Russia’s Muslim Spiritual Administration withdraws polygamy ruling after Prosecutor’s Office says it violates law and ‘traditional values’

Russia’s Muslim Spiritual Administration’s Ulema Council (an advisory body of Muslim scholars) has withdrawn a fatwa permitting religious polygamy, reported RIA Novosti. The decision follows a formal notice from the Prosecutor General’s Office to the administration, stating that the fatwa violated Russian law, Interfax and TASS reported, citing a source within the department.

On December 19, Moscow Mufti Ildar Alyautdinov announced that the Spiritual Administration’s Ulema Council had approved a fatwa titled “The Issue of Polygamy in Russia’s Muslim Community,” which permits Muslim men to enter multiple religious marriages, provided they treat all wives “fairly and equally.”

Prosecutors, however, argued that the ruling violates Russian law, which prohibits individuals from entering a new marriage while already legally married.

“This theological conclusion […] from the Ulema Council contradicts current legislation and the state’s family policy, which is aimed at preserving and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” a source in the prosecutor’s office told reporters.

Chechen authorities have previously expressed support for legalizing polygamy in Russian law. In 2015, Magomed Daudov, a close ally of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, called polygamy a “widespread practice,” adding that “it wouldn’t hurt to regulate it somehow.” Nurdi Nukhazhiev, Chechnya’s human rights commissioner at the time, supported Daudov’s position.