From: nadeem@igpho (Nadeem Malik)
Subject: Re: Contradictions in the Qu'ran
Organization: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, CH
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL3
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 15:47:39 GMT

jakhan@IASTATE.EDU (Javed A Khan) writes:
: In article <MeWkzM200VB=EQGnxr@andrew.cmu.edu>, "Arun K. Gupta"
: <ag3l+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
: > 
: > Nadeem Malik is correct in the statistics that (at least in 1971 or so)
: > there were more Hindu men with two or more wives than Muslim men with
: > two or more wives in India.
: > 
: > As far as polygamy and Hinduism go: the matter of fact is there is no
: > ONE Hindu code of law, there are several. I think some of them permit
: > polygamy (and some permit polyandry.)  The law codes followed have changed
: > with the era and circumstances. However, the majority follow a monogamous
: > code, (I think).
: > 
: > As I have said before, a good portion of the demand for a uniform civil
: > code is thinly veiled Muslim bashing. There *is* however a need to
: > reform the Muslim personal law in India.
: > 
: > -arun gupta
: > ag3L@andrew.cmu.edu
: 
: 
: It is very surprising to know that there were more Hindu men with more than one
: wife than Muslim men at least at one point in recent past in India. 
: 
: But as far as I know it is illegal for Hindus to practice polygamy as laid down
: in modern Hindu(Personal)Law or isn't it ? Maybe someone could clarify that. 
: 
: I, for one, fully support the move for a reform in the Muslim Personal Law and 
: would especially like to see polygamy made illegal. Contrary to the propaganda
: dished out by the BJP-VHP-RSS propaganda machine though, as far as I have seen
: polygamy is not practiced by a great majority of Muslims in India and instances
: of polygamy being practiced are rare. 
: 
: The one source of misunderstanding by a lot of non-muslims concerning the issue
: of polygamy as mentioned in the Qu'ran is its apparent lack of precise language
: and hence the possibility of different interpretations but I think it is agreed
: by a majority of Islamic scholars (muslim and non-muslim alike) that there is a
: definite guideline against making polygamy the norm and that it is allowed under
: very rare circumstances. But the enumeration of such 'rare circumstances' in the
: Qu'ran is, IMO, inadequately precise and not exhaustive (simply because the
: Qu'ran is not a legal document in that sense but a spiritual guide) and hence
: the 'privilege' has the potential of being abused. Polygamy has been abolished
: in some Muslim countries and I dont see why it can't be banned in India too.
: 
: 
: 
: --Javed.
:   

I think that there is a great danger here of over-reacting to modern
Western intellectual thinking (because that what it is at the moment).
Whereas I am one of the foremost in declaring that Muslims need fundamental
and radical reform in many of the unislamic practices in which they often
indulge today; there is a great temptation for some 'modernist' Muslims
in their effort to portray Islam as fully matche for the modern world to
go too far and in the end only finish up prostrating themselves before
the 'intellectual' and 'modern' (i.e. Western) norms and practices.

There is no reason to ban polygamy at all. In fact, if the West especailly
adopts polygamy, then it would solve overnight a lot of social problems
destroying their society. Besides, there is a defacto polygamy, and indeed
polyandry, rampant since World War II in Western culture ... this is all in
name of FREEDOM!

And on that last point, might I ask how can modern day freedom-thinkers
justify banning polygamy? 

-Nadeem Malik (nadeem@p.igp.ethz.ch)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh