THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 64, March 2, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TAKE MY WIVES, PLEASE: POLYGAMY HEADS WEST
By Dr. David J. Rusin
THE EMERGENT PHENOMENON OF ISLAMIC POLYGAMY IN THE WESTERN WORLD: THE TENDENCY OF WESTERN
GOVERNMENTS TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY AS THE CONJUGAL MORES & ATTENDANT PROBLEMS OF SEVENTH-CENTURY
ARABIA ARE IMPORTED INTO & ALLOWED TO TAKE ROOT IN THE WEST -- WHY THE INTRODUCTION OF & INCREASING
TOLERANCE TOWARD ISLAMIC POLYGAMY SHOULD BE A CAUSE FOR WORRY IN THE WEST -- THE SHARIA VERSUS
WESTERN JURISPRUDENCE -- ISLAMIC FAMILY LAW & GENDER DISCRIMINATION -- THE SHARIA, MISOGYNY, & SOCIETAL
DISFUNCTION -- UNDERMINING WESTERN LEGAL SYSTEMS & THEIR FOUNDATIONAL VALUES -- YIELDING TO OR
ACTIVELY PROMOTING ISLAMIST INFILTRATION & SUBVERSION OF WESTERN SOCIETIES -- WILL WESTERNERS DEFEND A
HARD-WON HERITAGE OF FREEDOM & EQUALITY, OR WILL WE CONTINUE SLOUCHING TOWARD SHARIA & ISLAMIST
DOMINATION?
FULL STORY:
Myra Morton approached her sleeping husband on the morning of August 5, 2007, with pain in her heart and a gun in her
hand. Once the smoke had cleared at the couple's upscale home just outside Philadelphia, a man would lie dead, a family
secret would be exposed, and a spotlight would shine on the emergent phenomenon of Islamic polygamy in the Western
world.
The slaying took place just hours before Jereleigh Morton was scheduled to leave for Morocco on a mission to
impregnate his other wife -- Zahra Toural. Niqab-clad Myra, a convert to Islam two decades earlier -- Myra having acceded
to Jereleigh's bond with the younger woman, whom he had met online in late 2006. Privately, however, the 47-year-old
mother was shattered, recording her dismay in a journal and lamenting to friends that she no longer received attention.
Myra even mailed a letter to immigration officials falsely claiming that Toural had terrorist ties and should thus be
prohibited from entering the U.S.A. Her husband's plan to conceive is apparently what sent her over the edge.
Islam did not kill Jereleigh Morton; Myra Morton did. She bears full responsibility for her brutal deed and should be
punished accordingly. Regardless of the circumstances, murder is anathema to Western legal and moral standards. Yet, so
too is polygamy. Recent evidence, however, indicates that governments tend to look the other way as the conjugal mores
of Seventh-Century Arabia and the problems that travel with them take root in our backyards. Just as Myra Morton
faces justice in a court of law, these drowsy cultural watchdogs must be made to answer in the court of public opinion.
The prevalence of polygamy among Muslims living in the West remains a matter of debate. Here is a sampling of what has
been reported: As many as thirty thousand Muslim families in France include more than one wife. There are fifteen
thousand in Italy and several thousand in Great Britain. Estimates for the United States typically run into the tens of
thousands. Even Australia has been forced to crack down on Muslim men looking to meet potential second wives via the
internet.
Individual cases often come to light unexpectedly through high-impact media events such as the Morton saga. Another
example is the tragic Bronx house fire that killed ten people on March 7, 2007. Moussa Magassa, a naturalized U.S. citizen
from Mali who lost five of his children in the blaze, was discovered to have two wives living a floor apart. A subsequent
investigation by the New York Times found polygamy to be an open secret in his immigrant community, with
agencies that serve it adhering to a policy of "don't ask, don't tell."
Lack of official curiosity is just one reason for the poor statistics. Practitioners also labor to avoid scrutiny. Two strategies
are common. Some Muslim men with additional wives living abroad arrange for relatives to sponsor visas that can bring
them to the West without raising red flags. Others find second, third, or even fourth wives locally, sealing the deal in a
nikah ceremony conducted by an imam. Because such marriages are performed under the state's radar and have no legal
standing, the wives enjoy none of the rights guaranteed to spousal partners.
Concern about Islamic polygamy whether in the West or East has naturally been dismissed in some quarters as
cultural imperialism. For example, Duke University Professor Miriam Cooke argues that "polygamy can be liberating and
empowering." Kay Hymowitz comments on this and asks Professor Cooke a question in City Journal:
"Some women . . . are relieved when their husbands take
a new wife: they won't have to service him so often. Or
they might find they now have the freedom to take a
lover. But, I ask, wouldn't that be dangerous in places
where adulteresses can be stoned to death? At any rate,
how common is that?"
Cooke's response: "I don't know. I'm interested in discourse."
Two nations have apparently skipped the "discourse" and moved straight to capitulation. Following a yearlong review,
the British government has ruled that husbands can claim benefits for multiple wives, as long as the marriages are legal
in the countries where they were conducted. Specifically, guidelines issued by the Department of for Work and Pensions
regarding the jobseeker's allowance state: "Where there is a valid polygamous marriage the claimant and one spouse will
be paid the couple rate (£92.80). The amount payable for each additional spouse is presently £33.65."
A similar arrangement exists in parts of Canada. According to the Toronto Sun:
"Hundreds of [Greater Toronto Area] Muslim men in
polygamous marriages
are receiving welfare and
social benefits for each of their spouses, thanks to the
city and province, Muslim leaders say. Mumtaz Ali,
President of the Canadian Society of Muslims, said
wives in polygamous marriages are recognized as
spouses under the Ontario Family Act Law, providing
they were legally married under Muslim laws abroad."
Why should the introduction of and increasing tolerance toward Islamic polygamy be a cause for worry in the
West?
First, like so many facets of sharia, Islamic family law codifies inequality and thus contravenes both the letter and the
spirit of Western jurisprudence. While guidelines that reference polygamy, such as those now regulating welfare
benefits in the United Kingdom, typically employ general-neutral language, there can be little doubt regarding the very
gender-specific nature of the institution, as it exists among Muslims. By tacitly recognizing this practice, governments
offer their imprimatur to sex discrimination.
Second, Nonie Darwish and Phyllis Chesler have noted that polygamy, when combined with other misogynistic
provisions of sharia, breeds societal dysfunction. Plural unions not only inspire distrust between spouses and
heightened competition among offspring. Children also learn from an early age that females are unworthy of exclusive
affection and therefore hold less value than males. Moreover, if common, polygamy creates legions of unhappily
unmarried young men who are ripe for radicalization.
Third, polygamy is illegal in virtually every Western state. Men who partake in such marriages while residing in the West
or circumvent immigration rules to gain entry for additional spouses are law-breakers, plain and simple. Which other
statutes might they feel comfortable violating in the name of their imported traditions? The mixed message sent by
government bureaucrats is particularly damaging in this context. Their multicultural nonchalance undermines both the
legal system itself and the foundational values that laws are intended to reflect and secure.
Fourth, the push to normalize polygamy is yet another front in the Islamists' campaign of inches. Its acceptance would
serve as a powerful salient, paving the way for the further implementation of sharia principles. This slippery slope is not
lost on Tory Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Chris Grayling. Discussing the welfare imbroglio, he
observed that extending payouts to multiple wives "sets a precedent that will lead to more demands for the culture of
other countries to be reflected in UK law."
While Grayling sounds the alarm in Britain, a few European nations have already enacted policies designed to combat
polygamous unions. The Telegraph reported in 2004 that Ireland --
". . . has ordered all men from Islamic countries seeking
residency to sign a sworn affidavit rejecting polygamy.
A man must swear he has one spouse only' and has
no intention of entering into a simultaneous marriage.'"
Likewise, the Italian Interior Ministry has asked Muslim groups to agree to a "values charter" that promotes
monogamous families and the equality of women.
Contrary to defeatist pronouncements by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, these examples demonstrate that
the arrival of sharia law in the West is not "unavoidable." It can and will be avoided if the public musters the resolve to
beat it back. As Daniel Pipes noted regarding the Council on American-Islamic Relations' sudden abandonment of
Muslim cabbies who object to serving passengers with seeing-eye dogs, widespread outrage is the best disinfectant.
"When Westerners broadly agree on rejecting a specific Islamic law or tradition and unite against it, Western Islamists
must adjust to the majority's will."
Simply put, the choice is ours: defend a hard-won heritage of freedom and equality, or continue slouching toward sharia.
Pray that we choose wisely.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Marriage, Family, & Society
Morality, Decency, & Traditional American Family Values
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Dr. David J. Rusin is a research associate at Islamist Watch and a Philadelphia-based editor for Pajamas Media. He
holds a Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Pennsylvania. Please feel free to contact him at
djrusin@gmail.com.
The foregoing article by Dr. Rusin was originally published in Pajamas Media, February 29, 2008, and can be found on
the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which seeks to define and promote
American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, working for Palestinian
Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote constitutional democracy in
the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly asserting U.S. interests
vis-ΰ-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat. (Article URL: http://www.meforum.org/article/1865)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
March 2, 2008
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