The revelation that an Irish citizen of Lebanese extraction is undertaking a High Court action to seek the validity of his second marriage has brought with it the usual feigned outrage.
It seems in a society where morality is questionable at best, some still manage to muster some outrage at the idea of polygyny.
There are of course no good reasons to forbid this type of marriage. For one, the current one man/one woman definition enshrined in Irish law, and believed to be ‘Christian’, finds no basis in the Bible whatsoever.
Indeed, one may look long and hard for any indication that marriage was intended to be solely monogamous; from a scriptural point of view, it is quite the opposite that seems to be indicated.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy regarding the office of elder and deacon, he stipulated that those aspiring to that position should “be the husband of just one wife”.
Evidently, polygyny was practiced in the early church, but for those wishing to become elders and deacons, the added concerns of a multiple marriage were dissuaded.
Later, St Augustine in his published letter ‘The Good Marriage’ remarked on polygyny, stating that it “was lawful among the ancient fathers: whether it be lawful now also, I would not hastily pronounce.”
Neither Jesus nor his companions forbade polygyny; this prohibition would come later when man-made laws superseded scriptural precedents.
In 534 CE, the Roman Emperor Justinian outlawed polygyny, a ruling that would form the basis of European law for the next 1,000 years.
While this restriction was acceptable when Europe was defined by its homogeneity, that is no longer the case.
A modern, pluralist society such as Ireland, claiming a secular constitution, cannot defer to church rulings on this issue without calling into question its alleged impartiality. This in every sense of the word is a test of Ireland’s commitment to its new multicultural reality.
There is no perceivable harm in polygyny; in fact there is much good. In the west, where monogamy is the rule, extra-marital affairs are commonplace.
The mistress in this situation has no rights and no claims on the man. In contrast, the Islamic concept of polygyny removes this injustice and affords the woman the same rights as the other wife/wives.
The Sharia itself restricts men to monogamy unless they meet certain criteria of equality among wives.
There will of course be legal implications in relation to divorce, inheritance, social welfare and so on, but our closest neighbour has demonstrated that these are not insurmountable.
By working alongside the Sharia courts, even the UK now recognises polygyny.
As far as I see it, there are no good reasons for Ireland to continue this discriminatory imposition upon those who freely wish to contract to a polygynous marriage.
Liam Egan is South East branch manager with MPACIE (Muslim Public Affairs Committee Ireland)
