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| Religion Forum Index » Mormon Forum » BRIGHAM YOUNG WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD OF THIS CLUB AND... |
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| Sword of Laban... |
 Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:52 pm |
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Polygamy club draws criticism in Indonesia
By ALI KOTARUMALOS (AP)
October 25, 2009
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Plans to open branches of a Malaysian "Polygamy
Club" in Indonesia have upset women's groups and religious leaders in
the world's most populous Muslim nation, who say the search for
multiple wives should be handled privately — not by a matchmaking
service.
Under Islamic law, Muslim men are permitted four wives. The club
claims a noble aim of helping single mothers, reformed prostitutes and
women who feel they are past marrying age meet spouses. It also offers
counseling to people facing problems in polygamous households.
The Malaysian owners say they want to "change people's perception
about polygamy, so that they will see it as a beautiful rather than
abhorrent practice," club chairwoman Hatijah Binti Am said as members
from around 30 families attended a gathering in Bandung, west Java,
for the opening of the first Indonesian branch last week.
Others will soon be added, including in the capital, Jakarta, said
spokeswoman Rohaya Mohamad.
"Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country, so polygamy can be a way of
life there too," Rohaya said.
Polygamous relationships are believed to be gaining in popularity in
secular Indonesia, but it's impossible to say how many there are
because the marriages are performed secretly at mosques and are not
recorded by the state.
Indonesia's 1974 Marriage Law permits a man to have a second wife if
his first is an invalid, infertile or terminally ill. However, there
is no way to monitor adherence to the rules.
Polygamists point out that the Prophet Muhammad is thought to have
married about a dozen women in his lifetime, including widows in need
of protection. But a prominent member of the influential Indonesian
Ullema Council, a board of Muslim priests, described the launching of
a formal club as a "provocative campaign."
"Such a club is needless," said Ma'ruf Amin. "It will draw (negative)
reactions rather than solve problems" because the practice is
generally opposed by women in the country of 235 million people.
Several prominent political and religious figures in Indonesia openly
married second wives in recent years, sparking widespread public
debate and calls to ban civil servants from polygamy. Analysts believe
the number of men with multiple wives is increasing as this emerging
democracy searches to balance modern governance and Islamic identity.
Amin said that although Islam allows polygamy, popularizing the
practice could encourage multiple marriages in which the husbands fail
to adhere to strict guidelines, including fair treatment of all wives
and children and equal financial support.
Opposition has also come from women's rights activists.
Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, director of the Institute for Indonesian
Women's Association for Justice does not oppose men having several
spouses, but said the club should not advertise openly.
"If they did it privately, that would be fine," she said, citing the
acceptance of polygamy under Islam and by the Indonesian state
according to specific requirements.
However, Yohanna, a member of the same women's rights group, said the
club effectively promotes abuse.
"While we are campaigning against domestic violence, which includes
polygamy, there is a group campaigning that polygamy — which hurts
other women — is a positive thing," Yohanna told MetroTV.
Polygamy is also legal for Muslims in Malaysia but not widespread. The
club was founded there in August and claims to have around 1,000
members — 700 of them women — many of them former members of a banned
Islamic sect of Al-Arqam.
Malaysia's Home Affairs Ministry was reportedly keeping a close eye on
the club.
Hatijah, the club founder, is a wife of Ashaari Muhammad, the leader
of the Al-Arqam sect that was outlawed in 1994 by the Malaysian
government after the group's teachings and beliefs were found to
deviate from Islam. The group then claimed to have around 10,000
followers.
Ashaari was portrayed by the movement as messiah who had the authority
to forgive the sins of Muslims. He has 38 children from four wives,
eight of them with Hatijah. Twenty-three of the children are in
polygamous marriages.
Indonesia's more than 200 million Muslims practice a moderate form of
the faith, but a small hardline fringe has successfully pushed for
Islamic law of Shariah in more than a hundred municipalities across
the nation, and the predominantly Muslim province of Aceh.
http://www.truthandgrace.com/polygamy.htm |
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