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To: FreedomPoster
Well, we have 1200 years of Muslim history to look at to see what might be the warlike effects of excess males due to polygamy. Admittedly there are other factors at play in that case, but are you completely discounting it? If so, why?

Actually, polygamy was a response to excess females - as Muhammad's cohorts died off, he had their widows married to those who remained standing. The problem of excess females led to an ever-widening spiral of conquest for loot, as the men joining his army died, the remaining men had to take on the widows of the dead, thereby necessitating the acquisition of yet more loot. Note that the female surplus problem was severely aggravated by the practice of massacring male captives.

56 posted on 05/26/2011 2:10:20 PM PDT by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: Zhang Fei

But once things stabilize after wars of conquest, as we have now, you have lots of excess low-status males at loose ends if you maintain a polygamous system.

Surely you’re not asserting that the reasons polygamy was adopted 100s of years ago in the Muslim world are still in play there today? They simply don’t have excess females.

And as you will surely admit, China very much has the opposite problem. And while it has occurred, polyandry is not common in history. At all.


57 posted on 05/26/2011 2:18:21 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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