Moslems in Spain support gay marriage but ask President to authorize polygamy too
Periodistadigital.com, January 19, 2005
There had been speculations on this before now, but so far these speculations had only been discussed on public debates and as a faint probability. Yesterday, the president of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities, said loud and clear that many of the followers of Mahomed, which in Spain are already more than half a million, want to see polygamy legalized.
Mansur Escudero manifested his support to the project of the Socialist Government about marriage for homosexuals, but asked also for the the regularization of polygamy as a
"marriage option". According to Escudero, in 1992 the Socialist Government showed that it was opened to this possibility. The speaker for the General Council of Magistrates (CGPJ), J. L. Requero, had warned yesterday, short before the demand of Mansur, that this reivindication could be realized.
Escudero reminded that this question had been discussed already in 1992 between the Ministry of Justice and the Islamic communities, when they negotiated the agreement on cooperation between this religion and the Spanish State.
"In the section about matrimony we asked that polygamy was regulated, since it is an admitted practice in countries where Islam is the largest religion." According to Escudero, the then Minister of Justice, the Socialist Tomás de la Cuadra Salcedo, told them that polygamy would be regulated
"whenever there was a social demand and de facto situations of polygamy, and when society was ready to assume it."
Escudero demands that this issue is discussed in a debate similar to the one which the gay married is having, another legal issue for which there exist no precedents in the Spanish juridical system.
Escudero understands that polygamy
"is a very minoritary matrimony option", although
"it has demonstrated its viability in the Islamic countries". And he remarked that
"it is exceptional, but it exists and it fulfils its funtion."
In his declarations to Europa Press, Escudero reminded that polygamy is a very regulated status in the Quram, as it establishes the conditions in which a male can be married to multiple women at the same time.
The conditions are basicallly two: the woman must consent, and the man must be equanimous and fair, although he admits that the equanimity must be
"at least external". He explained that
"there must be fairness and equity in the treatment because internal emotions cannot be controlled".
El concepto de ecuanimidad también ha de estar reflejado desde el punto de vista económico, ya que se obliga a que el varón sea "justo con ambas". "Si no puedes mantener a una mujer, es absurdo que puedas mantener a dos", concluyó.
The concept of equanimity must also be reflected in the financial point of view, since the male is obliged to
"be fair with all women". He concluded saying that
"if you cannot maintain one woman, it is an absurd that you want to maintain two."
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