Russia's top Islamic body has approved a religious edict that allows Muslim men to practice polygamy, which contradicts Russian law that prohibits individuals from entering multiple registered marriages simultaneously.
The Council of Islamic Clerics of Russia's Spiritual Administration of Muslims (DUM), issued a fatwa on December 18 that allows a Muslim male to enter up to four marriages at the same time as long as certain conditions are met.
Russia's Family Code explicitly prohibits a person from entering a registered marriage with someone who is already married. But it comes as the Russian authorities are grappling with a dire demographic situation amid a population decline exacerbated by emigration, low birthrates, and high mortality.
While the full text of the fatwa has yet to be published, reports from Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti revealed key provisions in it that allow Muslim men to enter into multiple religious marriages.
The fatwa stipulates that a man can engage in polygamy only if he ensures equitable treatment for all wives. This includes equal material provision, separate housing for each wife, and spending equal time with them according to an agreed schedule.
If a man cannot meet these requirements, he is prohibited from entering multiple religious marriages unless a bride "voluntarily waives" her rights to them.
Other circumstances under which polygamy is permitted by the DUM include cases where the first wife cannot conceive due to health issues, lack of desire, or age; in situations of "sexual incompatibility" between spouses; or when a man wishes to provide social and financial support to a single woman and her children.
The DUM has acknowledged that women in purely religious marriages lack legal protections, which critics argue may leave women in polygamous religious marriages vulnerable.
The conditions for such a marriage, they say, place a significant burden of proof on religious institutions or individuals to ensure compliance. How these provisions align with Russia's secular legal framework and broader societal norms is yet to be determined.
Russian officials have yet to comment on the fatwah.
The government, however, has been looking for ways to spur Russians to have more children as the declining population ages, a problem worsened by the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, which experts say has seen hundreds of thousands of Russian men die.
The Russian government has actively promoted policies to encourage women to have more children, with financial incentives for larger families and efforts to discourage abortions. The Russian Orthodox Church has been assisting the government to promote such policies.