to be a bit unhappy about Harems being supported by the taxpayer?

[pankhurst]

I am ardently against polygamy. Sorry. I think it's discourteous and (because usually male advantageous) sexist nonsense masquerading as religious right.

I found out that men with multiple wives under islam will have benefits for all of them.

AIBU to be concerned about this? If I were a muslim man on benefits and I wanted to, there would be NOTHING now to stop me bringing four wives in.

I don't want my children to grow up in a country where harems are even 1% of the population. I really don't. I would prefer more obstacles rather than making it easier.

Or did I miss the point somewhere? Help?

The analogy with adultery is silly.The woman above should have known/should have had the chance to say fuck off and divorce and protect her children (and herself) from all that grief.

One land/one law/same for everyone/with limitative exceptions, predetermined by legally elected representatives or established by the courts (within the habeas corpus) .
Simple as that.
Do you find it acceptable that minorities should not be given the same rights and obligations under the law in the UK?

MB, isn't this because many (most) women are denied an education - kept in ignorance to maintain that patriachal system? This is one of the main arguments for change within Islamic cultural practice for Hirsi-Ali

SLim22, can I just check:

Do you feel that 'the woman above' (the one whose husband wandered off and married a second wife) should have done something else?????

My response would have been 'the man above should have done something else' - and I'd be totally clear that it would have involved a sausage mincer.

So I may have missed the point you were making? Or I may be about to say that your post is unfair.

While we do have to be very careful about giving licence to racists, I am very glad that the scales are beginning to fall from peoples eyes about the treatment of women within Islamic cultures. And not only women, but progressive men too as in the case of Perwiz Kambakhsh.

There has to be some way to talk about this, to criticise Islamic traditions, without immediatley being called a bigot.

the treatment of women, full stop.

polygamy = whatever culture likes it, it's crap for the woman.

lack of financial power = ditto.

lack of education = ditto.

forced arranged marriage = ditto.

None of these is uniquely related to Islam.

And IMHO none of them should be legitimised by having a category for them on a government form and by paying my taxes into the bloke's bank account in connection with his engagement in them.

I think that if someone has more than one wife then they should share one lot of benefit. Afterall if you have two wives, then one person can go out to work and the other one do childcare.

Seriously, polygamy has been illegal in this country for centuries. It is vile and degrading to women. In England we do not chop of people's hands whatever Sharia might state. We should not tolerate polygamy.

I believe that isalm states that a man should not take on more wives than he can financially support.

call me thick if you like,but why has racism been mentioned on this thread atall?the discussion did turn to islamic traditions,but isnt islam a religion,rather than a race?

if i started a thread saying something against the traditions/beliefs of the catholic church,i may open up debate but i doubt very much i would be called racist.

i dont understand?

Message withdrawn

oh yes, harman...and your nets need washing!

Divastrop,

I think it's because there's another country of origin involved (has to be because they have to be legally married so somewhere outside UK).

I'm fairly sure that if I bring up Pope's stance on abortion, and then it comes to Ireland, and then to UK, we could get the same racist accusations.

But you are right - Islam is non-bounded. So shouldn't be about race.

The irony of it is Pankhurst is that it is also bad for men - most men that is

is this really an issue? Sounds like a very daily mail thread to me....

Oh, theres the rub FM. It appears to be on the surface, but look closer and you will see a lot of loony lefties getting hot under the collar - and not before time.

I'm very much in the middle and not loony at all though

Why did I read 'Hermes' in the thread title instead fo 'Harems'?!

Oh, I thought this was going to be a cool thread about Hermes - the handbags, the perfumes, the scarves, the lifestyle . . .

i get hot under the collar about harems too, but not because of my taxes......actually would not mind a few more wives in my house. would be nice if they could cook!

Pankhurst - just catching up with this thread. I don't think I 'discounted myself somewhat' by not being a scholar of Islam - I live Islam, every day - and you know what, I bloody love it! I merely stated I couldn't give the more complex reasons behind polygamy within the Islamic framework, because I'm not a scholar

I think we need to agree on one point - benefits should be for one wife and one wife only! Regardless of race and religion....its the Govt that are causing all these bad feelings in the first place because people see their dear old Gran wondering whether to buy extra food or save for fuel as its so expensive and think now why the bleeding hell should people claim for two wives etc when Granny has no money!

lol!!

Sorry Pan, late reply as I'm GMT+8

My post very confusing.

What I meant:
If the bastard wants to remarry, she should have had a chance to divorce him first. Get whatever protection she should be entitled to before the next woman moves in.

Polygamy is NOT happily accepted. It's a practice that a lot of first wives agree to because otherwise they and their children would end up on the street. They have no income and their families will not readily take them back.
The new wife (often much younger) will usually do all she can to confine the old wife to a domestic role and her children often end up destitute.
That's the reality of polygamy. Nothing romantic or exotic.

No, it isn't romantic - it can be at most practical. Multible wives do not report being very happy. Competition is fierce between them.