Muslim husbands with more than one wife to get extra benefits as ministers recognise polygamy

London Evening Standard ^ | January 13, 2011

[La Lydia]

Husbands living in a "harem" with multiple wives have been cleared to claim state benefits for all their different partners. A Muslim man with four spouses - which is permitted under Islamic law - could receive £10,000 a year in income support alone. He could also be entitled to more generous housing and council tax benefit, to reflect the fact his household needs a bigger property.

Ministers have decided that, even though bigamy is a crime in Britain, polygamous marriages can be recognised formally by the state - provided they took place overseas, in countries where they are legal. The outcome will chiefly benefit Muslim men with more than one wife...

Income support for all of the wives may be paid directly into the husband's bank account, if the family so choose. Chris Grayling, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said that the decision was "completely unjustifiable".

He added: "You are not allowed to have multiple marriages in the UK, so to have a situation where the benefits system is treating people in different ways is totally unacceptable and will serve to undermine confidence in the system.

"This sets a precedent that will lead to more demands for the culture of other countries to be reflected in UK law and the benefits system."

[Morpheus2009]

It’s certainly possible, but it’s all a question of how it works step by step. They have taken the first step towards tolerating polygamy in letting the so-called “foreign marriages” count, it’s only a matter of a few steps of rising acceptance until all polygamy is legal.

[camle]

i think that polygamy is the next thing, then age limits, then incest, then animules, then hardware...