ha ha ha ha ha
#8: That is worrying, hope they have some defense eg ignorance like Charles Kuralt’s wives.
#9: No. Four’s the limit from what I hear. But what’s the scoop on the old-timey Sultan’s Harem, then? Seemed like more than four wives there…so maybe Rules have changed.
Ahh the hypocrisy of the judges.
Ahhh human nature…
#10: Now now remember the Prime Directive, and “motes and beams” and “glass houses” ,etc.
dragonfrog

I wonder if the English language newspapers are reporting this as a case of hexagamy, monogamy through quadrigamy being legal…
dainel

The “only 4 current wive limit” comes from the fact that Muhammad had 4. IINM this is not restricted to Saudi Arabia. It’s common in many Muslim countries. For example, it’s legal in Malaysia for Muslim men to have 4 wives (though non-Muslim men get only 1, or else you go to jail).

Nevertheless, I have yet to meet one who have more than 1 wive at a time. My guess is it’s because it is not culturally acceptable to do so, though religiously and legally it is OK. Any man contemplating taking a 2nd wife faces some problems. None of your friends and relatives know anyone else who has done this. Your first wife will take it badly. Your in-laws are not going to be thrilled. If you have kids, what are their friends going to say? AFAIK, there isn’t any well known person (political leaders, film stars, etc) who has more than 1 wife.

However I do know some ethnic Chinese men who had more than 1 wife at a time. (In Malaysia, practically all the ethnic Chinese are non-Muslims). Actually I know the wifes, but this was from long ago, when many rich Chinese men had 2 wifes. At that time the law was not enforced. Though it was illegal, it was culturally acceptable (at that time).
elNico

Some prominent Muslims in Australia suggested it should become legally recognised here as well (having up to 4 wives), the official reasoning being financial protection for the wife/wives in case of divorce amongst other points.

To me this isn’t an affront to the Christian definition of marriage or anything, it’s just plain annoying.

How about just working with what you have here for a bit? Like mingling with those bad whitey’s every once in a while…
dainel

Oh, and the article mentions Saudi Arabia is “considering introducing compulsory pre-marriage courses for engaged couples in order to cut the kingdom’s growing divorce rate.”

We already have that in Malaysia for a very long time (for Muslims only). And I am told that Muslim women getting married needs a letter from their employers certifying that they are single. (Muslim men in my workplace asks for this letter too). Now I wonder, what do they do if they were not employed when getting married.

Many here may not know the proper procedure for Muslim men to divorce their wife. The husband merely have to say it (that he divorces his wife). Repeat it 3 times, and the divorce is “done”. Not sure if it has to be in front of witnesses, but it does not have to be “registered” to be effective (you don’t have to appear in front of a third party who will approve/reject it). The husband says it 3 times, and that’s it.

I’ve heard stories about husbands who said it during arguments with their wives, and later tried to take it back. But no, that’s not allowed. Divorced is divorced. They just have to get married again.
V

Maybe they need a catch and release program
Justin Ried

@Dainel: “For example, it’s legal in Malaysia for Muslim men to have 4 wives (though non-Muslim men get only 1, or else you go to jail).”

It’s fascinating that Malaysian law discriminates between muslim and non-muslim marriages, imposing different limits on them accordingly. It reminds me of same-sex marriages (or unions) here in the United States. With much variation, some states recognize same-sex marriages – but the minority is still always given second-class status, unable to enjoy the benefits afforded the majority.

Humans are remarkably consistent with discriminatory practices.
mdhatter

With much variation, some states recognize same-sex marriages – but the minority is still always given second-class status, unable to enjoy the benefits afforded the majority.

That is exactly not true in Massachusetts, but probably only in Massachusetts is it not true.

We can’t change the Federal Tax Code, but that’s on the rest of y’all to help us out with.
Ugly Canuck

#17: Do not Roman Catholic couples also go through religious instruction prior to marriage?Is the KSA just catching up to the Holy Mother Roman Catholic Church?
#22: As Malaysia is a Muslim country, I doubt that they are preventing Christians from becoming Muslims in order to take more than one wife, should that be so important to you….odd to hear Christians complaints of discrimination in this case, are you also discriminated against by having animal sacrifices banned?
Now some Mormons would have a complaint in Malaysia, perhaps.
The historic Chinese practice of polygamy is equally interesting – I recommend you to check out how many wives the Emperor had to have – he had no choice, the Emperor being the Son of heaven had to reflect the Universe…he had to have 365 wives, and they would attend his bedchamber in strictly -controlled numbers, in strictly controlled order…all dictated by tradition and religion, enforced by the Royal Courtiers…
Here in the West the ideal of monogamous marriage remains just that for dynamic successful and attractive individuals. But in practice…
elNico

@25
“As Malaysia is a Muslim country, I doubt that they are preventing Christians from becoming Muslims in order to take more than one wife, should that be so important to you….”

Yeah, like some atheist in Canada being denied to enter the legal bond of marriage because she is not catholic – regardless of whether she actually cares about it or not…just become catholic and all will be fine – now stop complaining!

“….odd to hear Christians complaints of discrimination in this case, are you also discriminated against by having animal sacrifices banned?”

I guess you’re referring to something outside of this thread?
Ugly Canuck

#26 i did not know (nor claim) that Malaysia does not permit civil marriage to us atheists, but I suspect you are wrong that they do.They forbid non-muslims from taking more than one wife, is all.
As to polyandry IIRC in Ancient India it was practiced in the Warrior Caste, with the ladies allowed up to four husbands.
Takuan

No.I very clearly mean “Freedom FROM Religion”. I have an absolute right to NOT have my life impacted by the ignorant and savage superstitions of the less-enlightened. The only holy war worth following involves shooting proselytizing priests. Let your faith light the world, set fire to the church/temple etc.of your choice today. I have no specific hostility to any of the cults that afflict mankind, my contempt is democratic.
Not a Doktor

Looks like someone was caught playing mormon hold’em.

[disclosure: I come from a mormon background]
miss_poppy

I suppose two wives will have to die.
Carlitos

Some comments I read here are simply appalling — glaring, blaring examples of ignorance.

All of us Westerners should get informed properly before passing quick judgement on ANYTHING, let alone on so delicate subjects such as these.

Make no mistake — the Saudis are most notably the farthest from Traditional Islam. They are a bunch a power mongers who are in control of Arabia for decades. But Islam != Saudi Arabia.

I would kindly suggest read a very good and sober introduction to Islam such as “Muhammed: A biography of the Prophet” by Karen Armstrong, or even better, “A History of God: the 4000 year quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam” (same author) to see Islam in CONTEXT. And for a fascinating analysis on the biggest defining era in the Christianity-Islam debate, which still is haunting us, you could do no better than grabbing a copy of “The Crusades Through Arab Eyes” by Amin Maalouf.

Peace.
Munkcy

@ #17 Dainel: ‘Repeat it 3 times, and the divorce is “done”.’ Really? That’s all it takes to get divorced in Malaysia?

So getting divorced is equivalent to calling Beetlejuice…
Anonymous

“It’s fascinating that Malaysian law discriminates between muslim and non-muslim marriages, imposing different limits on them accordingly.”

Sharia law is inherently discriminatory. Infidels are always second class citizens.

There may exist discrimination in the US, but it’s not even in the same universe as Malaysia, let alone Saudi Arabia.
Takuan

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7547148.stm
mdhatter

“Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”

Thank Allah we only have the TSA to deal with.
ab3a

Up to four wives are OK, but six are not. Hmmm. I wonder how severe the punishment is?
Deviant

I have no problem with men having six wives, provided women can have six husbands.